Reading at Brill

Our Vision

At Brill, we believe that reading is the foundation of a child’s education and the key to unlocking a lifetime of learning. Our aim is for every child to develop a genuine love of reading, enjoy a wide range of high-quality literature, and become confident, fluent readers who understand the value and pleasure that reading brings.

This journey begins in the Early Years, where children learn to read through the Supersonic Phonic Friends programme within an immersive, language-rich environment. It continues throughout the school, culminating in Year 6, where pupils become independent readers and even help to run our school library, inspiring and supporting younger children.

Reading is taught explicitly through daily Guided Reading lessons, regular one-to-one and small-group reading opportunities, and carefully chosen texts that inspire curiosity, develop vocabulary and promote high-quality writing.

We value the vital role that families play in supporting reading and encourage parents and carers to read with their children every day whenever possible.

If you have any questions about your child’s reading journey, please speak to their class teacher in the first instance or contact the English Lead using the details on this page.

Early Reading and Phonics

Children in the Early Years and Key Stage One learn to read using the Supersonic Phonic Friends programme. This systematic, structured approach develops secure phonics knowledge and provides children with fully decodable reading books that are carefully matched to their stage of learning, helping them build confidence, fluency and a love of reading.

Supersonic Phonic Friends is taught through a cast of memorable characters, each representing a different aspect of phonics learning. These characters help children understand and remember important concepts, making learning both meaningful and enjoyable. Through stories, actions and consistent visual cues, children develop confidence in recognising sounds, reading words and spelling accurately.

Who is who and what do they do

Download (pdf)

Alongside their decodable books, children enjoy a wide range of high-quality texts, ensuring they develop both the technical skills needed to read and a genuine enjoyment of books.

Our Supersonic Phonic Friends Progression document shows the order in which children learn new sounds, tricky words and phonics skills throughout the programme. It helps parents understand what their child is learning at each stage and provides a useful guide for supporting reading and phonics practice at home, ensuring school and home work together to build confident, successful readers.

Supersonic Friends Progression Map

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Literacy Coordinator

a.butler@brillschool.org.uk

Guided Reading

Reception and Year 1: The emphasis is on developing early reading skills, phonics knowledge, fluency and confidence.
Years 2–6: Whole class guided reading.

We use the Solomon Kingsnorth approach for our guided reading sessions to develop confident, thoughtful and enthusiastic readers. This approach places high-quality, challenging texts at the centre of reading lessons and encourages children to read, think and discuss deeply.

Children read complete texts or carefully selected extracts together, enabling them to build reading stamina, develop fluency and explore increasingly complex vocabulary and ideas. Teachers model expert reading, demonstrating how skilled readers make sense of a text by questioning, predicting, summarising, clarifying and making connections. Rich classroom discussion plays a central role, allowing pupils to articulate their ideas, listen to others and refine their thinking.

Vocabulary instruction is woven throughout every lesson. Children explore ambitious words in context, discuss shades of meaning and learn how authors' language choices influence the reader. This explicit focus on vocabulary supports both reading comprehension and children's own spoken and written language

Book Bands

As a school we have a range of texts to support children and their reading development and these are categorised by the spellings for the sounds they contain.

All reading books are matched to the sounds children have covered in school to ensure we maximise their ability to apply their new knowledge and these books are read both within school and then sent home for children to further embed the skills.

Most children move on to our library's Early Reader and then Free Reader collections once they are reading fluently and have completed the phonics programme.

Reading at Brill

Reading for pleasure is at the heart of everything we do. We strive to foster a lifelong love of books through engaging teaching, carefully selected texts and a vibrant reading culture across the school.

Our welcoming library provides children with access to a rich variety of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, while our dedicated library team supports pupils in selecting books that both motivate and challenge them. Weekly special reading sessions, author visits and a range of reading events further encourage children to discover the joy of reading.

Reading Aloud

At Brill, reading aloud is a valued and protected part of every school day because we know it is one of the most powerful ways to inspire a lifelong love of reading. Teachers regularly share carefully chosen, high-quality texts that introduce children to new authors, genres and ideas, many of which they may not yet be able to access independently. These shared reading experiences help to build a community of readers, spark meaningful discussion and foster a love of books. Reading aloud also broadens children's vocabulary, deepens their understanding of language and provides rich models of writing that inspire and support learning across the curriculum.

Brill's Best Books

At Brill, we believe that some of the best reading recommendations come from children themselves. Brill's Best Books is a whole-school initiative that celebrates reading for pleasure while giving pupils the opportunity to become reading ambassadors for their peers.

When a child finishes a book that they feel is truly special, they are invited to write a short recommendation explaining why they think it deserves to be recognised as one of Brill's Best Books. They reflect on what they enjoyed about the story, the characters, the author's writing style or the themes explored, helping them to think more deeply about their reading.

Once their recommendation is complete, the book is awarded a Brill's Best Books sticker and proudly displayed in our dedicated library collection. This growing display showcases a wide range of pupil-recommended books and provides inspiration for other children looking for their next great read.

'Page Turners'

Our 'Page Turners' are a team of enthusiastic Key Stage 2 pupils who are elected by their peers to champion reading across the school. They play an important role in promoting a love of books and helping to create a vibrant reading culture for all children.

Each week, our Reading Leaders visit classrooms to share carefully chosen stories with younger pupils, modelling fluent, expressive reading and inspiring children to discover new books and authors. They also work alongside staff to develop exciting new ideas and initiatives that celebrate reading throughout the school, helping to ensure that reading remains at the heart of life at Brill.

How to Support Reading at Home

Encourage regular reading – Even just a few minutes of reading each day can make a huge difference. Around 20 minutes a day is ideal, but the most important thing is building a regular and enjoyable habit.
Read aloud often – Share stories with your child every day, whatever their age. Make it a special time by getting comfortable, choosing a cosy spot and bringing stories to life with expression, different voices and enthusiasm.
Encourage choice – Help your child discover the types of reading they enjoy. Reading is not just about storybooks; magazines, comics, poetry, non-fiction, recipes and online articles all help children develop their reading skills.
Read together – Make reading a shared experience. You might read the same book and talk about it, take turns reading aloud, or enjoy different books and share your thoughts with each other.
Create a positive reading environment – Make reading feel relaxing and enjoyable. Find a comfortable space where your child can focus, unwind and get lost in a book.
Make use of your local library – Libraries offer much more than physical books, with access to ebooks, audiobooks and a wide range of reading opportunities for children of all ages.
Talk about books – Discuss what you and your child are reading. Share your opinions, ask questions and talk about characters, ideas and feelings to deepen their understanding and enjoyment.
Bring books to life – Extend the reading experience beyond the pages. Try a recipe from a story, explore the setting, act out scenes or find out more about the characters and themes.
Make reading active and creative – Encourage children to respond to books in different ways, such as acting out a scene, creating artwork, designing a new book cover or making a film poster.
Make reading work for your child – Every child’s reading journey is different. Encourage them to read books that interest and excite them, for as long as they can stay engaged, and at a time that works best for them.

The Open University have a great website that also provides parents with practical advice and ideas to support their child's reading journey at home. It offers guidance on how to encourage a love of reading, develop reading confidence and make shared reading an enjoyable part of everyday life.

https://ourfp.org/supporting-rah