Library and Reading Environment

We are fortunate to have a large library, offering a wide stock of books and reading material for children of all abilities. Our Library Manager, Mrs Adsley runs the library and works closely with teachers and the School Library Service to ensure we have sufficient reading material to meet individual and curriculum reading needs.

The way we use the library is adapted during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure it is safe. The children no longer visit the library, the library visits the children. A mobile library visits each class weekly for children to change and choose new books. All books are quarantined for each class for a 72 hour period before and after the children have had contact with them.

Hampshire School Library Service

We subscribe to the Hampshire School Library Service (SLS) which enables us to develop our library resources to support the whole school curriculum providing books to link with topics, subjects and a wide range of authors and genres. We have access to books to suit all reading abilities. SLS also provides us with the most up to date reading booklists, transition booklist leaflets for Year 2 to 3 and Year 6 to 7 and regular forum meetings for Library Managers.

With our subscription to the SLS we have access to Wheelers e Platform books. All pupils have a log-in, access is free of charge and enables the children to be able to download e-books or audio books to enjoy at home. Follow our step by step guide to login and access these resources .

Encouraging Reading

Reading is something we may take for granted as we are surrounded by visual literacy and script, We continually read, whether it be reading road signs, instructions, supermarket price comparisons, books for pleasure or reports for work.

Studies have shown that children that read for pleasure and read out loud are more successful at school and in life than their counterparts.

Reading with adults

Adults are the models for children, if children see adults reading and enjoying their reading this strongly encourages children to model that behaviour. At Hook Junior School we ask children to read with an adult (including with adults at home as part of home learning) for twenty minutes every day. It is vital that children get this opportunity and support to improve their life chances. If reading for twenty minutes proves testing, reading can be broken down into smaller chunks of time to make it more manageable.

Reading out loud

We recommend that children read out loud and adults read aloud to children. Reading out loud helps children develop their comprehension, pronunciation, expression and fluency. Encouraging children to read out loud or have an adult read out loud to them, often leads to discussion about the text and the language features and makes the whole reading experience more enjoyable.

Reading for pleasure

We want children to love reading and read for pleasure. This can be encouraged by reading a wide range of texts for different purposes, reading aloud to children, listening to audio books and using a range of real reading materials and from different electronic devices. For example, Nosy Crow books sometimes have a QR code to scan which allows you to read the book whilst the story is being read from an iPad. Joining the local library to choose books together, or alternatively download texts from Hampshire Overdrive to read from electronic device.

Whilst it is important to sometimes let children choose what they would like to read, if a text is too easy, adult support is required to guide the choice of text to something more challenging. If the reading experience is fun with reading used as a time to relax within a cosy environment children are more likely to read and want to read for pleasure.