Literacy Lowdown

Literacy Update: Building Strong Readers and Writers Together

Celebrating Book Week 2026

We are excited to celebrate Children's Book Week 2026, taking place from Saturday 22 August to Friday 28 August. This year's celebration, coordinated by the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA), is a wonderful opportunity to foster a love of reading and celebrate the incredible stories and authors that inspire young readers. Throughout Book Week, students will enjoy a range of literacy-rich activities in their classes, including shared reading experiences, activities inspired by shortlisted books, library displays and opportunities to explore new authors and genres. These experiences help students develop a lifelong appreciation of reading while strengthening their vocabulary, comprehension and imagination.

Our Literacy Program

At Richmond West Primary School, we are committed to helping every child become a confident reader and writer through evidence-based teaching practices grounded in the Science of Reading. Reading is a complex skill that develops over time. Children learn best when they receive explicit, systematic instruction in the essential building blocks of literacy. Across Prep to Year 6, our literacy program focuses on developing these key areas:

Phonemic awareness - hearing and manipulating the individual sounds in spoken words.

Phonics - understanding the relationship between letters and sounds to read and spell words accurately.

Fluency - reading with accuracy, appropriate speed and expression.

Vocabulary - learning and understanding new words across a range of subjects.

Comprehension - making meaning from texts by thinking deeply about what has been read.

Writing and spelling - applying knowledge of sounds, words and language structures to communicate effectively.

These elements work together to support students in becoming capable readers who can also think critically, communicate clearly and enjoy reading for pleasure. Across the school, students participate in:

• Talk for Writing - helping students develop confidence in oral language before applying these skills to reading and writing through high-quality model texts.
• Sounds-Write - our structured synthetic phonics program that explicitly teaches the relationship between sounds and letters to build strong decoding and spelling skills.
• The Grammar Project - providing explicit instruction in grammar and sentence structure to strengthen students' writing.
• Explicit Handwriting - developing correct letter formation, fluency and presentation to support written communication.
• Nessy - reinforcing phonics, spelling and early reading skills through engaging online practice.
• My Spelling through Essential Assessment - personalised weekly spelling instruction based on each student's learning needs accessed at home.
• Point-of-need literacy intervention - targeted support for students requiring additional instruction to strengthen foundational literacy skills.
• Essential Assessment Literacy, Literature and Language tasks - allowing teachers and families to monitor progress and tailor teaching to individual students, accessed at home.
• Weekly Library sessions - fostering a love of reading while exposing students to a wide variety of quality fiction and non-fiction texts.

Student learning is regularly monitored using classroom assessments and evidence-based screening tools, allowing teachers to identify strengths, respond to individual learning needs and ensure every student continues to make strong progress.

How families can support literacy at home

Parents and carers play an important role in developing strong literacy skills. Just 10–15 minutes each day can make a significant difference. Here are some simple ways to reinforce learning at home:

• Read every day. Read with your child, listen to them read aloud, or continue reading to older children to build vocabulary, comprehension and a love of books.
• Talk about what you read. Ask questions such as Why did the character do that?, What do you predict will happen next?, or What was the main idea?
• Practise weekly spelling and phonics. Encourage your child to read, write and use their weekly spelling words in everyday conversations and writing.
• Build vocabulary. Discuss new words you come across and encourage your child to use them in different contexts.
• Encourage meaningful writing. Shopping lists, birthday cards, journals, recipes and emails all provide valuable opportunities to practise writing.
• Visit your local library. Allow your child to choose books that match their interests and reading level to help build reading stamina and enjoyment.
• Celebrate effort and progress. Positive encouragement helps children develop confidence and resilience as readers and writers.

Working Together

Strong literacy skills provide the foundation for success across every learning area. By working together, home and school can nurture confident readers, thoughtful writers and lifelong learners.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership in supporting your child's literacy journey.

Hugh