Student Support

Key to Success ... is, of course, education and one of the cornerstones is reading. However, reading isn't just to be confined to school; what is learned at school needs to be used at home as reading for pleasure and interest. So, it is important to encourage your child's learning. Work with their teacher to guide you in helping them love reading.

Read Aloud to Your Child

Make time. This is the best gift you can give your child.

Just reading to your child for 20 minutes a day will give them access to over a million words a year. 

Time together spent reading would have to be at the top of the list of all-time favourite activities to share. Make it part of the bed-time ritual. It's a special time. 

Make it interesting and accessible. You want to get your children reading. Read to them from the moment they are born. Don't forget to model good reading habits. If a game, a comic, a joke collection, how-to or picture book will engage them, then use it. Make sure reading material is readily available - easily picked up in an idle moment, in any room in the house. Even a well-worded poster will invite reading. Visit the library and let them choose their own books.

Make reading enjoyable. Keep all reading and especially the earliest reading on a pleasure level. Create a time and place for reading. As mentioned before, bed-time is a lovely time to cuddle up with your child and a good book. Repetition is good on so many levels. Children love reading the same book over and over. Apart from what they can learn, it gives them the reassurance and anticipation of knowing what will happen next. Have fun!

Here are just a few benefits of reading to your child and fostering a love of reading:

It builds:

• a robust vocabulary
• new knowledge
• literacy skills (phonics, print awareness, comprehension, etc)
• appreciation for other's experiences
• awareness of others like themselves
• a love of books and learning

And best of all, it builds a safe and secure bond between you and your child.