Primary Times - the definitive what’s on and where to go family guide of activities and events for children of primary school age. Things to do with your kids during the school holidays including arts and craft activities, music and theatre for children, parties, competitions, days out, and family attractions along with term time drama schools, dance classes, after school clubs and sports activities. Things to do at a place near you!
Reading Planet to save UK schools money with new match funding initiative
This term, Reading Planet has a simple mission: To tackle squeezed budgets and help all schools access high-quality reading resources for their pupils. Until the 31st December 2018, the reading scheme will match fund any book order placed, pound for pound. If a school chooses £50 worth of books, Reading Planet will match fund £50 worth of books meaning the school will receive £100 worth of books at half the cost.
Reading Planet is a modern reading scheme that breathes new life into learning to read for primary school children. The exciting range of carefully levelled fiction and non-fiction ensures all children meet age-related expectations in reading, and see themselves in the books through relatable stories, settings and characters that celebrate diversity and gender equality.
The high-quality books explore modern topics and themes and the programme currently provides more than 400 books for Reception and Key Stage One from Lilac to White band. Books for Key Stage Two will be available from Spring 2019.
The modern approach to a reading scheme has helped Reading Planet become a firm fixture in classrooms across the UK, with hundreds of schools now using it as the launchpad to reading success.
Polly Alford, EYFS coordinator at Penn Wood School, Luton, commented: “The funding initiative Reading Planet is offering this term is a brilliant way of ensuring schools like mine can access a cost-effective way of delivering reading education to their students.
“As a reception class teacher, it’s really key for me to embed the right reading etiquette to set the children up for the rest of the school year. The Rising Stars Reading Planet series is a fantastic route to ensuring this happens.
“The books are very well matched against the curriculum and as their teacher, I’m really pleased to see the books expose the children to different topics, and link with other books and subjects we’re already teaching them about.”
Reading Planet is rooted in the latest literacy research from Coventry University to ensure pupils achieve the right level of reading progress. Each book features comprehension activities to help boost essential reading skills.
In addition to this, the content of the books directly links to cross-curricular topics and has been developed to focus on a rich and extensive range of vocabulary that will engage and challenge young readers.
The programme includes accompanying comprehensive teacher materials to enable teachers to easily embed the scheme into their teaching. Plus, the parent resources support parents and carers in using the scheme at home.
Kathryn Mort, Year 3 Teacher at Higher Openshaw School, Manchester also commented: “From a teacher perspective; the books have been invaluable for me and my class. I like the fact that my TA can do one on one work with the children, because of all the helpful notes and guidelines in the back of the books, and the reading tips at the front.
“Importantly, the scheme features modern day topics such as well-being and resilience, which we teach in other lessons, and makes topics such as science and problem - solving accessible to both boys and girls."
For more information about the match funding initiative and how your school can benefit this term until 31st December 2018, visit: www.risingstars-uk.com/matchfunding
