Reading In The EYFS

What does Reading look like in Early Years at Lathom Park?

We love reading at Lathom Park! Stories are a special part of every day in our Early Years classrooms. Whether it's reading together at carpet time, sharing a favourite story in the book corner, or retelling tales through role play—books are everywhere.

In Nursery, we focus on building a love of language through listening to stories, rhymes, and poems. Children begin to recognise that print carries meaning and develop early book-handling skills—turning pages, looking at pictures, and predicting what might happen next.

In Reception, children begin to read simple words and sentences using the sounds they’ve learned in phonics. They talk about what they’ve read and start to develop comprehension skills like making predictions and answering questions about a story.

By the end of Reception, children will:

• Read books that match their phonics knowledge with growing confidence;
  
  

• Show understanding of what they’ve read or listened to;
  
  

• Talk about stories, characters, and events in books.