Supporting student reading

Reading, Reading, Reading

Reading at home is one of the most valuable things a family can do to support a child's literacy development. Like any skill, reading improves with regular practice — and the time you invest at home makes a real difference to your child's progress and confidence in the classroom.

How Home Reading Works

In the early years, your child will bring home readers selected by their teacher. These are often set at a level slightly below what is being used in class — and this is intentional. Reading a familiar level of text at home allows children to build fluency and confidence while reinforcing the strategies they are already learning at school.

As your child develops, the complexity of their reading material will grow with them — from simple sentences, to paragraphs, to chapter books and longer novels by the upper primary years. If you are ever unsure whether the material your child is reading at home is the right fit, their class teacher is always a great first point of contact.

How You Can Help

You don't need to be a reading expert to make home reading time meaningful. Simply listening attentively, showing genuine interest in the story, and occasionally talking about what your child has read — the words they noticed, the punctuation, what happened and why — turns a short reading session into a rich learning conversation. The more engaged you are, the more your child will be too.

We also have a range of recommended reading lists by grade and stage available on our website to help guide your book choices as your child progresses.

Our Expectations

Caddies Creek PS expects all students to complete home reading Monday to Thursday each week. The recommended time is:

• Kindergarten to Year 2: 5–15 minutes per night

• Years 3–6: 15–25 minutes per night

Each class teacher will have a system in place — such as a reading log — to help track and celebrate your child's reading at home.

If you have any questions about home reading, please speak with your child's teacher. We are grateful for your partnership in building a love of reading that will last a lifetime.