Gwinear-Gwithian Parish Council awarded the Friends of Connor Downs Academy £180 towards books back in November 2020. The Friends of Connor Downs Academy advised the Council that they were incredibly grateful to receive the grant and that these funds enabled them to purchase two sets (fiction and non-fiction) of Letters and Sounds decodable readers.  This was a total of 144 books which have been added to the school’s new phonics library.  These books help to teach sounds in a certain order and help children to develop strong reading, speaking and listening skills.  The books use bright and vibrant illustrations to bring each story to life and provides interesting facts that encourages discussion.  Since Covid-19, books at school have been quarantined for 3 days before allowing them to be used by another child.  These new books have ensured that the children have had a wide range available to them.  The ability to read is an essential building block for all other learning, which is why these reading books are such a valuable resource.