ENGLISH

We believe that literacy and communication are key life skills and that through the English curriculum we should help children develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate effectively and creatively, through spoken and written language. We aim to provide a rich and stimulating environment, where speaking and listening, reading and writing are an integral part of everything we do.

Speaking and Listening

Children are given opportunities to speak in pairs, small groups or to larger audiences in Collective Worship, assemblies, poetry performances and whole class situations. Children are encouraged to speak in front of their peers.  They share their news, feedback information from reading and research and give opinions across the curriculum. Through these activities, children are encouraged to listen to others, respect turn taking within conversation and ask appropriate questions. This also increases their confidence when speaking.

Reading: Systematic Synthetic Phonics Programme

The school uses the programme 'Little Wandle: Letters and Sounds Revised' to teach phonics across EYFS, KS1 and KS2 (catch-up). This is used successfully with all of the children and adults thoroughly enjoying the daily phonics lessons. This commences from the beginning of Reception through to the end of Year 2, with children taking part in lessons between 9.00-9.30 am each day. Phonics sessions are ring-fenced in the school day.  Children are grouped according to their most recent assessments (which take place regularly) and they are taught by adults who are trained in the programme. In addition, the English Subject Leader supports staff with coaching. CPD is provided in house and from external sources. We use lots of high quality resources including special books linked to the phonics phases, and grapheme and word cards. Children are provided with a home reading book linked to Little Wandle so that the text closely matches their current decoding ability.

In Year 3, children who were not at the expected standard for reading in Year 2 are re-assessed to determine if they still require the phonics programme. In addition, pupils who are new to the school and are in Key Stage 2 in any year group are assessed on entry to determine if they require phonics teaching.

We hold regular parent information workshops which are always very informative and enjoyable. Parents from York Class (Reception Class) are invited to take part in their child’s Phonics lessons each Friday from the second half of the autumn term each year. There are also videos that parents can watch at home to further support their child with their learning of phonics, reading and writing. There is more information on the link.

Reading Comprehension/Whole Class Reading Years 2 – 6

In Years 2-6, children follow a structured reading programme that has four key skills that are taught weekly: prediction, clarification, summarising and questioning. In addition, there is a strong focus on developing children’s fluency through guided reading and whole class reading. These skills are repeated based on a core text that the children are following with the texts and language becoming more sophisticated as they move through the school. There is more information on the link.  

Developing a ‘Love of Reading’

We truly believe that reading ‘changes your life’. Reading is given a very high priority across the school, with each class following a structured story time programme at the end of each day (and at other points when possible). Each classroom has a bright, inviting and well organised book area. In addition we have a well-stocked library in KS1 and in KS2. Children enjoy choosing books from these areas. These communal reading areas are also used for other sessions e.g. phonics groups and reading 1:1. We have a reading/quiet area in the playground set up so that children can sit and read and share books at playtimes and lunchtimes. Each class visits our local Islington libraries (Lewis Carroll and West) where children are able to select their own book to bring back to school to read. They also enjoy regular workshops and story time in theses libraries. Each week we celebrate a ‘Reading ‘Award’ in Achievement Assembly and on the newsletter. The child who wins this award receives a special certificate, badge and book mark. School staff are encouraged to share their love of reading with the children. The children are also encouraged to take part in the annual Winter and Summer Reading Challenges set up by the library service. We have volunteers in school each week who read with the children and develop key comprehension skills with them.

Writing

Writing is taught daily. It either links with a book or poem being studied or with the curriculum area currently being studied. Teachers model writing in a variety of genres through shared writing activities. Writing skills are developed further in guided writing sessions. Children practise their writing through independent writing tasks across the curriculum. They are also given opportunities to plan, draft, revise and edit their own and each other’s writing.  We promote the use of a success criteria to ensure pupils know the key elements needed to write effectively for each genre. Pupils’ learning is further enhanced through the use of multi-media e.g. the use of film to capitalise on the creativity of the moving image. Children are taught to apply their writing skills in all areas of the curriculum with teachers having high expectations.

Spelling

Spelling skills are introduced through direct teaching, investigations, studies of spelling patterns and homework. Part of the Little Wandle scheme covers spelling using the skill of segmenting to support their understanding of spelling. They also work through a progressive set of high frequency words.  Children are encouraged to attempt words for themselves using a range of spelling strategies. In Key Stage 2 the children learn words from the National Curriculum word list document in addition to words linked to their curriculum units. This helps prepare the children for the Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar aspect of the KS2 SATs - and beyond.

Handwriting and Presentation

Children are taught and encouraged to form lower and upper case letters correctly from their first days in school and as they develop, to write in a joined style. We use a cursive script from Year 2. Good presentation of all written pieces is expected across the entire curriculum.