English
Intent
We aim to develop pupils’ abilities within an integrated program of Speaking & Listening, Reading & Writing. Pupils will be given opportunities to develop their use, knowledge and understanding of spoken and written English within a broad and balanced curriculum, with opportunities to consolidate and reinforce taught literacy skills.
We aim for pupils at Buckhurst Primary School to leave Year 6:
• reading and writing with confidence, fluency and understanding, using a range of independent strategies to self-monitor and correct;
• with a love of reading and a desire to read for enjoyment;
• with an interest in words and their meanings; developing a growing vocabulary in spoken and written forms;
• understanding and using a range of text types, media types and genres;
• being able to write in a variety of styles and forms appropriate to the situation;
• using their developing imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness;
• having a suitable technical vocabulary to articulate their responses.
• understanding that reading allows them to access a wealth of information across many subjects.
Implementation
Subject Organisation
Foundation Stage:
In the Foundation stage, children have daily discreet phonics lessons. Children have opportunities to develop their communication, language and literacy skills on a daily basis in both adult led and child initiated activities. Activities are planned around a story or non-fiction text. Provision is made for children who require extra support through intervention programmes and differentiated class teaching.
Key Stage 1:
In Key Stage 1, daily discreet phonics lessons continue, while children have daily mixed ability English lessons with an emphasis on real texts. Children take part in both guided and individual reading sessions and have regular story times to develop a love of reading. Literacy skills are developed across the curriculum.
Provision is made for children who require extra support through intervention programmes and adapted class teaching.
Key Stage 2:
In Key Stage 2, children have daily English Lessons where reading, writing, vocabulary, phonics and grammar skills are taught alongside each other and treated as interdependent skills. Additional literacy sessions include guided reading, handwriting, class novel which is read at the Teacher’s discretion at a time throughout the day and spelling. Literacy skills are incorporated and developed across the curriculum. Provision is made for children who require extra support through intervention programmes and adapted class teaching.
Approaches to Speaking and Listening
The Four Strands of Speaking and Listening: Speaking; Listening; Group Discussion and Interaction, and Drama permeate the whole curriculum. Interactive teaching strategies are used to engage all pupils in order to raise reading and writing standards. Children are encouraged to develop effective communication skills in readiness for later life.
Opportunities to develop these skills include: class assemblies, talk partners, drama and performances.
We recognise the need for all pupils to speak, read and write Standard English fluently and accurately, while acknowledging that a pupil’s own dialect, or other language is of prime importance. It is our school policy to model good language to the children to encourage Standard English both in speaking and writing.
Approaches to Reading
Teachers model reading strategies during shared reading sessions, whilst children have the opportunity to develop reading strategies and to discuss texts in detail during reading sessions. Independent reading provides time for both assessment and 1-1 teaching. Daily discreet phonics lessons in FS and KS1 enable children to decode efficiently. This is continued into KS2 where necessary and supported by intervention programs. Please refer to our Phonics Policy for further details.
A range of reading schemes are used to support early readers as well as book banded books used for individual reading. Teaching assistants support reading activities to ensure that children have more frequent opportunities to read with adults. We also have a variety of volunteers who visit the school to provide additional opportunities to read for those that need it.
Children in the Foundation Stage classes take home one or more books from school which parents are encouraged to read with their child and then record how they have got on. This further encourages teacher – parent communication. We hold parent workshops in phonics and reading to help parents support their children at home.
In KS1, children take home a levelled book according to their ability. Each child has a home school reading record that teachers and parents can use to share information about a child’s reading. Parents are encouraged to read with their child daily. Parents are encouraged to support their child’s reading through discussions with the class Teachers.
In Key Stage 2, children choose books to take home and read. Those children who still require a more structured approach to reading have access to the ‘Big Cat’ series of books to help these children to continue to grow in confidence as readers with a text that appears appropriate for their age group. Adults encourage children to access books of an appropriate content but ones which are written at the level appropriate to their reading age.
Teachers assess reading skills through regular formative assessment during lessons and by termly tests, both of which are used to inform teachers of next steps.
We recognise the value of adults (both in school and at home) reading aloud to children, in order to improve their grasp of story language, enthuse them with a love of books and inspire them as writers.
Approaches to Writing
We aim to develop the children’s ability to produce well-structured, detailed writing in which the meaning is clear and which engages the interest of the reader. Attention is paid throughout the school to the formal structures of English, grammatical detail, punctuation and spelling. We have a writing cycle approach which involves the teaching of writing, reading, grammar, vocabulary and phonics as interdependent skills. Implementation is structured around rehearsal of sentence types, assessing a WAGOLL, integrated grammar focus and discussion of vocabulary. To support our teaching of writing, we moderate writing both within year groups and within the MAT. Teachers model writing strategies and the use of phonics and spelling strategies in shared writing sessions.
Guided writing sessions are used to target specific needs of both groups and individuals, whilst children have opportunities to write at length in extended independent writing sessions at the end of each writing cycle.
The children are given frequent opportunities in school to write in different contexts using quality texts as a model and for a variety of purposes and audiences. There are many opportunities for children to improve their writing inspired by drama techniques and film clips. They may be asked to produce their writing on their own or as part of a group. Children will also be given the opportunity to use ICT for their writing. We utilise the Nelson Handwriting scheme in school to help children develop fluent, clear and legible, joined-up writing. Children from Year 3 onwards are all given the opportunity to use a pen when writing. This encourages them to take care in their presentation and pride in their work.
Impact: Reading
Through the teaching of systematic phonics, our aim is for children to become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage One. This way, children can focus on developing their fluency and comprehension as they move through the school.
- In EY and KS2, each class teacher keeps a record of the children’s journeys through the phonic band books and this is discussed during termly pupil progress meetings
- Attainment in reading is measured using the statutory assessments at the end of Key Stage One and Two
These results are measured against the reading attainment of children nationally and across the Trust - Phonics Screening Test is used to measure attainment at the end of Year 1.
- Salford Reading Tests are carried out termly in both reading age and comprehension age
- Comprehension tests are carried out at the end of each term and the results are discussed during termly pupil progress meetings
Impact: Writing
Through the writing cycle, our aim is to develop confident, competent and adventurous writers who can use their skills across the curriculum.
- BHCPS marking grid is used to assess each child’s piece of writing children’s writing at the end of a writing cycle
- Year group writing outcome grids are used to assess children’s writing and the results are discussed during termly pupil progress meetings
- Teachers moderate across classes to ensure consistency
- Once a year, writing moderation is carried out across our trust schools
- In KS2, children are taught to self-correct, edit and improve their writing and that of others. Evidence of this can be found in books, in green pen.
- Children can discuss their writing, explain how they achieve it and know how to improve it.
EYFS - Progression in Role Play
EYFS - Progression in Small World Play
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