OFSTED September 2023

Throughout the school, the English curriculum enables children to develop the necessary skills to become successful readers and writers and we place a high emphasis on enjoyment of the subject too. Alongside the teaching of reading, phonics, grammar, spelling and creative writing, we also encourage good speaking and listening skills.

The curriculum is delivered in a variety of ways such as; whole class teaching, paired, group and independent learning. 

READING

Our reading scheme consists of texts from Oxford Reading Tree, Collin's Big Cat and Unlocking Letters and Sounds. All of our books are carefully matched to phonic phases from our phonics scheme 'Unlocking Letters and Sounds.' We recommend that children read each book three times and read at home at least four times a week because we know that this has a huge impact on their fluency, enjoyment and comprehension. We have a reading reward system where children earn a certificate, presented in assembly when they have read 25 and 50, 100, 200, 250 and 300 times at home and a badge for 150 reads.

In order to encourage a life-long love of reading, the children take home a 'Dream Book' from their class book corner, they visit the school library to borrow books for their classroom, they have daily story-time and they enjoy DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read) throughout the week.

We are fortunate to have a team of volunteers comprised of parents and grandparents who visit regularly to listen to children read. Staff are keen readers and attend book clubs for children's literature after school to make sure we are getting the most up to date quality texts for our children.  

We have a fantastic local library at Park Farm which we try and visit once a year and encourage families to do so as they have a wonderful range of children's books.

WRITING

Writing is a fundamental skill that enables children to communicate, express ideas, and make sense of the world around them. In our school, we follow the principles of The Writing Framework to ensure all children develop strong foundations in transcription and composition. We teach key skills such as handwriting, spelling, and sentence construction alongside the ability to plan, draft, and edit their work. Through rich texts, purposeful talk, and meaningful writing opportunities, children learn to write with increasing confidence, creativity, and accuracy, preparing them for the next stage of their learning journey.

HANDWRITING 

We use the Unlocking Letters and Sounds handwriting scheme to support our children in developing clear, confident, and fluent writing. This structured approach is closely aligned with our phonics teaching, helping children to form letters correctly as they learn the sounds they represent. Through engaging, age-appropriate activities, pupils are taught correct letter formation, pencil grip, and posture from the very beginning, building strong foundations for writing. Children also engage in  'Funky Fingers' activities within the provision to build their upper body strength (gross motor skills) and finger/hand strength and control (fine motor skills).