English

Key Purpose

Why is this subject important?

• We understand that reading underpins the entire curriculum and enables children to unlock the breadth of subjects taught at primary level and beyond.
• Reading is an essential life skill.
• Reading forms a key part of helping children to form diverse cultural capital, enabling them to effectively participate in society.
• Evidence shows that children who enjoy reading tend to progress well in school.

Key Principles

What are the distinctive ways of knowing, working and learning in this subject?

• Children are taught to read using a systematic, synthetic programme of phonics as well as learning important skills in encoding to complement the decoding provided by phonics. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 have daily 20-minute phonics lessons, following the sequence of revisit/review – teach – practise – apply. Teaching groups are formed based on regular assessments so that children’s needs are accurately tracked and matched to the correct provision.
• Our guided reading sessions are tailored to suit the reading needs of each year group. In EYFS and Year 1, children have a 20 minute session weekly in which a variety of texts, often based on a similar theme, are explored. In Year 2, children have a guided reading session 30 minutes weekly of a picture book or short chapter book, followed by an activity or written task based on the text. In Rabbit Class children read one-to-one with an adult three times a week and identified children read daily. From Year 3-6 children engage in 30 minute guided reading sessions in year groups, four times weekly. Each group is adult-led and reads a novel each half term. Children are able to drill down into comprehension skills as well as discussing grammar, syntax, punctuation, style and structure. Guided reading sessions allow children to make links between other texts, themselves, the wider world, knowledge and experiences they have had. They also gain confidence in reading aloud within a small group context.
• Spoken language and opportunities for talk and discussion are prioritised from EYFS to Year 6 to ensure that children are developing their comprehension skills and broadening their vocabulary, which will in turn allow them to better access their reading.
• Paired reading across the whole school, enables children to develop confidence in reading and learn from each other as older pupils act as reading role models.
• Teachers regularly incorporate high quality books and texts in their planning to inspire reading and learning across many different curriculum areas. This ensures that children have access to a broad range of genres and authors. Teachers have access to The Power of Reading scheme by CLPE to support them in their planning.
• All children have a school reading book corresponding with their reading level and also a reading record book for up to the end of Year 2. Children in KS2 make use of reading journals in school. Parents are encouraged to hear their children read at home as often as possible. Children are heard reading regularly in school, the frequency depending on their reading ability and age. During the school day, children have many opportunities to practise their reading through all curriculum subjects – anything and everything is seen as an opportunity to develop their reading for pleasure and for understanding. They are also encouraged to read independently with a book of their choice.
• We believe that a strong reading culture should permeate the school in order for children to reach their full potential as readers. Here are some ways that we nurture our reading culture:
  • Encouraging reading role models (both adults and pupils)
  • Making regular time for reading (individual, with adults, in pairs, in groups)
  • Celebrating reading (events such as author visits, trips to the local library, Book Festival, read-a-thons, Book Mastermind competitions, World Book Day)
  • Involving families and our local community as often as possible (book sales, parent/child book sharing, events at Book Festival)
  • Creating an inspiring reading environment (attractive book stock, reading focused displays)
• We work with a Dyslexia and Reading Recovery specialist tutor in order to support children who have significant barriers to their reading progression.
• We find that pupils’ reading progress often requires particular attention as they transition from Year 2 to 3 and from Year 4 to 5 as it is crucial that they build reading stamina and remain engaged in the pursuit of reading. We invest time in rotating book stock at the start of the new academic year so that they are supported through these transitions. We have also carefully considered and invested in books which help to build children’s reading stamina.
• Developing children as readers involves developing the whole individual. Children must learn to decode and to ensure that they become strong readers they must make meaning of what they read, regardless of the type of text. In order to successfully achieve this, children must benefit from a wide variety of experiences which help them to build the necessary background knowledge that they bring to their reading in order to make meaning. This includes ensuring that the children access a broad and balanced curriculum and authentic visits, trips and experiences. We have created an ‘entitlements’ grid to ensure that the children at Occold Primary receive ample opportunities in reading as they progress during their time here.

Expectations

What does success look like in this subject?

• Successful readers are able to decode easily and fluently and read aloud at a pace which does not impede the meaning of a text.
• Our intention for every pupil is that they not only decode easily and fluently but with the ability to understand and make meaning of a broad range of texts.
• Children should read with deep enough understanding to employ appropriate expression. They should also be able to make inferences and ‘educated guesses’ about the meanings of unfamiliar words through understanding the wider context of a text.
• Children should develop a reading level sufficient to be able to confidently skim read a text and to still make good meaning of what they have read.
• Children should be able to critically read and analyse texts, especially in the reading of non-fiction texts.
• They should make links between what they have read, other texts which they have encountered and their broader knowledge of the world through experiences they have had.

Key Purpose

Why is this subject important?

• Writing is an integral part of our curriculum; success in this subject enables further success across a range of subjects.
• Writing is an essential form of communication and a meaning-making process. Developing skills in writing should enable pupils to know the power of the written word for enjoyment, communication and information.
• Through writing, children hone their understanding of language and literacy for a range of purposes and audiences; thus equipping them with essential life skills.

Key Principles

What are the distinctive ways of knowing, working and learning in this subject?

• Pupils at Occold are actively encouraged and engaged in a community of writers to enable them to develop as confident writers for a range of purposes. We believe it is important that children see themselves as writers and the act of writing as an inclusive, not exclusive, practice across the school. It is necessary for children to see their written work as purposeful and that they have an active role to play as authors of their own work.
• Children at Occold Primary School receive daily opportunities to write for a variety of purposes. From note-taking to creating beautiful, hand-sewn books, children must know that writing has many different purposes and audiences.
• Whilst some aspects of spelling, punctuation and grammar are taught discretely, it is always with the aim of enhancing children’s overall skills in writing. Our teaching and learning of spelling, punctuation and grammar is heavily embedded in all areas of our literacy learning as teachers make explicit links in children’s learning e.g contextualising grammar within a guided reading session.
• A child’s writing development is nurtured from their arrival in Early Years where all efforts to write and mark-make (using a variety of implements) are praised and valued. Children are encouraged to feel excited about writing and to view themselves as writers.
• Occold Primary School has high expectations for handwriting and presentation; encouraging pupils to be proud of producing high quality work across the range of curriculum subjects. Bookmaking plays an integral role across the school, enabling children to present their work in a range of interesting formats and increasing their fine motor skills as they move through the school and begin to sew and fold their own books.
• Teachers often model writing for children; allowing them to gain insight into the thought processes involved in writing. Teachers often write alongside the pupils in their class and use ‘writing workshops’ to openly explore the processes and challenges involved in writing. Children receive personalised feedback about their writing to move them forward in their learning.
• The journey to a written outcome often starts with reading high quality texts of a variety of genres. We continually review our library stock with writing outcomes in mind. We also make use of the Power of Reading scheme by CLPE to create engaging sequences of lessons. Teachers also use experiences, films, drama, objects or topics from other subjects as inspiration for written outcomes.
• Teachers encourage children to enjoy words and work hard to provide a language rich environment to stimulate children’s writing interests. Children are allowed space to develop their own response to a stimulus in order to develop individual style and voice. They are encouraged to write freely and regularly so that they are comfortable with ‘the blank page’. Children are allowed dedicated quiet time and space to write. They regularly share their work aloud and thrive in a supportive environment where they are encouraged to take risks and be individual.

Expectations

What does success look like in this subject?

• Children being able to write, and to find pleasure and purpose in doing so. Pupils should also develop the ability to persevere with their writing and to spend time finessing their work by editing and revising.
• Success in pupils achieving at national age-related expectations and showing progress in their writing – no matter what their starting point.
• Pupils are able to embed their knowledge of writing to enable high standards of literacy across the curriculum.
• Pupils are able to critique their own and others’ writing, using appropriate terminology and giving reasons for their suggestions.

Pupils know how to improve and refine their writing and are supported in doing this