English
Reading
At Willen Primary School the teaching of reading is integral to our curriculum and reading skills are developed and nurtured through all curriculum areas.
Beginning in Early Years via phonics, we aim for all children to learn to read quickly and accurately by the end of Key Stage One. We do this through teaching phonics using the Read, Write, Inc (RWI) program. This program allows children to learn all 44+ sounds of the English language and then apply those sounds to words. We teach children the skill of decoding words as this ensures that they are able to read almost any word they come across. Within the daily RWI sessions children will be encouraged and supported to not only practice and develop their decoding skills but also their comprehension and fluency skills.
In order for learning to be personalised, we assess all children at the end of each half term; we then place them in a group that is matched to their ability allowing them to flourish and become more confident readers. If required children will receive additional support to help them on their journey to becoming a confident reader.
From year 1, reading is also taught via a whole school approach through whole class ‘Exceeding Reading’ sessions where the children work on the following key skills:
Put your finger on it- where the children have the opportunity to develop their retrieval skills
Tell me why- allowing the children to think about why the author has chosen certain words/phrases
Get it, got it, good!- developing the inference skills of the child
Bring down the house- giving the children the opportunity to perform
Have your say so- allowing the children to give their opinions on a wide variety of different text types.
Children are exposed to a varied range of texts at an aspirational level for them to allow them to apply these core skills. Texts are carefully selected to make sure they are engaging and challenging whilst also making links with their non-core topic areas.
These Exceeding Reading lessons sit alongside RIC sessions in which the children use a range of different genres and media to develop their skills of Retrieval, Inference and Choice (RIC). In addition to this, the children have a daily story time session in which they have the opportunity to listen to their teacher read a high quality book of interest.
A daily Everybody Reading In Class (ERIC) session is scheduled, in which children read for pleasure. Not only fostering a love of reading, but also allowing the teacher to read individually with children to further their development and understanding of text structures and authorial tools. This one-to-one time also ensures teacher assessment is well-founded.
Within KS2 the children use Accelerated Reader to quiz on their reading and ensure a depth of understanding and comprehension. This also allows teachers to be sure that the texts the children are accessing are suitably challenging but within their reading ability.
Reading is really at the heart of the curriculum at Willen and we aim to not only develop the mechanics of reading but a love of reading too.
Curriculum Intent- English Writing
At Willen Primary School, we aspire for our pupils to be captivated by the written word.
‘Words are…our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.’ J.K.Rowling
We want our learners to discover the magic of reading and the power they themselves wield as writers with their own words. We seek to transport our pupils on adventures to faraway lands; build empathy with others as they walk in different shoes; and enable their imaginations to flourish.
Intent
English is the heart of our school curriculum. It is a vehicle for creativity, inspiration and success. We believe that all pupils should be able to confidently express their thoughts, emotions and ideas.
Willen Primary School uses Pathways to Write: a ‘proven methodology which develops vocabulary, reading and writing skills through the mastery approach’ (The Literacy Company). Using a ‘mastery approach’ to writing allows for a greater development of vocabulary and spelling. We also intend for our children to be able to independently re-read, revise and edit their writing both during and after the writing process.
Our aims are for all children to have fluent and legible handwriting, taking pride in their work and its presentation. Through regular handwriting lessons taught through Letterjoin, we encourage the use of a cursive handwriting style from Year 2 onwards. (See separate handwriting policy for further details.)
We give our pupils opportunities to write for a variety of purposes and audiences and develop a secure understanding of grammar and punctuation.
Implementation
English writing lessons are taught daily across the school and to the whole class, therefore allowing all children to have access to the age-related skills and knowledge contained in the National Curriculum. Where necessary, teachers make adaptations to enable all children to be able to access the content at a level appropriate to them.
Each class studies a different high-quality text every half term which offers children engaging, yet challenging English lessons. Within each unit of work, children are given the chance to participate in drama, spoken language activities and writing for a variety of purposes.
Opportunities are planned for children to use knowledge from other subjects within their English writing and vice versa. Grammar and Punctuation is taught within English lessons, allowing the children to learn skills in a meaningful manner; however, discreet Grammar and Punctuation lessons are also used to enable the children to hone their skills and understanding.
Children are taught many different ways to learn and practise spelling rules. The emphasis of these sessions is on the application of the spelling rules, rather than just learning them for a test. All children have access to spelling mats and word banks during writing tasks. The class’s working wall is a point of reference to support the enrichment of vocabulary and to display words often misspelt.
Children in KS1 receive daily phonics sessions using RWI.
Teaching and Learning
All classes follow the Pathways to Write scheme of work produced by The Literacy Company. Pathways to Write is designed to equip pupils with key skills to move them through the writing process towards their final outcome. It is built around units of work that follow a mastery approach to the teaching of writing. Clear detailed lesson plans and resources are linked to a high-quality text. Pathways to Write ensures engaging and purposeful English lessons. Each unit covers a range of areas in the national curriculum:
∙ Mastery of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills
∙ Writing a range of genres across a year
∙ Vocabulary development
∙ Using a wider range of reading comprehension strategies as a whole class
∙ Spoken language activities including drama and presentations
∙ Opportunities for practising previously taught genres
∙ An extended, independent piece of writing
The writing process follows three stages:
The Gateway (1-2 lessons)
∙ Begin at the Gateway with a ‘hook’ session to intrigue and enthuse young writers
∙ Use objects, people, images or role-play to stimulate questions about the chosen text
∙ Give pupils the opportunity to predict the text
∙ Establish the purpose and audience of the writing
∙ Revisit previous mastery skills and ongoing skills
The Pathway (10 lessons)
∙ Introduce pupils to three new writing skills from their year group curriculum
∙ Provide opportunities to practise and apply the skill they have learnt through short and extended writing tasks including character descriptions, poetry, dialogue between characters, fact files or diary entries in role
∙ Provide opportunities to re-cap and apply previously taught skills
∙ Challenge greater depth writers through a wider range of tasks e.g. changes to form, viewpoint and audience
Writeaway (4 lessons)
∙ Section and sequence texts independently or collaboratively
∙ Create extended pieces of writing over time
∙ Opportunity to apply mastery skills
∙ Time for planning, writing, checking, editing, redrafting and publishing
∙ A fiction or non-fiction outcome will be written (covering a wide range of genres and themes over the year
Impact
The implementation of the writing journey is well-established and taught thoroughly throughout key stages. This allows our pupils to become confident and creative writers with a secure knowledge of grammar and punctuation skills.
Moderation using the Pathways guidance identifies the progress that is being made across all year groups. Assessment for learning is ongoing and our staff assess attainment regularly, through both formative and summative methods.
The teaching of writing is monitored by leaders through learning walks, book scrutinies and Pupil and Teacher Voice.
Interventions in place to support children to progress in English are tracked by subject leaders, the SENCo and SLT. Intervention groups will change based upon the needs of the learners in the classroom.
Assessment
∙ Lessons include elements of assessment for learning in line with the school marking policy.
∙ Books/ work is marked regularly, and feedback given to the children to inform the next steps and areas of improvement, in line with the school marking policy.
∙ At the start of a unit, pupils are given the opportunity to complete an independent writing task. Class teachers assess the ‘gateway keys’ to ensure that the children are ready to access the new mastery keys for the unit. Opportunities to recap on gateway keys may need to be planned into lessons/ interventions to ensure gaps in learning are addressed.
∙ Pupils are given time to respond to comments/ feedback.
∙ Pupils self-assess their work after each lesson.
∙ Moderation of writing takes place with local schools in the cluster group meetings and in designated staff meetings
∙ In order to assess progress, every half term an independently written task provides evidence which class teachers then use to inform their professional judgements. These are recorded on Target Tracker.
We recognise that AfL lies at the heart of promoting learning and in raising standards of attainment. The assessment procedures within our school encompasses: - responding appropriately to pupils with feedback during daily lessons ∙ assessing children daily against success criteria stickers in children’s books - using knowledge of pupils drawn from our tracking system to guide future planning and teaching SEND Children with SEND are normally taught within the daily English lesson. When additional staff are available to support groups or individual children, they may withdraw children from the 5 classroom. Within the daily English lesson, teachers not only provide activities to support children who find writing difficult, but also provide challenge for children who are high achievers in writing. Equal Opportunities All children should have equal access to Quality First Teaching, irrespective of race, background, gender and capability. In the daily English lesson, we ensure this by supporting children in a variety of ways such as repeating instructions and providing word banks.
