English Intent:

At Freeland Primary School we believe that a quality Literacy curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to inspire an appreciation and enthusiasm for reading and a habit of reading widely and often. We nurture a culture where children take pride in their writing and are able to adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning.
We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills will give our pupils the tools they need to succeed and be the best they can be.

Implementation:

Reading:

Our main aim is for children to develop a love of reading and teach them the skills needed to be able to read independently. Reading is taught on a daily basis with a focus on whole class guided reading from Year 2, using VIPERS style questioning. In Foundation stage and Year 1, 3 reading sessions are planned and taught using ‘Little Wandle’ decodable books focussing on decoding, prosody and reading comprehension.

To develop children’s reading skills in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 we use popular and well-established reading scheme books, which provide the children with reading material that is pitched at exactly the right level. ‘Little Wandle Big Cat’ books are used as the ‘core resource’ in KS1, which is supplemented with books from other schemes in order to provide an extensive library of books at every stage, to ensure children have a broad and rich reading experience.

Whole Class Guided Reading:

Guided Reading is taught daily from Year 2. Relevant and rich texts are chosen to suit each year group and topic focus. The texts are shared as a class followed by discussion generated by one of the following areas: vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, and summary. Guided Reading books are used to record discussion points structured by questions.

Daily Reading:

Reading forms the main part of our children’s homework and there is an expectation that children read on a daily basis. Children from Foundation stage to Year 5 have a reading diary which maintains a home/school record. Children complete the diary every time they read at home and at school. From year 4, children are expected to independently manage their reading so that they take ownership and further embed the love of reading. In Year 6 the children are allocated time to write down what they have read over the week to share with their class teacher.

Children are read to by adults using a class story every day and we encourage this to be mirrored at home so that all children are read with regularly and given the opportunity to question.

We encourage the excitement around books by having an annual book fair, celebrating book week, taking part in world book day, bedtime stories event and inviting authors in to talk to and inspire the children.

Speaking and Listening:

Children are given the opportunity for speaking and listening across the curriculum and a drama lesson is planned and taught every other week to enhance the children’s knowledge and writing. Further opportunities are provided through debates, school productions, church services and celebration of learning events.

Handwriting:

We follow the ‘continuous cursive’ style of handwriting and ink pens are used by children from Year 3. In Foundation Stage, frequent opportunities are provided for child- initiated writing. Correct letter formation is taught using the ‘Little Wandle’ writing patter. These are established within a rich and stimulating play- based learning environment. Alongside this, short, focused, whole class handwriting sessions take place throughout the week.

In Year 1, three 15-minute handwriting sessions are taught per week, focusing on correct letter formation using Little Wandle. Print is used until the teacher feels that the child’s fine motor skills have developed enough to progress with continuous cursive handwriting, however all writing modelled by the teacher is written in cursive. 2 handwriting sessions are planned weekly from Years 2 to 5 which follow the school’s handwriting policy. In Golden Eagles, teacher judgement should be used for handwriting lessons and interventions should be used for those who need it. Children use a handwriting book for handwriting lessons and transfer of skills is expected across the curriculum.

Spelling:

Teachers use ‘Spelling Shed’ ensure spelling rules are taught in the appropriate year group which follows the National Curriculum. In addition to this, the children also learn key word lists as stated in the National Curriculum. In foundation stage spelling is taught through phonics. In KS1 and KS2 one spelling lesson a week is taught using ‘Spelling Shed’ and there are opportunities for spelling practice throughout the week. A spelling test is provided at the end of the week to ensure the children have learned the spelling rule. Spelling books are used for the children to refer to in other literacy lessons.

Writing:

Across the school, all children learn the grammar, punctuation and spelling skills needed to write in a variety of different genres. Our writing curriculum is based on a 2-week structure which provides the relevant skills for the children in Year 1-6 to confidently write an extended piece based around a high-quality text. The piece of writing is planned, written, and edited to ensure the children feel proud of their work. Children are taught to write for an audience and with purpose and a wide range of genres are planned across the term, linked to each topic. Teachers engage the children through topic links, experiences and school trips, rich texts, film, and drama.

What is the impact of our teaching?

Through the teaching of English we aim for our children to:

• Enjoy writing across a range of genres

• Maintain a love of reading

• Pupils of all abilities will be able to succeed in all English lessons because work will be appropriately scaffolded

• Pupils will have a wide vocabulary that they use within their writing

• Pupils will have a good knowledge of how to adapt their writing based on the context and audience

• Pupils will leave primary school being able to effectively apply spelling rules and patterns they have been taught

• Parents and carers will have a good understanding of how they can support their child with reading and writing

• The % of pupils working at ARE within each year group will be at least in line with national averages

• The % of pupils working at Greater Depth within each year group will be at least in line with national averages

Timetabling (per day unless noted)
READING (incl PHONICS)
FS	Individual Reading (1:1 weekly) Phonics (daily in a group) Guided Reading (in a group) Read aloud to (whole class) Teacher to sign reading diary at least weekly	5/10 mins per child 20 mins per group 20 mins 3x per week 10 mins daily
KS1	Individual Reading (1:1 weekly) Phonics (daily in a group) Little Wandle Reading Sessions Read aloud to (daily whole class) Teacher to sign reading diary at least weekly	5/10 mins per child 20 mins per group 20 mins 3x per week 10 mins daily
KS2	Individual Reading (1:1 weekly) Whole Class Guided Reading Read aloud to (daily whole class) Teacher to sign reading diary at least weekly	5/10 mins per child 30 mins daily 15/20 mins per day
WRITING
FS	Teaching Phonics Handwriting	20 mins daily 5/10 mins per day
KS1	Teaching English Handwriting Short burst writing Extended writing	5 hours per week 3 x15 mins per week 30 mins per week 50 mins per week
KS2	Teaching English Handwriting Short burst writing Extended writing	1 hour per day 20 mins x2 per week 30 mins per week 1 hour per week
SPEAKING AND LISTENING
FS	Communication and Language
KS1	Discussion Time (10 minutes daily) Drama lesson 1 hour every 2 weeks	50 mins per week 1 hr Week 2
KS2	Discussion Time (10 minutes daily) Drama lesson 1 hour every 2 weeks	50 mins per week 1 hr Week 2

English Musts

• English Musts 2022

Spelling

• Spelling Shed Planning

• Spelling Games

Common Exception Words

• Year 5 and 6 Common Exception words
• Year 3 and 4 Common Exception words
• Year 2 Common Exception words
• Year 1 Common Exception words

Statutory Spelling Lists

• Year 3 and 4 Statutory Spellings
• New Curriculum Spellings Year 1 and 2
• Year 5 and 6 Statutory Spellings
• High Frequency Words Year 1 and 2

Handwriting

• Handwriting policy

Phonics Provision - Little Wandle

• Phonics and Early Reading Policy
• How we teach phonics at FPS
• Programme Overview- Progression
• Glossary of Terminology- Phonics

For support on phonics and reading- please follow the page below.

• Helping your child with Reading and Phonics

Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 1 

Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 2

Phase 3 sounds taught in Reception Spring 1

How we teach blending