Aims

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.

The following information details how this overarching aim is achieved through the teaching of Reading and Writing here at Grafton Primary School.

Reading

At Grafton we want to create a world where your child is reading their way to a better life. But don’t take our word for it. Research shows that reading for pleasure can promote better health and wellbeing, aids in building social connections and relationships with others. 

Reading aims

Through reading, in our school, we aim to:

Develop pupils’ language and vocabulary in order to support their reading and writing.

• Support pupils to develop fluent reading capabilities through the use of a balanced and engaging whole school approach to developing reading, which integrates both decoding and comprehension skills.
  
• Teach word reading skills through effectively implemented strategies and a systematic phonics programme
• Teach reading comprehension skills and strategies through modelling and supported practice.
• Accurately assess pupil’s needs, to support and challenge, with high expectations for all.
• Use high-quality structured interventions to help pupils who are struggling with their reading.
• Embed a culture of reading for pleasure both at home and in school.
• Expose children to literature that reflects our wider community.
• Develop effective partnerships with parents and carers that allow them to support their child with reading.

The information below explains how Reading is taught in each of the school phases.

Early Years

• Whole class enjoyment of books making links to sounds and letters
• Text rich provision areas to promote rich vocabulary and talk to ignite their interests
• Children enjoy reading showing an awareness of vocabulary, rhymes and different text genres
• Small group work to discuss books, poems and other texts
• Pupils are heard reading 1:1 at least once per day or as targeted intervention and pupils have daily phonics sessions

KS1 (Guided Reading)

Teacher-Led Group Reading

• Adult-led reading focuses upon teaching children how to progress from their current reading level to the next.
• The teacher chooses a book or text that the children are able to read without too much difficulty (90 – 94%).
• There is a clear teaching focus for the session based upon the national curriculum domains and the children’s next steps.
• This focus and any questions are shared with the children so that they know what they are learning.
• Teachers plan activities and targeted questions using reading structures
• The children read independently and in pairs during the group session
• There is a balance of teacher and child talk – with the teacher prompting, questioning and facilitating discussion rather than dominating.

KS2 (Whole-Class)

From Autumn 2 in KS2, reading lessons are planned using whole-class texts. These lessons provide opportunities for pupils to develop and imbue their understanding of the strategies taught in Autumn 1. 

When planning these lessons, teachers consider the following:

• Whole class teacher-led reading lessons are most effective when there are sufficient copies of the text for one book per pair or one text per child.
• Care is given to choose the right texts. This might be an excerpt from a novel, a stand-alone short story, book review, information text etc. The pitch of the text is typically higher than what pupils would be able to read independently.
• In most cases a single text lasts 3-6 weeks, allowing for plenty of time to explore the plot of the story and the characters involved.
• In most cases there will be at least one outcome per session either a drawing, piece of writing, role play etc. This may not always be possible depending on the text.

Content Domains

Before teaching from any text, teachers explicitly teach the various reading content domains.

KS1 Reading Content Domain reference:

• 1a draw on knowledge of vocabulary to understand texts
• 1b identify / explain key aspects of fiction and non-fiction texts, such as characters, events, titles and information
• 1c identify and explain the sequence of events in texts
• 1d make inferences from the text
• 1e predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far

KS2 Reading Content Domain reference:

• 2a give / explain the meaning of words in context
• 2b retrieve and record information / identify key details from fiction and non-fiction
• 2c summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph
• 2d make inferences from the text / explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text
• 2e predict what might happen from details stated and implied
• 2f identify / explain how information / narrative content is related and contributes to meaning as a whole
• 2g identify / explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases
• 2h make comparisons within the text

Writing

At Grafton Primary School, we strongly believe that English is a significant life skill that is essential to participating fully in society. We aim to develop the abilities of all children in our school to communicate their ideas effectively through spoken and written writing. 

Writing aims

We aim to develop the following in all children: 

• a strong command of written and spoken English;
• a strong awareness of audience and the ability to adapt their language and style for different purposes; 
• an interest in words and their meanings; 
• a good understanding of grammar and punctuation and how to apply these in their own writing; 
• a fluent handwriting style; 
• the confidence to produce high quality writing; 
• the powers of imagination and creativity. 

• To achieve this, we:
• provide a language rich environment;
• develop a love of books;
• teach the basic skills of writing – spelling, handwriting, grammar and punctuation – so that children can then focus on content and creativity in their writing; 
• promote confidence in children to express their views and opinions both orally and in writing; 
• identify pupils who require additional support and intervene at an early stage. 

The information below explains how writing is taught progressively at Grafton through the key stages.

Mark making

The process of learning to write begins in the Early Years Foundation Stage before children are physically able to write. Teachers in the EYFS provide a rich play-based learning environment where children represent their thoughts and feelings in different ways. As children begin to understand that ‘marks’ can have meaning, they become more purposeful in their own ‘mark making’. Adults in Early Years underpin this process, from initial mark making to writing words and sentences, with high quality talk. 

Text Selection

At Grafton, the teaching of writing is underpinned by high quality texts. Children are exposed to quality texts which will engage them whilst exposing them to vocabulary and language structures which will enable them to develop their own skills as a writer. The texts are chosen to reflect the diversity of children within the Grafton community. The attached grid shows the diversity of texts used at Grafton.

Three-phase approach to writing

The children are taught a wide range of genres within Fiction, Non-Fiction and Poetry. We encourage teachers to use creative and engaging teaching strategies, including drama, role-play, hot-seating, freeze framing, story mapping. Our aim is for pupils to develop a high level of oracy to support their writing. 

At Grafton, each writing unit is planned based on a three-phase approach.

The unit starts with the children being ‘hooked’ into the text through immersive experiences. Phase 2 includes a series of lessons with explicit teaching of the grammar skills needed to write effectively in the chosen genre. In the production phase, children rewrite their piece, including revisions they have made during the editing process. 

With editing and improvement, the children publish their writing which might include a class book, journal, a poem for a school display, presentation for an assembly or writing for the school website.

Grafton children are taught handwriting, and spelling rules as well as a daily Literacy lesson.

Wider opportunities for Writing

Opportunities are provided for children to develop their creative writing skills outside of lessons. This includes Rights Respecting Ambassadors writing and presenting assemblies, children attending Writing workshops and participating in writing competitions.         

Phonics and Reading Schemes

At Grafton, Phonics is taught daily in EYFS and KS1. We, as a school, previously followed the Letters and Sounds scheme of work but are now embedding ‘Little Wandle’ Revised Letters and Sounds, which is a Department for Education approved Phonics Programme. It aims to build children's speaking and listening skills in their own right, as well as to prepare children for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. It sets out a detailed and systematic programme for teaching phonic skills for children to build their phonic knowledge and become fluent readers.
The Little Wandle Revised Letters and Sounds scheme is split into 5 phases, where teachers focus on teaching new phonemes, which the children will use to help them blend and segment. They will also be taught sight words, prefixes and suffixes to support them with their reading and writing. 

The scheme is planned in six week blocks and lessons are taught daily. The children learn new phonemes, where they will have opportunities to segment and blend new words in the first five weeks, then the sixth week is an assessment week. There are five phases, starting with Phase 1 in Nursery, Phases 2, 3 & 4 in Reception, then in Year 1, the children recap Phases 2-4 in Autumn term, then they move onto Phase 5. The lessons last for approximately twenty minutes and are designed to be fun, fast and memorable. The children revisit what they already know, learn a new skill and apply their new knowledge.

How to Help at Home

 We expect all of our children to read to an adult at home every day. Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a vital impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home. There are two types of reading book that your child will bring home in the early stages of learning to read:

A reading practice book/e-book – This will be at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently.

A library book – Your child will not be able to read this on their own. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together.

Reading practice book

This book has been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading the book, without needing help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading. Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise – celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.

Library book

In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The library book is a book they have chosen for you to enjoy together. Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!

NURSERY

RECEPTION

YEAR 1

YEAR 2

YEAR 3

YEAR 4

YEAR 5

YEAR 6