English

Writing

Intent 

At Warley Primary School, we believe that all pupils should be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing. Quality texts lie at the heart of our curriculum and we believe that being immersed in quality literature will enable the children to become skilled and confident writers. The wide variety of texts we use across each year group not only underpin children’s learning in reading, writing, speaking and listening, but enhance and underpin learning across the wider curriculum. We want pupils to acquire a wide vocabulary through immersive experiences, high expectations and a literature rich environment. Children should have a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn throughout their time in primary school. We want them to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. We believe that all pupils should be encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their writing, in part by developing a good, joined, handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school. We believe that all good writers refine and edit their writing over time, so we want children to develop independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvement in all pieces of writing, editing their work effectively during and after the writing process. We do not put ceilings on what pupils can achieve in writing and we do not hold pre-conceptions about any pupils’ ability to make progress. Our curriculum has been designed to meet the needs and interests of our children, enthuse and excite them as well as providing opportunities to expand their general knowledge and prepare them for life in modern Britain and the wider world.

Implementation

Classroom organisation: We teach English as whole class lessons, so that all children have access to the age-related skills and knowledge contained in the National Curriculum. Within lessons, teachers and teaching assistants target support for all groups of learners to enable them to achieve at an age-related level wherever possible. This may involve a greater level of scaffolding and access to additional support materials such as writing toolkits, word banks, drama, embedded ICT or a greater level of modelling. More able pupils are given opportunities to extend their writing in a variety of ways, including through showing greater control in their writing, a deeper understanding of the impact that their writing has on the reader and by using a higher level of vocabulary and grammatical features.

Spellings: Spellings are taught according to the rules and words contained in Appendix 1 of the English National Curriculum. From Year 2 and upwards, we follow the Read, Write Inc. scheme to teach spelling patterns and rules. These sessions are taught daily and link to weekly spellings. Children are given spellings to learn each week and are given a spelling test the following week. In KS1, these spellings are linked with the current phonics taught each week. When writing, children are encouraged to use spelling patterns that they have been learning to bring about increased accuracy in their spelling.

Grammar and Punctuation: Grammar and punctuation knowledge and skills are explicitly taught at the beginning of each lesson and are reinforced in context throughout the lesson.  Throughout each half term, teachers also focus on particular grammar and punctuation skills as stand-alone lessons, when they feel that the class need to embed and develop their understanding or to consolidate skills. Handwriting lessons are taught alongside this at regular intervals.

English Lesson Sequence: We begin each topic by immersing the children in a particular setting that corresponds with their core text for that term. This allows for improved vocabulary generation, real life experience and generates enthusiasm – all essential components for high quality writing. We then move on to analyse model texts, exposing children to high quality models that serve as a basis for their own writing and allows the children to learn about a specific genre of writing, explore features and up-level writing. Finally, we move on to planning, writing and editing. In half term one, two and four, children will produce three ‘Big Writes’. In half term three, five and six, they will produce two. In half term four, one of these Big Writes will be from another area of the curriculum. This allows for cross-curricular use of skills and ensures coverage of a range of genres each year. These big writes are used to assess the pupil’s skills against the agreed success criteria. Teachers have autonomy to adapt and adjust planning to meet the needs of individual classes and learners.

Feedback: Feedback and marking for Big Writes should be completed, where possible, within the lesson. All marking and feedback is given in line with our marking and feedback policy. Both pupils and teachers assess the writing against success criteria provided at the beginning of the writing task.

Summative Assessment: Summative assessments will be entered into Target Tracker termly. Teachers will use their professional judgement to determine whether a child is working within age-related expectations, above or below. They will base their judgements on the quality of the Big Write, as well as build up work produced during each unit.

Please find our Reading Progression Overview here: Reading Progression Map

Please find our Writing Progression Overview here: Writing Progression Map

Impact 

• Pupils will enjoy writing across a range of genres
• Pupils will be engaged and enthusiastic in lessons due to the variety of interactive activities, working collaboratively with their peers
• Pupils will also be given opportunities to work independently on their own writing
• Pupils of all abilities will be able to succeed in all English lessons because work will be appropriately differentiated
• 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
• Teachers feel confident in teaching of Writing and the Literacy coordinator ensures coverage and progression across all year groups
• Parents and carers will have a good understanding of how they can support spelling, grammar and composition and home, and contribute regularly to homework
• The % of pupils working at ARE within each year group will be at least in line and ideally above national averages.
• The % of pupils working at Greater Depth within each year group will be at least in line and ideally above national averages
• The will be no significant gaps in the progress of different groups of pupils (e.g. disadvantaged vs non-disadvantaged)

Reading

Intent 

At Warley Primary, we believe that all pupils should have the opportunity to be fluent, confident readers who are able to successfully comprehend and understand a wide range of texts. We want pupils to develop a love of reading, a good knowledge of a range of authors, and be able to understand more about the world in which they live through the knowledge they gain from texts. By the end of their time at primary school, all children should be able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education. We do not put a limit on what pupils can achieve in reading and we do not hold pre-conceptions about any pupils’ ability to make progress. We understand the importance of parents and carers in supporting their children to develop both word reading and comprehension skills, and so we want to encourage a home-school partnership which enables parents and carers to understand how to enhance the skills being taught in school through good quality texts. Through reading opportunities offered, we allow children to be given equal opportunities, exposure to genres and a wide and high level of vocabulary.

Implementation 

Classroom organisation: We teach phonics and reading skills as whole class sessions, so that all children have access to the age-related skills and knowledge contained in the National Curriculum. Within lessons, teachers and teaching assistants target support for learners of all abilities to enable them to achieve at an age-related level wherever possible. More confident pupils are also given opportunities to demonstrate a greater depth of understanding through extended answers, targeted questioning requiring more reasoned answers and making greater links across and between texts.

Phonics: Early Years and Key Stage 1: In EYFS, Pupils are taught as a whole class, focussing on individual sounds, groups of sounds and HRS (Harder to Read and Spell words) within different ‘phases’. We use an SSP called ELS to deliver Phonics and the associated interventions. Children requiring more support are given additional help from teachers and teaching assistants, either within the whole class lesson or as part of planned interventions that take place in addition to the lesson. During the Summer Term in Year 1, pupils undertake a Phonics Screening Check which assesses their ability to apply what they have learnt. After this, lessons move towards whole class reading lessons that take the same model as Years 2 to 6. Pupils who do not pass their Phonics Screening Check continue to have intervention to support the acquisition of these key skills.

Whole school Reading Scheme: We have a whole school reading scheme (Decodable Readers for KS1 and Collins Big Cats for KS2) that ensures progression in both word reading skills and comprehension. The scheme is structured to ensure that children have access to a wide range of texts from different genres (both fiction and non-fiction), and allows for pupils to develop their skills within a level before moving to the next level, whilst also widening their general knowledge. All pupils have a home-reading record which they are encouraged to take home daily. Parents and carers are asked to add comments to the home-reading records to indicate how much pupils have read. We operate a weekly reading incentive scheme to encourage regular reading at home.

Whole class guided reading: All children from Years 1-6 take part in a weekly class guided reading session.  Additionally, there is a short session every day where teachers 'build-up' to the longer Guided Reading session. These sessions all follow a similar format. Teachers either select a shorter weekly text or work through a whole book, covering a new chapter each week. The aim is to expose the children to a range of genres, both fiction and non-fiction. The teacher will initially read a section of the text for the children to follow along with. Then, the whole class will read together, followed by children reading parts individually. The class will then complete a set of targeted questions to check for understanding based around our 7 reading domains. Following on from this, the teacher will then work with a group of children each week on a specific task linking to the text, allowing them to develop their reading and inference skills further. Unlike individual reading books where children work through a book band according to ability, there is only one guided reading text that is shared with all children in the class. All pupils are expected to listen, read through and complete the questions or task set.

Class Library Trolleys: Each classroom contains a newly resourced Class Library Trolley within their Reading Corner.  The trolleys contain a wide variety of texts which have been specifically chosen for each year group.  Children have continuous access to these trolleys to allow them to independently choose books that they would like to read for pleasure, alongside their reading scheme book.  These books can be read in school or at home with a parent or carer.

Class Novel: All classes will have a carefully selected novel at all times throughout the year.  The novel may be chosen by the teacher for a particular purpose, or selection may be based upon the children's preferences or interests.  All children will have the opportunity to listen to their teacher read on a daily basis and the novel will allow for discussion using our agreed reading domains.

Love of Reading: Our Love of Reading coordinator has a special and very important role in school.  It is important that reading is promoted fully to encourage children to develop a life-long love of books.  Throughout the year, the LoR Coordinator will run events, promotions and competitions to encourage reading and the exploration of texts and authors.  Additionally, the LoR coordinator will ensure that the school environment is rich with opportunities to engage pupils and encourage reading at every opportunity.  

Impact

• Pupils will have a passion for reading across a range of genres and will be enthusiastic reading new books
• Pupils will have equal opportunities and access to a vast range of books
• Pupils will be successful adults in the wider world, as reading opens up a world of opportunity
• Pupils of all abilities will be able to succeed in all reading lessons
• Pupils will use a range of strategies for decoding words, not solely relying on phonics
• Pupils will have a good knowledge of a range of authors
• Pupils will be ready to read in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education
• Parents and carers will have a good understanding of how they can support reading and home, and contribute regularly to home-school records
• The % of pupils working at ARE within each year group will be at least in line and ideally above national averages.
• The % of pupils working at Greater Depth within each year group will be at least in line and ideally above national averages
• The will be no significant gaps in the progress of different groups of pupils (e.g. disadvantaged vs non-disadvantaged)