English
Overview
At Maynards Green we understand the positive effect that the successful achievement of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills have on life-long opportunities. We ensure that skills in spoken language, reading and writing are explicitly taught and then are threaded through all other subjects from Foundation Stage through to Year 6.
Reading is central to teaching and learning at Maynards Green. In EYFS and KS1, the rigorous and robust teaching of phonics via Little Wandle, aims to ensure all children have the tools to read at the earliest opportunity; the ability to read is fundamental in accessing the rest of the curriculum. Reading skills are taught daily at designated times, which include inference and deduction, fluency, vocabulary, visualising, predicting and retrieval. These skills are taught in a variety of ways to engage and enthuse the children from extracts from chapter books and non-fiction texts, to film clips and images. We aim to engender a love of reading and a curiosity for learning.
Oracy skills underpin all reading and writing and we aim for children to gain confidence, enjoyment, independence and a clear understanding of their own learning steps. We use exciting, rich stories, often with a familiar setting, high quality information texts and information technology to stimulate the children’s enthusiasm and motivation to learn the important skills of writing to communicate and entertain.
Reading
At Maynards Green, we recognise the importance of reading as a key life skill. Reading opens doors into all aspects of learning and a secure grounding in the skills of decoding, inference, deduction and fluency is vital for progress in all areas. Pupils are encouraged to read a wide range of texts (both fiction and non-fiction) and to become confident, fluent readers, who enjoy exploring the written word. Our intention is that, by the end of KS2, each child will be able to read fluently, for pleasure and have the skills that will support their learning across the curriculum and into the next phase of their education.
Intent
- To teach children to read easily, fluently and with good understanding
- To develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
- To acquire a wide vocabulary (through reading) and an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions
- To teach children the skills of understanding and decoding a wide range of texts including images and films
- To provide children with a consistent phonics approach as a basis for their reading, writing and spelling.
Implementation
- Baseline assessment in EYFS. In addition, Language Lin to be used to support assessment and teaching of early reading skills and comprehension.
- Systematic phonics to be taught in EYFS and KS1 daily using Little Wandle. During these daily lessons, children will have the opportunity to revisit previous learning, practise and apply skills in structured yet engaging ways. Phonics will continue into KS2 on a needs basis. Fidelity to this programme will ensure consistency across the school.
- All year groups engage in whole class teaching of reading to ensure children are exposed to quality and challenging texts. In KS2, once the children are fluent readers, teachers teach whole class guided reading based around exploring and practising the skills of reading. In independent reading time, adults target those children who need extra support with fluency. From Year 2, children will use Accelerated Reader as a basis to select books that provide appropriate levels of challenge.
- Children will be encouraged to read at home and provided with reading diaries for recording.
- Phonics assessments in EYFS and Year 1 will be completed on a tracking grid every term in preparation for the phonics screening.
- STAR assessments will be completed three times each academic year, the results of which will be used to ascertain any gaps in learning and to inform future planning.
- Throughout the school, there will be a designated time for class teachers to read to the class to reinforce the value of reading. This will take place at 3.00 daily and last for 15 minutes.
Impact
Attainment in reading is measured using the statutory assessments at the end of KS1 and KS2. These results are measured against the attainment of children nationally. Attainment of phonics is measured by Phonics Screening Check.
Our aim is that through the teaching of systematic phonics, children will become fluent readers by the end of KS1.
Children will be confident, enthusiastic and motivated readers who enjoy a wide range of literature. Children will have the skills and confidence to decode, infer, reason and understand what they have read, which will have far-reaching benefits across the wider curriculum.
Writing
At Maynards Green we believe that all children have the potential to become great writers, able to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others. Our aim is to inspire a love of writing through exposure to exciting, stimulating texts, resources and visual literacy that ensure the progressive development of knowledge and skills and an appreciation of our rich and varied language heritage.
Intent
- Develop a love of writing and take pride in their accomplishments.
- Acquire a wide vocabulary and understanding of grammar and structure.
- Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style to suit a range of purposes and audiences.
- Recognise the importance of speaking and listening as a key tool for developing writing skills and being able to participate fully as a member of society.
- Develop a stamina for writing that is cohesive and legible.
- Develop the skills of peer and self-assessment to enrich their writing experiences.
Implementation
- Carefully chosen fiction and non-fiction texts, resources and visual literacy that will inspire and engage.
- Developing a competency in phonics, word/spelling structure and handwriting from EYFS onwards.
- In KS1, class teachers plan sequences of lessons that are both achievable yet challenging.
- In lower KS2, class teachers plan sequences of lessons that not only build upon the skills gained in KS1, but encourage stamina, cohesion and exposure to a wide range of genres.
- In upper KS2, class teachers plan sequences of lessons that ensure practise of prior skills, with opportunities for children to make decisions about genre and presentation on occasion.
- Discrete teaching of relevant punctuation and grammar that can be independently embedded in an appropriate weekly writing task.
- Giving children the time to plan, draft, edit and improve their writing.
- Providing immediate feedback and guidance to move writing on.
- Discrete spelling and handwriting sessions.
Impact
- More children will achieve age related expectations and reach their full potential at the end of their cohort year.
- Children will have solid foundations on which to build as writers.
- Evidence of work will show a balance of fiction and non-fiction writing using a variety of stimuli.
- High expectation that writing books will set the standard for quality across all other topics.
- Children will develop a keen interest in writing and will understand the impact that it has on their present and future.