At St George’s, we aim for all our pupils to be confident readers, writers, spellers and speakers by the time they leave our school. We endeavour to provide pupils with an abundance of opportunities to develop these skills to a high level, which will enable them to successfully communicate in a wide range of contexts, preparing them for the next steps in their education and beyond. We aim to develop and extend our pupils’ vocabulary so that they can articulate their thoughts effectively, and to provide them with the tools required to successfully understand and interpret language in a range of settings.
Our English curriculum is based on the National Curriculum, which is the basis for all of our programmes of study in reading, writing, speaking and listening across school.
English programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Phonics
We currently teach phonics and early reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Nursery and follow the scheme’s progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.
In Nursery, we focus on developing an awareness of sound, through activities that develop focused listening and attention, including oral blending. This ensures that children are well prepared to begin grapheme–phoneme correspondences (GPCs) and blending at the start of Reception. We provide a balance of child-led and adult-led experiences for all children that meet the curriculum expectations for ‘Communication and language’ and ‘Literacy’.
In Reception, the children are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2 and 3 GPCs and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) with fluency and accuracy. The children have daily phonics sessions (lasting up to 20 minutes) in classes and are given regular opportunities throughout the school day to apply their phonic knowledge.
In Year 1, we teach phonics for 30 minutes a day. The children begin by reviewing Phase 3 and 4 and are then taught to read and spell words using Phase 5 GPCs with fluency and accuracy.
In Reception and Year One, any child who needs additional practice has daily keep-up support which addresses any gaps that have been identified by the teacher during the phonics session.
We also timetable regular phonics lessons for any child in Year 2 or above who is not fully fluent at reading or has not passed the Phonics Screening Check. We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessments to identify the gaps in their phonic knowledge and teach to these using the Rapid Catch-Up resources – at pace.
Assessment in Phonics
Assessment is used to monitor progress and to identify any child needing additional support as soon as they need it.
The teachers use daily assessment within class to identify children needing keep-up support so that they can address any gaps immediately and secure fluency of Grapheme Phoneme Correspondences (GPCs), words and spellings.
Children are assessed formally at the end of each phase or every six weeks to measure progress, to identify gaps in learning that need to be addressed, to identify any children needing additional support and to plan the keep-up support that they need.
Statutory Assessment
The children in Year 1 will sit the Phonics Screening Check. Any child not passing the check will retake the screening in Year 2.
Reading Practice Sessions
In addition to phonics, the children in Reception and Year 1 receive three reading practice sessions a week. During these sessions, we use books matched to the children’s secure phonic knowledge. Each reading practice session has a clear aim and focusses around one of the three key reading skills:
o decoding
o prosody: teaching children to read with understanding and expression
o comprehension: teaching children to understand the text.
Once these sessions have taken place, the decodable reading practice book is taken home so that the children can share their successes with their family and to develop their fluency and confidence in reading.
All children are provided with a Phonics Bug log-in which enables them to practise their phonics, as well as to read further books online in a fun, interactive way.
Foundation Stage
Speaking and Listening
Speaking and Listening is a prime area of focus during the children’s time in our Foundation Stage. All our topic books are literacy rich texts that we have chosen carefully to extend our children’s vocabulary. We encourage the children to engage in purposeful dialogue with both their peers and other adults during activity times e.g. role play, collaborative construction work, creative tasks.
We improve our speaking and listening skills in the Foundation Stage by learning nursery rhymes and songs, retelling stories and sharing our opinions on texts.
If children need extra support with their receptive and expressive language, we have a variety of interventions that we can offer to help them develop their abilities in this key area.
Reading
Throughout Foundation Stage, we have regular planned activities to develop children’s love and enjoyment of stories and reading. We have story time each day where the children can listen to and enjoy a wide range of stories and express their preferences.
The children in Nursery and Reception take part in regular reading practise sessions with an adult where they all share the same book, talk about the story and read the text.
Home Reading
In Nursery, children take home a reading book for pleasure each week. Within class, pupils join in with regular story, song, rhyme and poem times to develop a love for speaking, listening, books and storytelling.
In Reception, once they have acquired the key skill of blending, children are given a phonically decodable book matched to the sounds that they are secure with. This is changed once a week by an adult. Additionally, they also take home a reading book for pleasure which is changed independently by the child.
Writing
In Nursery, the children have a daily ‘Squiggle While You Wiggle’ or ‘Dough Disco’ session. Squiggle While You Wiggle uses dance and large movements to develop motor control. Dough Disco uses play dough to develop strength in the hands, ready for pencil control. These lead directly onto handwriting sessions in Reception which focuses on the actual writing of letters using the Little Wandle Handwriting mantras. Throughout the day, children are given regular opportunities to practise their writing skills in meaningful contexts.
Key Stage 1
Our Literacy curriculum is designed to suit the needs of our children. It is formed using a topic or book-based focus, whilst also ensuring we cover all aspects of the National Curriculum. This means our children are provided with purposeful, meaningful literacy sessions which provide them with a solid understanding of the mechanics of speaking and listening, reading and writing.
Speaking and listening
Speaking and listening features extensively in both our literacy lessons and other curriculum areas. We promote the development and extension of children’s spoken vocabulary which, as well as giving them the tools to articulate themselves effectively, builds their understanding of written text and their written language skills. Children across Key Stage 1 are given opportunities to take part in role-play, participate in debates and learn and perform texts. This helps them to build self-confidence and effective communication skills.
Reading
Reading makes up a large proportion of our Literacy curriculum and we value its vital importance as a vehicle for children’s learning across the curriculum. It develops children’s imagination, concentration and expands their vocabulary. Thus, in Key Stage 1, we present children with a vast range of opportunities to read and immerse them in books throughout the school day.
We recognise the significance of promoting a love of reading. All year groups have an inviting and welcoming book corner which provide children with a vast selection of fiction and non-fiction books, from a variety of authors, to read within school at their leisure. Pupils enjoy a variety of books throughout Key Stage 1 which are read daily to them by a teacher. Children develop their reading comprehension with focussed reading comprehension lessons, which target different reading skills and take part in small group guided reading sessions with their class teacher.
Where appropriate, we encourage children in Year 2 to change their books independently. Reading at home has huge benefits, and we encourage children to read at home with an adult as much as possible. We celebrate reading each week with our ‘Reader of the Week’ award in every class.
Writing, Spelling and Grammar
Children in Key Stage 1 are encouraged to be confident, creative and accurate writers. We teach children the foundations of writing within Literacy lessons and also throughout the day during other curriculum lessons. All children are provided with a Spelling Shed log-in which provides children with an opportunity at home to extend their learning through interactive games.
Pupils are exposed to a wide range of different text types and genres to help them understand different forms of writing. We provide children with creative, imaginative and purposeful stimulus for their own writing. Children in Year 1 and 2 have regular handwriting sessions; by the end of Key Stage 1 we aim for children to be beginning to join their writing.
Key Stage 2
In Key Stage 2, we aim to build on and further develop the skills that have been taught in speaking and listening, reading and writing during Key Stage 1. We want our children to leave our school equipped with the Literacy skills required to succeed in secondary school and beyond.
Learning in Literacy is linked to other areas of the curriculum whenever possible to provide children with meaningful contexts. We follow the National Curriculum and adapt resources from a wide range of sources to suit the needs of our children. In Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 children are taught in three sets; these are organised according to ability, to give the children the best opportunity to reach their potential.
Children at St George’s relish the wide range of writing opportunities offered to them, developing and embedding their writing skills across a wide range of genres.
Please see below for an example of the steps of progression that we have in place for Narrative writing.
Narrative Progression
Speaking and Listening
We aim to develop and build on children’s speaking and listening skills both during Literacy lessons and within the wider curriculum. Children are provided with a range of situations in which to improve and foster their oracy skills: these include debate, role-play, presentations and performing poetry.
Reading
Reading is an integral part of the Literacy curriculum. Every day, children are exposed to a wide range of high-quality texts during a range of reading activities including whole-class reading lessons, guided reading, class novels and reading within other curriculum areas. During each of these reading activities, learning is focused upon the five domains of reading: Prediction, Sequencing, Retrieval, Vocabulary and Inference.
As well as whole class reading lessons, children read at least once a week with an adult as part of a guided reading group. Each year group has a termly class novel, which the children enjoy reading together on a daily basis. Children requiring extra support with their reading have additional reading sessions with an adult. Children who need extra phonics support in Key Stage 2 will continue to receive daily intervention through the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.
In Key Stage 2, the children’s love of reading continues to be fostered and promoted. Children are encouraged to discuss their reading preferences and recommendations, and each week, we celebrate ‘Reader of the Week’.
Every year group has an inviting reading corner, where children can enjoy reading for pleasure. Children in each year group are invited to take part in lunchtime Reading Clubs, where they are able to share and discuss their books.
Home Reading
Children in Key Stage 2 continue to follow the Oxford Reading Tree scheme until they have the reading skills, level of understanding and comprehension abilities required to become a Free Reader. Pupils are then provided with a book list which suggests authors and books for the children to read. They are also guided by their teacher in their choice of books. Children in Key Stage 2 are encouraged to read at home 5 times a week, or the equivalent number of pages.
Writing, Spelling and Grammar
Spelling, handwriting and grammar skills are taught discretely as distinct parts of Literacy lessons. Additionally, these skills are taught alongside other parts of the Literacy lesson which focus upon reading or writing. Children are given weekly spellings, taken from the National Curriculum, to learn and practise at home; they also practise these daily as part of their Literacy lesson.
In Key Stage 2, children are taught to write in a variety of styles and genres. Wherever possible, links between other topics and curriculum areas are made. This provides children with meaningful and purposeful opportunities for writing. Links are made between reading and writing; spelling, punctuation and grammar skills are also reinforced and applied during writing lessons. A wide variety of stimuli are used as a starting point for writing, and children are encouraged to develop their own writing style.
Children’s work is recorded in a variety of ways, including Literacy books, I.C.T., handwriting books, spelling books, reading diaries and displays. Children access Spelling Shed and Purple Mash on laptops during Literacy lessons and are provided with personalised log-ins so that they are also able to access these platforms at home.
Literacy Events and Extra-Curricular Activities
To promote the children’s love of reading, we regularly organise Literacy Events which take place both in school and at home. Previous events have included: World Book Day, Inter-School Spelling Bee, Book Week (with a whole-school focus on a single text); Sponsored Reads, Author Focus Week, Year Group Spelling Bees and Pyjama-Rama Day. We have had visits from authors, storytellers, and theatre companies to provide the children with a wealth of experiences. Additionally, in school we celebrate reading with ‘Reader of the Week’, reading clubs and playtime reading sheds, which are run by our Year 6 reading monitors.
Reading Domains
In Key Stage One and Key Stage Two, reading comprehension lessons are based upon five key reading domains: Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Sequencing and Retrieval. All reading comprehension and guided reading sessions focus on these skills.
Literacy Overview
To find out more about what your child is learning in Literacy, please see the whole school planning below.
Inclusion
St George’s is an inclusive school and in Literacy we strive to provide a curriculum for personalised learning. We aim for all children, regardless of background, to reach at least national expectation. In order for all of our children to achieve their full potential, we use adaptive teaching approaches to provide carefully-planned support and interventions to ensure that children make the very best progress that they can; this includes interventions for EAL learners, children with SEND and children who are more and most able. Provisions are made for children who require extra support through targeted teaching, intervention programmes, teaching assistant support and differentiated class teaching. We ensure that all children, regardless of ability or background, are challenged in their learning to support them to achieve their absolute best.
Assessment
In all year groups, children’s understanding is continuously assessed to inform planning. Assessment in EYFS is an ongoing process throughout the year, which informs the children’s next steps. Reception teachers constantly track children’s letter recognition, sound recognition, segmenting and blending. Children are also assessed at the end of each half term.
In Years 1 to 6, writing, reading, spelling and grammar are assessed formatively throughout the year during daily Literacy lessons. All children complete self-assessments of their work on a daily basis, referring to the success criteria of the lesson. Summative assessments take place at the beginning of September, the beginning of February and at the beginning of July. Children’s reading ages are also assessed at these times.
Statutory assessment takes place in Year 6 and results are reported to parents, governors and the LEA. Phonics Screening is undertaken in Year 1 to assess children’s phonics knowledge. Those children who do not reach the expected standard in the Phonic Screen at the end of Year 1 will complete the assessment again at the end of Year 2, following targeted interventions during Year 2 to help them successfully achieve this.
Optional tests are used in years 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
St George’s Literacy Policies
Literacy Policy 2024
Phonics and Early Reading Policy January 2024