English
Reading
Reading Intent
Here at West Leigh Infant School, we want children to establish an appreciation and love of reading at all stages of their learning journey. We are committed to sharing high quality and vocabulary rich texts across the curriculum so that children may develop knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live. We encourage our pupils to discover new information and develop their comprehension skills by reading widely using both fiction and non-fiction texts which (where possible) are linked to their topics across the curriculum. We are lucky to have a wide range of books in school and class teachers select books to read aloud based on recommended texts, personal choices or suggestions from pupils. By the time our pupils leave West Leigh, we envisage that they will be competent readers who can recommend books to their peers, seek out books from a range of different genres including poetry and engage in discussion about authorial choices or impact on the reader. Once our pupils have unlocked the key to reading here with us at West Leigh, it is our intention that they will be able to apply their reading skills in order to access any subject in their Junior KS2 education and beyond.
Reading Implementation
We will support all children to learn to read through: clear leadership, consistent teaching and learning approaches, regular monitoring and assessment along with a joint commitment between school and home. Reading teachers, with support from the Reading Lead, and Senior Leadership Team, draw upon careful observations and continuous assessment to ensure children are challenged and to identify children who may need additional support. Timely intervention is planned for those children working below expected levels as soon as their needs are identified. All children read aloud during phonics or whole class reading. In addition, some pupils may read at least once more per week with a teacher, learning support assistant or reading volunteer; the focus being on the lowest 20%. Furthermore, Pupil Premium children and those pupils not reading regularly at home, have additional opportunities to read aloud. At West Leigh, the systematic teaching of phonics has high priority in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. We use a synthetic phonics teaching programme produced by Ruth Miskin called Read Write Inc. (RWI) Phonics as a basis to teach our pupils to read and write. Pupils usually complete the programme by Year 2; some may even finish towards the end of Year 1. We make sure that pupils can read the last set of phonics stories before they progress onto RWI Comprehension and our school ‘PM Benchmarked system’. This links in closely with national book band colours. Strong links are made between reading and writing.
How do we teach Early Reading?
Pupils start Read Write Inc. Phonics when they enter Year R using the ‘Making a Strong start Document’. After the first assessment, we group children by their reading progress during RWI sessions. The sessions can last up to one hour per day (20 to 45 minutes in Year R). We re-assess children every half term so we can place them in a group where they will make the most progress. One to one (Fast Track Tutoring) or small group sessions may be provided for some children in the lowest 20% or who have not met the expected level. Staff may also use ‘Speed Minutes’ to revisit key sounds/words at incidental points throughout the day in Year R and Key Stage 1.
RWI Phonics is presented in a simple but exciting format so that pupils can learn how to read and write sounds effortlessly. First we teach pupils the different pictures that relate to the sounds in the programme. This is introduced in Year R whilst the children are part time so that pupils are familiar with the images in preparation for further learning. This is followed by learning one way to read and write the first 40+ sounds in English, using the pictures to help identify the different sounds. We use a Frog called Fred to play ‘Fred Talk’ games to help with oral blending and to assist pupils when reading words by sound-blending. Fred says the sound and children help him blend the sounds to read each word. Then we teach the children different spellings of the same sounds and use phrases to help them remember each sound, for example, ‘may I play?’ accompanies the ay sound. We refer to speed sounds charts so that pupils can begin to make connections between the different graphemes they are learning to represent the sounds.
We want pupils to work together so teamwork is a key part of the RWI sessions. Partner work is very important; the teacher observes and checks what they know and only moves on when pupils are ready. Pupils are introduced to new characters and words along with the tricky ‘red words’ prior to reading a RWI text. We want them to get excited about the story. They then read the book at least three times before taking a book home; where they should then be able to share the story confidently with some expression or a ‘storyteller’ voice. Within each colour block of RWI phonics, storybooks and five additional non-fiction books are provided with plans to use in sessions. Other linked story books or additional texts may be shared with the pupils in school and at home but we would not expect pupils to read these independently. Some pupils may require some additional revision of the sounds or blending these together to read words and will take part in additional support sessions following the RWI programme.
What happens when pupils finish the Read Write Inc. Phonics Programme?
Story-time and Reading for Pleasure
We aim to provide many opportunities where pupils can listen to stories/texts or read independently in a quiet and reflective environment. We have a bank of stories, poems and other texts which are not only used as a stimulus or link within lessons but are used to discuss feelings, familiar situations, different cultures, current issues or read just for fun. Every class has their own class library area. - Teachers select class readers, for pleasure, to excite and engage the children and to expose them to new and varied vocabulary. All books shared with the children are age appropriate and continually updated as new resources are available or recommended. We have an overview of key texts covered across the school but recognise that teachers and pupils in different year groups will have personal preferences which can be just as inspiring to share.
How do we develop the home school reading partnership?
There is a set of progressive books for each colour band on the RWI phonics programme. Relating to each focus book is a ‘book bag’ book. In RWI groups, pupils will be issued with their focus books or a book bag book to take home. The pupils will have just finished reading this/similar book in their group and they will be able to read it confidently having read it two or three times already in class. We want children to look forward to sharing these books with someone at home. The children also take home a banded ‘ABC…’ Book to read at home. These books are matched to sounds that the children have previously learnt in their RWI sessions and contain the RWI Book Bag Books as consolidation. Teachers and Learning Support Assistants also hear the children in their class read these books weekly to monitor progress and attainment.
When pupils exit the RWI phonics programme, they begin RWI Comprehension. We encourage pupils to select and change their Independent reading books regularly and record those read on Individual reading records. Reading at home is encouraged and promoted with regular updates to engage parents via the weekly newsletter, parent workshops or volunteering opportunities.
Reading Impact
Through the teaching of systematic phonics, our aim is for children to become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage 1. With decoding taught as the prime approach to reading, pupils will become familiar with this strategy and have the confidence to work out unfamiliar words in any new texts they encounter even when they have come to the end of the RWI programme. Pupils will have the opportunity to develop their fluency and comprehension as they move through the school; accessing a range of texts independently. Attainment in reading is measured using statutory assessments such as the end of EYFS and Key Stage 1 and following the outcomes in the Year 1 Phonics Screening check. Additionally, we track our own reading attainment through the use of RWI half termly assessments, and Individual PM Benchmarking assessments. More importantly, we believe that reading is the key to unlock all learning and so the impact of our reading goes beyond the statutory assessments. We give all the children the opportunity to enter the amazing new worlds that a book opens up to them and share texts from a range of cultures or genres to inspire them to question or seek out more for themselves. We want reading to be the golden thread running through a child’s journey at West Leigh. When they leave us, we want pupils to possess the reading skills and love of literature which will help them to enjoy and access any aspects of learning they encounter in the future.
Writing
Intent
At West Leigh Infant School, we want all children to be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing and reach their full potential.
Our approach adopts The Talk for Writing (TFW) method by Pie Corbett, enabling children to imitate orally the language they need for a particular topic, before reading and analysing it, and then writing their own version. TFW is a process that uses spoken activities to develop writing skills. Firstly by expanding and developing pupils’ oral language skills, and by then scaffolding and modelling the teaching of sentence, paragraph and text construction all of which create quality writing.
Implementation
At West Leigh Infant School, TFW is taught 3 to 4 x per week across the whole school. Each year group studies a range of different high-quality texts, lasting from a few weeks to a whole half term depending on text type, length and year group.
Long, medium and short term planning and the use of progression maps ensure that a variety of genres are progressively taught and built upon both throughout the year and throughout the school.
Writing is also a key focus in the wider curriculum, especially in ‘Topic’ lessons. Children are given the opportunity to transfer and build upon their knowledge of a genre studied during English lessons and apply this learning to a topic focus.
TFW is taught following the stages below:
The imitation stage: This stage begins with a ‘hook’ to engage the children and give them a sense of enjoyment, audience and purpose. A model text which is pitched above the pupils’ level, is learnt through a’ text map’ and actions (standardised across the year group) to strengthen memory. This model text contains the structures and language patterns the children will need when writing for themselves. Activities such as drama are used to deepen understanding. The model text and other quality texts are read for vocabulary, comprehension, language patterns and writing techniques (toolkits). Throughout these phases we rehearse key spellings and grammatical patterns. Short burst writing is also used within this stage to practise key grammar and punctuation focusses.
The innovation stage: Once familiar with the model text, pupils are led by the teacher into creating their own version. Pupils in EYFS innovate through substitution, Year 1 through substitution and addition and Year 2 use the boxing up structure to create a new version.
Shared and guided writing, modelled by the teacher, is used to enable pupils to write their own version step by step concentrating on bringing all the elements together, writing effectively and accurately. Feedback is given during the lesson so that pupils can be taught how to improve their writing, make it more accurate, until they can increasingly edit in pairs or on their own.
Independent application and invention
At least once a term, pupils have the opportunity to independently apply what they have been taught and practiced throughout the previous stages. Pupils are provided with a rich stimulus to make their writing purposeful. Writing will often be staged over a number of days. Non-fiction writing allows pupils to apply what they have learnt across the wider curriculum. Pupils in EYFS should be exploring and acting out stories throughout provision.
Handwriting
It is paramount that children are rigorously taught correct letter formation from the very beginning of their time in school. During the foundation stage at West Leigh Infant School, the children are taught to sit properly in order to have the correct posture for writing, hold a pencil in the correct position and develop a legible handwriting style. In KS1, we use the ‘PenPals’ handwriting scheme which allows for clear progression. After securing correct letter formation, the children start to join their letters in Year 1 and then consolidate this in Year 2 where they apply this in extended pieces of writing.
Teachers are expected to role model the school’s handwriting style when marking children’s work, writing on the board and on displays around the school.
Spelling
In the EYFS, Year 1 and early parts of Year 2, spelling is taught through our Read, Write, Inc (RWI) reading scheme of work. In these sessions, the children learn to spell words containing sounds from Speed Sets 1, 2 and 3. As the children move through Year 2, the children will learn to spell words containing the more complex spelling patterns and rules. In addition to this, children in KS1 have a set of spellings to learn weekly. These words are based on the 100 High Frequency and Common Exception words; all of which the children are expected to spell by the time they reach the end of Year 2.
Through teaching spelling, we aim to create confident and proficient spellers.
By the time they leave our school, our children should be able to:
- Spell accurately and identify reasons for mis-spellings.
- Proof-read their spellings
- Recognise and use word origins, families and roots to build their skills
- Use dictionaries and thesauruses.
Impact
By the time children leave our school, they will:
- Have a love for writing and write for enjoyment
- Have the confidence to write coherently for a range of purposes, across the curriculum
- Be able to use the punctuation taught across KS1 accurately within extended pieces of writing
- Be proficient spellers
- Be able to independently plan, draft, write and edit their own work
- Present their work neatly; with letters formed at the correct size and orientation to one another
At the end of each year, we expect the children to have achieved Age Related Expectations (EXS) for their year group. Some children will have progressed further and achieved greater depth by the end of Year 2 (GDS).