English

Intent:

We intend that children at Rood End will leave school with the confidence and competence to express themselves clearly through both their written and spoken language. Over time, they will develop into passionate and confident readers who understand the importance of reading within society. They will also develop an appreciation for the craft of writing and will write with enthusiasm, skill, and creativity to achieve a range of purposes. 
 

To achieve this aim, the teaching of writing and reading has a high profile within the school. We follow the National Curriculum for English, ensuring that all pupils:

• can read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often - for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide range of vocabulary; a sound understanding of grammar; and secure knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening.

Implementation:

Reading:
 

We recognise the importance of hearing reading aloud on a daily basis. Therefore, staff at Rood End are committed to modelling reading with expression and enthusiasm to pupils through their class texts. We also ensure that our pupils practise reading daily in order to develop proficiency and enjoyment. 

Pupils who are phonics-competent are placed on a book band that is appropriate to their  reading age and attainment. Pupils accessing phonics teaching will receive reading books linked to the progression of the Little Wandle phonics schemes they have been taught. Pupils are also encouraged to select and borrow books from our school library to read for pleasure, with staff acting as expert readers to guide their reading choices and engage in book-talk.

The school provides a wide variety of additional high quality resources to support the teaching of reading through access to classroom reading books, children’s newspapers and magazines. The school subscribes to an online Reading Plus program used in KS2.

Pupils who can confidently decode receive four thirty-minute comprehension sessions per week using our Bug Club Comprehension scheme. Comprehension texts cover a broad range of quality texts, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Each comprehension lesson is a chance to develop specific reading skills including: retrieval, inference, vocabulary, sequencing, comparison and authorial intent.
 

Writing:
 

At Rood End, we follow The Write Stuff writing scheme. Through our writing lessons, pupils develop broad vocabularies, grammatical fluency, and an appreciation for the craft of writing through deliberate writing choices. At the end of a unit, pupils are proud of the writing they have produced and can appreciate the outcome of their hard work over a period of time. Each year group has the opportunity to practise writing a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry throughout the year, through which they will write within a range of genres and for a variety of purposes. As pupils revisit text types across their time at Rood End, we expect to see a progression in the skills they demonstrate.

Units begin with a stimulus text, like a high-quality narrative, a non-fiction text, or an existing poem. Subsequent lessons include Sentence Stacking lessons (in which pupils practise writing under the wing of their teacher), and Experience Lessons (in which pupils broaden their vocabulary and become immersed in their text). At the end of the unit, pupils produce an independent outcome inspired by either the structure or plot of their earlier work. As pupils become more proficient writers, they are taught to use a wider range of grammatical features and figurative writing techniques based on The Write Stuff's 'Writing Rainbow.'

 

Spelling is taught and assessed weekly linked to our phonics programme or spelling expectations from the National Curriculum. Pupils are given words to learn using a 7:3 ratio – seven words following a spelling pattern or spelling rule and three words from their year group word lists.

Handwriting is taught using the PenPals scheme. 

Impact:

Throughout the school, pupils’ knowledge and skills are assessed through a combination of daily assessment for learning and more formal summative assessments. When undertaking 1:1 reading, staff will assess decoding and comprehension. Written outcomes will be used in termly moderation meetings. Summative testing, through NFER and SATs materials, are used to benchmark pupils’ knowledge against age-related standards.
 

Children will leave Rood End Primary with the knowledge and skills to be able to access the KS3 curriculum. They will read for pleasure and have a good understanding of a range of authors. Pupils will write clearly and coherently for a range of audiences. They will speak confidently in a range of contexts and make valuable contributions to both school and their wider community.