Saviour CofE Primary School

English

Phonics

At Saviour CofE Primary School, we teach phonics using a linguistic phonics programme called Sounds-Write.

This programme is successful in teaching children to read and spell because it starts with what all children know from a very young age – speech sounds. Then, using a very systematic approach, it teaches them how these sounds are coded within our writing system.

The four key concepts children need to learn are:

1. letters are symbols that represent sounds
2. sounds can be spelled using 1, 2, 3 or 4 letters
3. the same sound can be spelled in different ways
4. the same spelling can represent different sounds

The three keys skills children need to master are:

1. blending
2. segmenting
3. phoneme manipulation

Based on educational and cognitive research, the Sounds-Write programme uses a multisensory approach and an apprenticeship model.

Children in Reception and KS1 have a 30 minute phonics lesson every day, in addition to their reading and writing lessons. Assessments in phonics are daily during lessons and at the end of each small unit (at least half-termly) to ensure the children don't fall behind and keep up. Children that have additional barriers have targeted interventions based on assessments to catch up quickly.

Spelling in KS2

Children in KS2 have regular spelling lessons following the Sounds and Syllables programme. This spelling programme has been designed to be universal, simple and logical. Key concepts include: matching spellings to speech sounds, orthography, morphology and etymology.

Teachers ensure that the taught spelling strategies have an impact where they matter most – in the children’s writing. They do this by making explicit links back to taught spelling patterns and strategies when writing and consistently modelling and promoting the spelling strategies at the point of writing.

The children are taught the following 5 step sequence to spell a word:

1. Say the word clearly
2. Snip the word into syllables
3. Say the sounds and write the spellings
4. Target tricky spellings
5. Lock in tricky spellings.

For further information about our spelling programme, please visit: https://jweducation.co.uk/spelling/

Reading

We have developed a book-led curriculum to excite and engage children, where books are the driving force for learning new knowledge, skills and vocabulary. Core texts have been carefully selected to ensure they are high quality, engaging and support learning linked to the National Curriculum, with supplementary texts to ensure topics are enriched with a range of literature. 

We use the First Class Reading Scheme to ensure our curriculum is detailed and progressively mapped out, whilst also corresponding with our phonics programme. Assessments are made daily through guided reading, 1:1 reading, and when reading across the curriculum. We use NFER tests three times a year to support teachers’ own assessments and KS2 pupils also complete STAR reading tests four times per year.

To equip children with the skills and passion to become competent lifelong readers, we use the following approaches:

• Daily Guided Reading: Our timetables for guided reading include fluency practice, extended reading, and close reading
  
• Reading Aloud: Teachers read aloud to children daily during STAR time (Stop Teaching and Read) to develop a culture of reading for pleasure
• Phonetically Controlled Books: KS1 children take home phonetically controlled books to match our phonics programme First Class Phonics
• Reading in other areas of the curriculum: Our book-led curriculum means reading for purpose is evident across the school day
• Accelerated Reader: Children are given books carefully matched to their reading age and motivated to keep making progress with reading certificates, the word millionaires board, and exciting rewards
• Reading Practice: We encourage children to read for at least 20 minutes a day and teachers monitor children’s progress through homework book
• Reading Environment: Reading corners and book displays promote reading and showcase our current topic-themed books
• Life-Changing Libraries: Opened by Cressida Cowell herself, our two Life-Changing Libraries are well stocked with high quality, diverse and inclusive books, as well as magazines and a Toniebox for audiobooks
• Team Read: Our reading role models share book recommendations and help out as school librarians
• Author Visits: Children have met authors and illustrators including Cressida Cowell, Tom Palmer, Joseph Coelho, Steve Smallman, Rashmi Sirdeshpande and Emma Jackson
• Reading Events: For example, children celebrate World Book Day, World Poetry Day, and Book Trust’s Pyjamarama
• Books At Home: We are committed to ensuring every child in our school not only has access to books at home, but also access to their own books. We aim to build each child’s personal library in the following ways:

- Prizes in school are always books.
- Books are bought as Christmas presents.
- Scholastic book fairs.
- Last year, we were lucky enough to have a reading roadshow from Wood Street Mission, where each child was able to choose 5 brand books to take home
- More recently, each child has chosen a book to buy with additional funding.

Writing

We strive to create a love of literacy in our children, helping them to understand the purpose of writing and the positive impact it can have on both their own and others' lives. Children will gain analysis skills; improve their vocabularies; plan and create texts with clear, purposeful structures; and learn to edit their work to maximise the effect it has on the reader. They will also develop their spelling, punctuation and grammar, and learn to write with legible, joined handwriting.

Each half-term, children will be introduced to a new class text, used as stimulus for the activities in their English lessons. Children will produce a thorough narrative text and a non-fiction text. During the terms that are longer than six weeks, children will also engage in “Poetry Week,” where they will use different poetic forms as stimulus for their own creations.

To support what they have learned in English, children will be given opportunities to write in as many curriculum areas as possible. Each term, they will produce two pieces of extended written work in foundation subjects. This will help children gain a greater understanding of writing for different purposes.

When children write a piece of work, teachers will evaluate and discuss its effectiveness with them. At the end of KS1 and KS2, teachers submit their statutory assessments based on the government’s framework, supported by the school’s senior leadership team. Teachers of other year groups will produce termly assessments to monitor children’s progress through the school.