English

Intent

READING

At Gwladys Street we believe that reading is fundamental to academic success and want children to be become enthusiastic and motivated readers. Children need to be lifelong readers and we aim to do this by:

• developing the skills to decode words to read fluently.
• Read for meaning and deepen children’s vocabulary skills.
• Promote books to develop children’s interests – fiction and non-fiction.
• Encourage a love of literature so children develop reading for pleasure.
• To use reading to provoke thought within children.
• Use books to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually.

To make links between characters, settings, themes

WRITING

We believe that all pupils should be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing. We want our pupils to be able to:

• Speak and listen confidently to understand how to use and build sentences of varying types.
• Acquire and apply a wide vocabulary with a solid understanding of grammar.
• Be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn throughout their time in primary school.
• Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
• Be encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their writing, in part by developing a good, joined, handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school.
• Refine and edit their writing over time, therefore developing independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvement in all pieces of writing, editing their work effectively during and after the writing process.

SPELLING

The Read Write Inc. Spelling programme provides structured, systematic teaching and this is why we have chosen this scheme in our approach to the discrete teaching of spelling.

The intention of our chosen spelling programme is as follows:

• To enable us to meet the spelling expectations of the National Curriculum.
• To raise standards in spelling, enabling pupils to spell new words correctly and have
  plenty of practice in spelling them, including exception words and homophones.
• To provide consistency and progression in the teaching of spelling.
• To spell words as accurately as possible using their phonic knowledge and other
  knowledge of spelling, such as morphology [the study of the form of words] and
  etymology [the study of the origins and the development of words].
• To support children in understanding and applying the concepts of word structure.
• To spell words that they have not yet been taught by using what they have learnt about
  how spelling works in English.

GPS

• We intend for every child to master the essential skills of punctuation, sentence structure, and spelling to communicate effectively across all subjects, fostering a curiosity about language, equipping pupils with a sophisticated “word bank” they can use in both writing and speech.
• We aim it provide children with the technical “tools” needed to make their writing powerful, clear, and engaging for a reader. To build a progressive foundation of skills so that by Year 6, children can experiment with language and write with technical accuracy and ease.

HANDWRITING

• We teach children to read and write Set 1 sounds from the start of Reception as part of their
  Read Write Inc. Phonics lessons. Children first learn to form letters while they learn to read Set 1
  letter-sounds in Reception.
• As soon as they can read Set 1 sounds, we teach a separate daily 10-minute handwriting lesson in KS1 and 3 handwriting sessions per week in KS2. Y5 and Y6 will deliver handwriting as an intervention for pupils identified as requiring additional support.
  These handwriting lessons are at a different time from the Read Write Inc. lesson. Some teachers
  teach handwriting first thing in the afternoon – it’s a great way to settle children after lunchtime.

Implement

READING

• We provide reading opportunities every day in a range of ways to develop and consolidate children’s reading skills. These include teaching children a range of reading strategies to decode unfamiliar words.
• Each year group immerses children into a class book so they can discuss themes, characters, setting and develop their comprehension skills.
• High quality guided reading sessions take place once a week with each group in the class being led by a member of the teaching staff using high quality texts.
• School uses Accelerated Reading programme to support progress of children’s reading skills.
• Reading assemblies promote a range of books.
• At the end of each day, the class teacher reads to the class – books linked to their topic or age appropriate.
• Reading volunteers and staff hear children read on a 1-1 basis.
• A Reading for Pleasure Calendar is implemented for children to participate in local, national and international events. Visits are made to local libraries.
• Reading through curriculum takes place so children can consolidate and apply their reading skills.
• Parents/carers support their reading skills and reading enjoyment, with their children using books that school provide to match the child’s ability.

WRITING

We provide writing opportunities every day in a range of ways to develop and consolidate children’s writing skills – these include:

• Daily Grammar sessions from year 3 to 6.
• Daily Phonics sessions.
• Modelling writing to children explaining word choices and sentences.
• Teaching the different types of writing through the year – fiction, discussion, persuasion, explanation, instructions, report, non-chronological report – that is purposeful and for a range of audiences.
• Modelling correct handwriting and developing children’s fine and gross motor skills.
• Providing children with a range of tools to support them in their writing eg. Dictionaries, thesauri.
• Through English lessons and the curriculum developing a range of vocabulary and understanding the effect of choices made.
• Children to use their vocabulary books to support their writing.
• Writing across the curriculum in different genres to demonstrate their learning.

SPELLING

• At Gwladys Street Community Primary & Nursery School, we have adopted the RWI Spelling programme as our approach to the teaching of spelling. RWI Spelling is an interactive programme, which teaches spellings in a
  fun and engaging way. Each unit is introduced with a short video. It helps children to learn
  spellings with common patterns and uses rules in order to help them recall spellings, as well as
  teaching exceptions to these rules.
• Individual workbooks allow children to practise their spellings and the teaching naturally follow
  on from the ‘Spell Review’ part of the RWI phonics programme, which is taught as soon as the
  children start in Reception. Therefore, the children are already proficient at using dots (for
  individual sounds) and dashes (for special friends/digraphs) and prefixes and suffixes can be
  added to root words to help them to spell with greater accuracy, understanding and
  confidence.
• Children in Reception and Year 1 will take part in a daily spelling session as part of their daily RWI
  lesson. They will learn to spell decodable words (green words) using ‘fred fingers’, as well as the
  spellings of the required common exception words (red words) for their year group.
  As children progress into Years 2 to Year 6, they will have three spelling sessions per week, completing a unit of work over two weeks.
• These are important in helping them to practise the spellings they need to learn from each unit. Each unit
  explains the rules, and gives handy tips and rhymes for remembering these. During the week, the
  children will log the spellings they found tricky. At the beginning of the next unit, children carry
  out ‘speed spell’, which will assess their ability to spell words with the previous week’s spelling
  pattern correctly. Again, they will log any words that were misspelt from this activity. Log books
  give children ownership of their spellings and allow for further consolidation in other subjects and
  lessons.

The fortnightly spelling timetable can be found within documents at the foot of this page.

GPS

• We will implement a bespoke and challenging GPS curriculum which spans across KS1 and KS2.
• We will implement discrete GPS lessons across KS1 and KS2 – to be timetabled within each classes daily learning.
• We will implement a uniformed GPS task approach – drawing on our Ready, Steady, Write Literacy curriculum.
• We will place ownership of learning onto our pupils – giving them opportunities for peer and self-assessment and feedback as part of the discussion focus of each GPS lesson.
• We will ensure that teachers use marking and feedback to identify gaps in “real-world” writing, providing targeted interventions for pupils who need extra support.

HANDWRITING

• Stage 1 begins as soon as most children can read Set 1 sounds. We continue to teach children to
  form letters correctly.
• Stage 2 begins during Year 1. Children learn the relative size of letters and to form letters that will
  flow easily into a joined style.
• Stage 3 follows straight on. Children learn how to join letters using two basic joins – the ‘bridge’ join,
  the ‘hill’ join and the two variations on each.
• Stage 4 helps children develop a mature and speedy style.
• Each stage ensures pupils meet the National Curriculum requirements for handwriting from
  Reception to Year 4.

Impact

READING

• Through the teaching of systematic phonics, our aim is for children to become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage One. This way, children can focus on developing their fluency and comprehension as they move through the school. Attainment in phonics is measured by the Phonics Screening Test at the end of Year 1.
• We firmly believe that reading is the key to all learning and so the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond the results of the statutory assessments.
• Accelerated Reader will support will measure the progress of each child’s reading ability.
• We give all children the opportunity to enter the magical worlds that books open up to them. We promote reading for pleasure as part of our reading curriculum. Children are encouraged to develop their own love of genres and authors and to review their books objectively. This enhances a deep love of literature across a range of genres, cultures and styles.
• Attainment in reading is measured using the statutory assessments at the end of Key Stage One and Two. These results are measured against the reading attainment of children nationally.

WRITING

• Pupils will make at least good progress from starting points. Writing assessment is ongoing throughout every lesson to ensure that children are applying the taught grammar/spelling and layout that has been modelled. Pupils are given detailed feedback and next steps to respond to in order to personalise learning and provide the children with opportunities to edit and improve their own writing.
• Children will be confident by the end of year 6 to be able to write in a range of genres throughout the curriculum for a variety or purposes and contexts, using the National Curriculum expectations.
• Pupils will gain a love of writing, which will ensure they are equipped for the rest of their education and life.
• School improvement leaders closely monitor all pupil’s books and hold individual termly meetings with all teachers to assess every individual child’s learning needs and progress. In addition, pupil voice is used to enable leaders to assess the impact of writing across the curriculum.

SPELLING

• Pupils are formatively and summatively assessed in their writing (and spelling) at specific points
  throughout the year. Summative assessments, known as ‘practice tests’ are carried out six
  times per year (half-termly) to track progress and measure impact of the spelling programme.
• We will assess children’s learning through fortnightly spelling tests, which are plotted onto a spelling tracker and monitored for progress over time and to address misconceptions more frequently. Impact of this
  data also dictates whether intervention groups are required for specific pupils in spelling.
  Consolidation sessions are also planned for, and provided, for common misconceptions.

GPS

• Evidence in writing books shows that children successfully apply taught grammatical features independently across the wider curriculum.
• By the end of Key Stage 2, children are well-prepared for the rigours of the secondary English curriculum and national assessments (SATs)
• Children develop the “writer’s voice” necessary to express their emotions and ideas with clarity and impact.
• Pupils will make at least good progress from starting points – reflected in End of KS assessments.

HANDWRITING

• • Reduced Cognitive Load: Fluent handwriting is a significant predictor of positive writing outcomes because it frees up brainpower for planning and editing.
  • Improved Memory & Learning: Research indicates that writing by hand activates brain regions important for memory, helping children retain information better than typing.
  • Spelling & Reading Support: Developing muscle memory through letter formation reinforces spelling patterns and supports the visual perception required for reading fluency
  • Motor Skill Development: Handwriting practice builds essential fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination
  • Posture & Control: Effective instruction encourages good postural control and correct pencil grip, preventing fatigue and physical frustration during extended writing tasks
  • Increased Confidence: When writing becomes less stressful, pupils grow into more confident and motivated writers
  • Pride in Presentation: Pupils learn to value the appearance of their work, viewing it as a primary vehicle for communicating their ideas to a wide audience
  • Self-Evaluation: Older pupils (KS2) develop the ability to choose an appropriate handwriting style for different tasks, such as quick note-taking versus formal presentation.