English Lead
Mrs K Edwards
Curriculum Intent
It is our intention at St. John's to provide pupils with high-quality education in reading so that they leave primary school as motivated and competent readers who can recommend books to their peers, have a thirst for reading a range of genres including poetry and participate in discussions about books, including evaluating an author's use of language and the impact this can have on the reader. It is our intention to ensure that pupils are able to read fluently and with confidence in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education. Reading is an essential skill and we ensure there are lots of reading opportunities available across the curriculum each day. Phonics will be emphasised in the early teaching of reading to beginners when they start school. We intend to encourage all pupils to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live whilst establishing an appreciation and love of reading (within a culture of reading) to gain knowledge across the curriculum and develop their comprehension skills. We want to create an environment where children have a love of literature and believe that reading for pleasure is vital and we create a love and an enthusiasm of reading in each classroom.
Curriculum Implementation
At St. John's, reading is taught through a structured, systematic approach beginning with high-quality phonics instruction in the early years using Sounds-Write. As pupils progress, they are exposed to a diverse range of genres, texts and authors to deepen comprehension and engagement. We use guided reading, whole-class reading and individual reading to meet the needs of all pupils. Teachers model reading strategies explicitly and vocabulary development is embedded across all subjects. Regular assessment informs planning and targeted interventions support those who need additional help. Reading for pleasure is promoted through the use of our class and school libraries, author visits, celebrating World Book Day and daily story time.
Curriculum Impact
We hope the impact of our reading curriculum is to create confident and fluent readers with strong comprehension skills. Our pupils are able to engage with a wide range of texts for both learning and enjoyment. Assessment data and pupil voice demonstrate consistent progress and a positive attitude toward reading. By the end of their primary education, pupils are well-prepared for the next stage of their learning having developed the skills and habits needed to read independently, critically and for pleasure.
Phonics & Early Reading
High-quality phonics teaching lies at the heart of our early education, securing the crucial skills of word recognition that, once mastered, enable children to read fluently and automatically. Once children are fluent readers, they are able to concentrate on the meaning of the text and make the shift between learning to read and reading to learn. Reading is seen as a skill so essential to access the world around them.
In school we follow the Sounds-Write programme to teach phonics. We aim to ensure that all children are fluent readers by the time they leave KS1. All adults involved with teaching phonics have attended a 4 day training programme on the delivery of Sounds Write. Our reading scheme in Reception and Year One is entirely decodable, using Sounds-Write texts and Phonics Dandelion Readers.
Sounds Write at St. John the Evangelist
Phonics & Spelling
The Sounds-Write programme is a linguistic phonics approach (speech to print) used to teach phonics and spelling. It is a highly structured, cumulative, multi-sensory appraoch to teaching reading and spelling.
We begin teaching an awareness of sound and sound identification in Nursery and as children show readiness they begin to access the initial code of Sounds-Write phonics. All pupils in Reception begin the initial code in the September of their Reception year. They continue on their phonics journey throughout Year One and into Year Two, with the aim of leaving KS1 as fluent readers, secure in word building and recognition. They consolidate this knowledge with a focus on spelling during the rest of KS2.
We explicitly teach the 3 skills of:
- Blending
- Segmenting
- Phoneme manipulation (sound swapping)
The children are taught to decode and encode by understanding 4 clear concepts:
- Letters are symbols that represent sounds that they say
- Sounds can be spelt using 1,2,3 and 4 letters – f, oa, air, eigh
- The same sound can be spelt in different ways – bone, coat, toe, window, shoulder
- The same spelling can represent different sounds – bread, eat, great
All adults in school use the same consistent, concise language about sounds and spelling when teaching. We say that the letters spell sounds they do not say sounds. We use phrases such as:
In this word…
If this was…this would be…
This can spell…what else can it spell?
Say the sounds and read the word.
Where should children be at this point?
Where are they going to next?
What sounds do children know?
Consistency of time and resources are applied very effectively to support the teaching of daily phonics. The discrete teaching of phonics and reading has become a natural and everyday part of every aspect of the curriculum.
Progress in phonics is monitored half termly, including lesson visits and pupil progress discussions.
Pupils in EYFS and KS1 are given additional support as required to master their phonics. Pupils in KS2, who have gaps in the phonics, continue to be supported through timely and effective intervention and decodable readers for older pupils.
Parent Links (free course)
Parents and carers are encouraged to undertake the free course for parents and carers so they can support their children more effectively. There is also a Sounds-Write podcast with episodes specifically for parents and carers as well as an app available from the App store (for iPad only). The free version of the app provides a sample of activities, with the full version available as an in-app purchase.
Writing at St. John the Evangelist
Curriculum Intent
At St. John the Evangelist, we believe that all pupils should be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing. Lessons are exciting, engaging and purposeful and allow the children to use their imagination and write for a purpose. We want pupils to acquire a wide vocabulary, a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words effectively by applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn throughout their time at St. John's to new vocabulary. We want them to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of purposes and audiences.
We place oracy at the heart of our approach, recognising that high-quality talk underpins successful writing. We want children to leave this school speaking clearly in front of an audience and we tailor our curriculum to allow children the opportunity to talk and discuss ideas in pairs, groups and to the class. Oracy is not only a precursor to writing but also a vital skill in its own right. We want our pupils to become persuasive communicators and thoughtful listeners.
We believe that all pupils should 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. We believe that all good writers refine and edit their writing over time, so we want our children to develop independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvements in all pieces of writing, editing their work effectively during and after the writing process.
Our curriculum is ambitious and inclusive, providing all pupils with the opportunity to succeed. We believe that all children can achieve in this area of the curriculum and we do not hold pre-conceptions about any pupils' ability to make progress. We understand the importance of parents and carers in supporting their children to develop a home-school partnership which enables parents and carers to understand how to enhance the skills being taught in school.
We intend to build the foundational skills and creative confidence our pupils need to flourish as lifelong writers and speakers.