English

READING

 

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We encourage children to develop a positive attitude towards literature of all kinds and believe that parents play a vital role in this process. Children learn the knowledge and skills to become confident readers, so that they can read for both pleasure and information.

 

We want the children in our school to:

• Enjoy reading all genre of books and appreciate the value and worth of reading in everyday life
• Read a range of different kinds of reading material fluently and with understanding
• Make choices about the sorts of texts that they enjoy
• Use reading skills to search for information
• Use a full range of reading cues (e.g. phonics, grammar and context)
• Read ‘between the lines’ and behind the images
• Be exposed to literature that is beyond their current experience and fluency.

We use a number of different strategies to promote a child’s love of books and encourage them to become confident, independent readers. Children are provided with many opportunities to read, enjoy and share books as well as being emerged in language rich environments with access to a breadth of vocabulary and print. We have a range of reading books for children to borrow alongside a non-fiction library that contains a wide range of reading materials to support children of all abilities.

 

Throughout the school day children are provided with many opportunities to develop and strengthen their literacy skills. These include:

• Daily phonics sessions in Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 (RWInc) 
• A focused reading programme in the upper KS2 for new arrivals (Fresh Start)
• A focus text used in literacy lessons
• Accelerated Reader dialy reading sessions
• Daily guided reading sessions
• A class novel (Handford Lighthouse library - Reading for Pleasure)
• Opportunities to role play and act out fictional scenes
• Meeting real life authors
• Weekly reading session with parents (every Friday)

 

Where it has been identified that children need additional support to meet age related expectations, the school offer a range of intervention support strategies including:

 

• Daily additional reading sessions (including phonics overlearning)
• Additional 1:1 reading with an adult or volunteer
• Computer based intervention support programmes (Lexia, Nessy)

 

Our school maintains a large stock of reading books for children to borrow and take home. These are organised according to different colour bands. The bands link to our school assessments. Staff regularly check and assess children’s ability to ensure the children take home books carefully pitched to their ability level.

 

Read Write Inc

We use Read, Write Inc as our reading programme in Nursery, Reception classes, Year 1 and 1 /2. We are also using it as a 'catch-up' programme for some children in Years 2-6 (including Fresh Start for Years 5 and 6).

 

The programme is a 'synthetic phonics' programme which teaches children how to segment words into sounds and how to blend sounds into words. The children learn all the sounds in the English language and their alternative spellings. The programme is very brisk and lively and the children learn quickly and effectively.

Spelling

We use Read Write Inc Spelling programme (Years 2-6).

 

Accelerated Reader 

The importance of reading cannot be overstated, which is why pupils at Handford Hall Primary School use a software specifically designed to help children of all ages and abilities learn to read and read to learn – even when English is a second language.

 

Accelerated Reader (AR) is the most popular and successful reading product of all time. AR’s advanced technology helps you:

 

• Make essential reading practice more effective for every child.
• Personalise reading practice to each student’s current level.
• Manage all reading activities including read to, read with, and read independently.
• Assess pupils’ reading with four types of quizzes: Reading Practice, Vocabulary Practice, Literacy Skills, and Textbook Quizzes.
• Build a lifelong love of reading and learning.

 

Guided Reading

All children (Y2-Y6) take part in 30 min guided reading sessions following VIPERS strategy.

 

Writing

The use of engaging, relevant and high quality texts is central to our writing curriculum. These act as stimuli for children to develop and explore their writing skills. Children write for purpose wherever possible, on a theme linked to the half termly topic. Teacher-led activities show children how to plan, draft, rehearse and edit texts preparing them to write ambitiously. Children learn how to debate and present: to reason and justify their answers. Grammar is integrated into our English curriculum and is taught discretely and in context.

 

Pupils in EYFS and KS1 take part in Talk for Writing sessions, their work is being published in Wonderful Writing books.

 

KS2 pupils plan, draft, edit and publish their writing (including cross curricular writing) in Big Write books.