ENGLISH AT LANLIVERY

'Reading is the one ability, that once set in motion, has the ability to feed itself, grow exponentially and provide a basis from which possibilities are limitless’. Michael Morpurgo

We Are A Reading School

We therefore:

• Promote a love of reading and books at every opportunity.

Our displays reflect this and are evident in classrooms and corridors.

Our children regularly access the school library and are encouraged to join their local library.

Our staff read to children every day – they are advocates for reading.

• Have a rigorous and a consistent approach to phonics.

All our staff receive phonics training.

We aim to ensure pupils master the phonic code as soon as possible.

We also ensure that when children graduate from the phonics scheme, there is a carefully structured sequence of books for their learning, ensuring that they become fluent and successful readers as they move through the school.

• Have a consistent approach for children who fall behind.

We assess against the Devon LA objectives for Years 1-6 and we ensure children only move up book bands when they are ready.

• Have a ‘read it and understand it’ approach in Early Years and KS1.

We plan comprehension activities as much as phonics because we understand that children need both skills to be an effective reader.

• Use VIPERS to promote children’s articulation of the key reading skills apart from phonics.

• Use reciprocal reading to help deepen comprehension and improve children’s spoken language skills.

We also refer to the Bridge School’s Spoken Language progression ladders to ensure that children have the best opportunities to improve oracy for learning.

• Use a rotation timetable between guided sessions with different texts adapted for the needs of the learner and whole class shared reads with activities that have also been adapted to meet the needs of the individual learner.

• Use a variety of high quality texts and resources.

• Link our reading explicitly to writing skills (this may be through displays, learning journeys and follow up activities which promote writing based on reading.

Phonics

Intent

At Lanlivery Primary Academy we believe that the high-quality teaching of phonics is fundamental for children to become competent readers and writers. We strive to teach pupils to read effectively and quickly, using the Reading Rockets Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme which includes; teaching synthetic phonics, sight vocabulary, decoding and encoding words, as well as spelling, and accurate letter formation.

The programme is sequenced across levels which are progressive in knowledge and the application of skills. We passionately believe that teaching pupils to read and write independently, as quickly as possible, is one of the core purposes of a primary school. The ability to read automatically and fluently not only holds the key to rest of the curriculum but also has a huge impact on children’s self-esteem and future life chances.

Using the Reading Rockets SSP programme we:

· Enable children to learn phonic knowledge and skills with the expectation that they will become fluent readers, having secured word building and recognition skills.

Are determined that every pupil will learn to read, regardless of their background, needs or abilities.

Ensure that the pupils are taught high frequency words/common exception/tricky words that do not conform to regular phonic patterns

Ensure that pupils have opportunities to read texts and words that are within their phonic capabilities as early as possible

Encourage the pupils to attempt to spell words for themselves, within the range of their phonic knowledge, by building an individual repertoire and the confidence and strategies to attempt the unfamiliar.

Visual aids are used to support the pupils in becoming confident and independent learners.

Develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.

Support pupils in writing clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.

Match the expectations of the English National Curriculum and Early Learning Goals

Implementation

At Lanlivery Primary Academy, we believe that reading and writing is an essential life skill and we are dedicated to enabling our children to become enthused, engaged and successful lifelong readers and writers. As a school, we show fidelity to the Reading Rockets programme to ensure that we have a progressive, consistent approach to phonics. As part of this cohesive approach, all staff, pupils and parents work together to use the same terminology and language when talking about Phonics. The Reading Rockets Phonics Programme offers a coherently planned sequence of lessons that supports the effective teaching of phonics within EYFS, KS1 and, where appropriate, KS2. See attached ‘Reading Rockets’ progression chart and overview.

How are high frequency words taught?

We recognise that there are parts of some very common words in the English language that are not phonetically decodable, for example ‘said’ and ‘the’. Due to the frequency and usefulness of these common words, these words are taught as ‘common exception’ words at the earliest stages. We introduce these words that do not follow the usual phonics rules as it allows pupils to access a greater range of sentences for both reading and writing and to begin to build up a bank of sight vocabulary. These words are introduced first as reading sight vocabulary and then later as spelling words. 

Pupils will progress through their phonics journey at different rates, therefore it is important that they work at a level that is appropriate for them. Prior learning needs to be secured before any new learning is introduced. Moving on too quickly, without securing prior learning, will allow knowledge and skills gaps to form and can cause problems later on. Therefore, assessments are used to ensure that all pupils are grouped and placed appropriately. Teachers make these decisions based on formal assessments (Reading Rockets assessments and Phonics Screening Check resources) and informal observation. Pupils who are making good progress can continue to move on and those who are not making good progress can be given additional support and interventions.

How is Phonics assessed?

Formative assessments ensure that learners have a broad understanding of a range of sounds and phonic concepts. We use assessments to tell us what the pupils can do and know along with the sounds and concepts that need embedding further. Assessments take place regularly to ensure that teachers have a good understanding of the needs of their learners. Progress and next steps are tracked carefully. We use the following Reading Rockets assessments: How do reading books support the teaching of Phonics? In order to apply their decoding and comprehension reading skills, it is important that pupils have plenty of opportunities to read texts that are fully decodable at the phonics level they are working within.

At Lanlivery Primary pupils take home reading books every week matched to their phonics knowledge. These books are fully decodable books that match the sounds the child has been learning that week, making them the perfect opportunity for children to apply their newly learnt GPC recognition and decoding skills. These books only contain the sounds and high frequency words that the children have been taught, allowing them to read with fluency and confidence. Parents are encouraged to read and reread these books with their children in order to develop automaticity.

Library Books

To help promote an enjoyment and love for reading, each child is able to choose a library book to take home with them each week. This is an ‘enjoy together’ book which can be shared between child and parent. Depending on the age and stage of each pupil and their next step, additional resources may be sent home.

How are the lowest 20% of pupils supported?

Regular assessment takes place to ensure the early identification of pupils who may need additional support, either through interventions or quality first teaching within daily lessons. We have different structured interventions in place to support children at different stages of their Phonics journey. We take these steps to support learners:

• Build a clear picture by thinking about what assessments are telling us, in order to identify the barrier to learning. For example, if the pupils reversing the digraphs, are they unable to hear the sounds in order to blend them etc.

• Consider reasons for slower progress by using observations and assessments to identify any SEND opportunities and sharing these with our SENDCo.

• Liaising with other adults (teaching staff and parents) so that everyone is aware of the children’s barriers, next steps and the support they need.

• Making reasonable adjustments within the daily lessons such as being close to a supportive adult, having additional resources and prompts etc.

• Making time for additional input and revisiting specific phonics skills through small group interventions or one to one intervention.

• Practising Phonics skills as regularly as possible throughout the day, for example reading a sound before lining up etc.

How are staff trained to deliver Phonics effectively?

Staff receive regular training to support their understanding of our approach to Phonics, along with strategies for delivery and assessment. Teacher and TAs communicate daily about the needs of the children in their groups and classes. Phonics observations and coaching sessions take place to support the improvement of teaching and learning. CPD is responsive to the needs of the staff.

Impact

Our aim is for all pupils, including the weakest readers, to make sufficient progress to meet or exceed age related expectations and to ensure that pupils are familiar with and enjoy listening to a wide range of stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction books. Through the implementation of our phonics curriculum, we aim to achieve three targets:

• A minimum of 75% of pupils will leave Reception ready to start set 2 

• We aspire for 90% of children to pass the Phonics Screening Check.

•At least 90% of those retaking the Phonics Screening Check in Year 2 will achieve a pass.

By developing these firm foundations through our three key targets, it supports us to have high expectations of pupils’ phonics learning. This enables them to leave Lanlivery Primary Academy as competent readers.

Writing at Lanlivery Primary

The programmes of study for writing at key stages 1 and 2 are constructed similarly to those for reading: - transcription (spelling and handwriting) - composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing). The teaching at Lanlivery Primary Academy develops pupils’ competence in these two dimensions. In addition, pupils are taught how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing. These aspects of writing are incorporated into the National Curriculum programmes of study for composition. Writing down ideas fluently depends on effective transcription: that is, on spelling quickly and accurately through knowing the relationship between sounds and letters (phonics) and understanding the morphology (word structure) and orthography (spelling structure) of words. Effective composition involves forming, articulating and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Writing also depends on fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting.

At Lanlivery, we have adopted “The Write Stuff” by Jane Constantine to bring clarity to the mechanics of writing. ‘The Write Stuff’ follows a method called ‘Sentence Stacking’ which refers to the fact that sentences are stacked together and organised to engage children with short, intensive moments of learning that they can then immediately apply to their own writing. This approach makes sure that all of our children are exposed to high quality texts that stimulate quality responses to reading, high quality writing and purposeful speaking and listening opportunities. Our curriculum ensures that all children have plenty of opportunities to write for different purposes.

We encourage writing through all curriculum areas and use quality reading texts to model examples of good writing. Writing is taught through a number of different strategies. We believe that children need lots of rich speaking and drama activities to give them the imagination and the experiences that will equip them to become good writers.  The mapped skills and knowledge are taken from the National Curriculum and are assessed regularly against the progression of skills exemplified in the Devon LA Planning and Assessment materials.

Vocabulary is a priority and we seek to expose children to as much language as possible whether this is through tier 2 words (ambitious and interesting words) or tier 3 words (subject-specific language). Spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting are taught daily but are also woven through the units of writing. Spellings are taught at stage level to all pupils using Spelling Shed. The focus for these sessions is to review, teach, practice and apply taught spelling patterns in a fun and creative way to allow pupils to apply these in their writing. We encourage children to apply their writing across a range of subjects to understand that writing is an integral part of being a successful citizen. Where relevant,  English writing units are linked to our curriculum to allow children to make links across subjects using a range of Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary.