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English

Subject Overviews

READING

BACKGROUND RESEARCH

Education Endowment Fund

Research indicates that:

  • Children benefit from a balanced approach to literacy that includes a range of approaches. The emphasis of the different approaches will shift as children progress; effective diagnosis can help to identify priorities
  • All pupils benefit from oral language interventions, and some studies show slightly larger effects for younger children and pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds (up to six months' additional progress)
  • Phonics approaches have been consistently found to be effective in supporting younger readers to master the basics of reading, with an average impact of an additional four months’ progress.

INTENT

At Harwood Meadows, reading is a top priority and is a key driver for our curriculum. It is our intention to ensure that by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently and with confidence, to prepare them for their forthcoming secondary education. Reading at Harwood Meadows begins with an effective programme of phonics teaching based on a high-quality phonics programme.

We are developing a whole school reading culture to encourage all pupils to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live; establish an appreciation and love of reading; gain knowledge across the curriculum; and develop their comprehension skills. We are committed to providing vocabulary rich reading material to challenge children in every year group.

Our assessment system ensures that children are accurately and rigorously assessed against age related expectations.

IMPLEMENTATION

  • The systematic teaching of phonics has a high priority throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1
  • Read Write Inc. is the phonics scheme that is followed in EYFS and KS1
  • Phonics is taught daily to all children in Foundation Stage, Year 1 and those in Year 2 who have not passed phonics screening in Year 1
  • In EYFS, there is a strong focus on developing the children’s capacity to listen, concentrate and discriminate between sounds
  • Staff systematically teach learners the relationship between sounds and the written spelling patterns, or graphemes, which represent them.
  • Teachers are trained in the principles of phonics and whole class reading to enable them to identify the learning needs and recognise and overcome barriers.
  • Phonics is delivered in ability-group format; it enables staff to ensure application across subjects, embedding the process in a rich literacy environment for early readers. This can involve cross year group delivery
  • Timely intervention is planned for those children who are working below age related expectations as soon as needs are identified. Children who fall behind the expected standard are given individualised support
  • Children accessing phonics each have a home reader matched to their phonics phase; this is further supported in lessons
  • EYFS planning includes regular activities which promote purposeful reading with adults, pupils and independently
  • Once children are confidently reading, they move on to the school reading scheme. We aim for the majority of children to access this by the end of Autumn term in Year 2
  • Texts used in both reading and writing are chosen to ensure a broad range of genre and progressive challenge throughout each Key Stage. A range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts are studied each term.
  • The school ensures all texts are accurately matched to pupil ability, as all books are colour-coded to ensure progression and challenge for all children
  • All children from Year 1 complete a termly comprehension assessment.
  • All children from Year 1 take part in a minimum of 3 Whole Class Reading sessions per week. All teachers use these to introduce pupils to a range of genres and to teach a range of techniques which enable children to comprehend the meaning of what they read. This is followed up by retrieval, prediction, comprehension and inference tasks which are sequenced according to year group and ability
  • All classrooms have their own class reading areas with topic themed books. These areas are further enhanced over the course of this year
  • Each class has a daily reading session where teachers read to pupils and pupils have time for independent reading
  • Any children not making the expected progress have 1:1 or small group intervention using bespoke packages
  • Theatre trips and visits from published authors and illustrators give all children the opportunity to access cultural activity, which otherwise some children may not have the opportunity to experience.

IMPACT

Reading curriculum evaluation:

  • Daily formative assessment by staff during teaching sessions (1:1 and whole class)
  • Reading leaders have pupil conferences each half term
  • Analysis of Phonics assessment every 6 weeks
  • Analysis of comprehension assessments each term.

The impact of actions:

  • Children talk passionately about reading and share their love of reading with other children and staff
  • Children are more fluent in reading independently
  • Progress has increased and children have moved more quickly through book bands
  • Guided reading is taught consistently and daily in EYFS
  • Progress is consistent with ARE expectations
  • Staff are more skilled and confident in teaching guided reading
  • Children share their thoughts on books openly and confidently and recommend titles to others
  • End of Y1 Phonics check results are above National %
  • Weekly practice sessions provide staff with confidence to deliver well-paced and effective, daily phonics sessions
  • Daily RWI Phonics sessions are consistently taught by all members of staff
  • Children remain on track with the phonics programme
  • Parental engagement increases
  • Reading attainment shows rapid progress each term across all year groups
  • New books have been purchased using funds raised from the school book fairs
  • Parents positively support their children and our school with reading and understand its importance
  • All staff speak positively about reading
  • Reading progression across school builds on previous years; ensuring skills are tracked; children engage with and experience quality texts from a range of genres
  • The reading curriculum across school is relevant, varied and engaging; cross-curricular links have been identified and develop knowledge through the use of quality texts
  • All children identified by SLT and teachers during assessments and PPM have accessed additional intervention sessions to ensure they close the gap in learning
  • Vulnerable groups of children are identified each half term and rapid intervention ensures children can keep up.

We focus on progression of knowledge and skills and discreet vocabulary which also form part of the units of work. We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

  • Assessing children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary before and after the unit is taught
  • Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning
  • Images and videos of the children’s practical learning
  • Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice)
  • Subject leader monitoring of standards
  • Teacher dialogue where pupil’s work is scrutinised and there is the opportunity for teachers to understand their class’s work and develop curriculum opportunities further.

WRITING

INTENT

All children from Foundation Stage to Year 6 are provided with a diverse range of opportunities to develop and apply their writing skills across the curriculum.

Writing runs alongside reading and is further supported by speaking and listening, with the intention of creating confident, articulate young people.

Our intention is for all pupils to be able to plan, revise and evaluate their writing. To be able to do this effectively, pupils will focus on developing a wide knowledge of vocabulary, and effective transcription and composition. They will also develop an awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. We intend to develop the skill of fluent, legible handwriting. We ensure that pupils are competent in the art of speaking and listening, demonstrating to others, and participating in debate.

IMPLEMENTATION

  • At Harwood Meadows, we use ‘Read, Write, Inc Phonics’ to establish a strong basis for phonics and the application of writing.  This ensures a progressive, consistent and systematic approach
  • Early writing begins with mark making.  Within RWI, they are taught correct letter formations. This begins with writing (whether with a writing tool or in the air) cvc words, moving onto short sentences using the sounds they have been taught.  They are encouraged to write independently in continuous provision
  • In Year 1, children continue to apply the sounds they have been taught in RWI.   They have access to RWI sound mats, when they are writing, whether this is with the teacher, in continuous provision or independently.  Phoneme / grapheme posters are displayed in all areas where phonics is taught
  • In order to ensure there is continuity from the RWI phonics, we have introduced the Spelling Shed spelling programme.  Children who have progressed from RWI phonics are then assessed and grouped by ability for spelling. There is an expectation that teachers track back to ensure that any gaps in knowledge are addressed.
  • Grammar is taught through the model text, and also through discrete lessons - it is assessed termly using a standardised assessment
  • Any areas of weakness, that are identified as a result of independent writing, are taught as part of the modelled text, or the grammar starters
  • Writing across the curriculum is taught by showing the children what a good one looks like, then identifying the features in the specific text type that is needed e.g. an information text about their learning in history. As they become familiar with the text type and style of writing needed for that genre, the children then use this knowledge as a scaffold for writing
  • Children engage in the process of editing their work with support from adults and their peers and a final version is produced and placed in a writing portfolio
  • Where possible teachers use ‘real’ purposes for writing and work is published in an appropriate format
  • Teachers will develop pupils’ spoken language across the whole curriculum and children will participate in weekly drama sessions. As a school, we host assemblies for parents, an annual Year 6 production and seasonal celebrations
  • The teaching of handwriting will enable children to develop a consistent, cursive style. Focus is placed on accurate letter formation with appropriate pace and fluency.

IMPACT

  • End of year attainment in Year 2 and Year 6 is broadly in line with National figures or above
  • Children talk with pride about their written work – especially those pieces in their portfolios
  • Tracking system embedded and used by all teachers to track the progress of children (Target Tracker)
  • Vulnerable groups of children are identified each half term, rapid intervention ensures children can keep up
  • Improved quality of cross-curricular writing
  • Teachers follow a clear structure and timetable for teaching spellings.  Children are actively engaged using Spelling Shed at home and school.

We focus on progression of knowledge and skills and discreet vocabulary which also form part of the units of work. We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

  • Assessing children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary before and after the unit is taught
  • Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning
  • Images and videos of the children’s practical learning
  • Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice)
  • Subject leader monitoring of standards
  • Teacher dialogue where pupil’s work is scrutinised and there is the opportunity for teachers to understand their class’s work and develop curriculum opportunities further.

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