English

Implementation 

Reading

In EYFS and year 1, we teach daily phonics sessions using Little Wandle, where children learn the relationship between the sounds of the spoken language and the letters or groups of the written language. For further information about this, please see our Phonics and Early Reading policy. Additional support is provided for the lowest 20% of readers in the school including regular one-to-one reading and catch-up-phonics teaching. We also teach reading through:

EYFS

• Daily phonics sessions

• Each week’s learning is underpinned by a high-quality text

• Regular one-to-one reading and small group work with an adult

• Reading is regularly modelled by an adult, with lots of book talk

• Weekly visits to our school library

 KS1

• Daily phonics sessions in year 1 and catch-up phonics sessions in year 2, where appropriate

• For guided reading, year 1 follow the Little Wandle model and in year 2 we use the ‘3 reads’ approach

• Guided sessions also take place during the ‘stimulate and generate’ phase of our writing learning journeys

• Regular one-to-one reading and small group work with an adult

• Daily reading of a high-quality text for pleasure

• Reading records are checked weekly to ensure children are reading at least 5x a week at home

• Reading is regularly modelled by an adult, with lots of book talk

• Weekly visits to our school library

 KS2

• Reading is taught through a daily, whole class guided reading session. These sessions focus on reading comprehension strategies, developing oral reading fluency and vocabulary knowledge

• Guided sessions also take place during the ‘stimulate and generate’ phase of our writing learning journeys

• Regular one-to-one reading for the lowest 20% of readers

• Daily reading of a high-quality text for pleasure

• Reading records are checked weekly to ensure children are reading at least 5x a week at home

• Reading is regularly modelled by an adult, with lots of book talk

• Weekly visits to our school library

• Children will be given the opportunity to read a wide range of text types through the foundation subjects

Writing

Our writing curriculum is driven through high-quality texts which have been selected to inspire rich written outcomes. The writing learning journey has three stages: Stimulate and generate, which hooks the children into a text and allows us to teach reading and spoken language statements; capture, sift, and sort, which focuses on writing skills, punctuation and grammar, as well as knowledge of text structure; create, refine, evaluate, where children create a final, well-crafted piece of writing that they can be proud of. In each phase, writing is taught through: 

EYFS

• Pupils are taught to form letters accurately as they are introduced within Little Wandle

• Rich writing opportunities through continuous provision

• The opportunity to work with an adult as part of a directed group

• Teachers frequently modelling writing and accurate letter formation

 KS1 and KS2

• Daily writing lessons, informed by our text led learning journeys

• In year 1, pupils will continue to write during phonics lessons. From year 2, they will write during their spelling lessons

• Handwriting practise, which takes place 3x a week

• Opportunities to write for a variety of different purposes across the curriculum

Handwriting

Here at Chalk Ridge, letter formation aligns with our phonics programme, Little Wandle. From year 2 we use the Letter-Join handwriting programme to continue developing handwriting practise. See our Handwriting policy for further information about the progression of handwriting skills and how this is taught. 

Spelling

In EYFS and year 1, spelling is supported through the Little Wandle phonics programme. From year 2 onwards, spelling is taught systematically using the No-Nonsense spelling programme. It is taught and practised using a range of different strategies. All children are encouraged to use phonics in order to support their spelling, regardless of age. In order to support spelling development, pupils are tested on their spellings weekly. At the start of each academic year, children will be provided a home spelling book, where they will be able to take their weekly spellings home to practise. Some children will be provided with bespoke spelling lists, appropriate to their specific needs. Children are encouraged to become independent in their spelling and are taught how to use dictionaries, word banks and thesauruses to do this. 

Spoken Language

We teach the spoken language requirements of the National Curriculum across a range of learning contexts. In reading lessons, children frequently have the opportunities to take turns, justify their thinking and take part in conversations and debates. These opportunities are also provided through the stimulate and generate phase of our writing learning journeys. Furthermore, our pupils are given the opportunity to develop their spoken language skills across a wide range of subjects within the Chalk Ridge curriculum.

Impact