English

Reading

At Stoneyholme Primary School we are ambitious for our children to have the best possible life chances open to them. We recognise Reading as a crucial life skill that opens up endless opportunities for our children to succeed. We want to ensure that all our children are equipped to read easily, fluently and with good understanding and to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.

I am a Stoneyholme reader because ...

I can read fluently
I appreciate and enjoy a variety of books
I feel confident to explore and use new vocabulary I have read
I read to deepen my understanding of the world and develop empathy
I can visualise what I read and make connections to the world around me

Road Map

english road map.pdf

Curriculum Overview

Situational Report

/i/video/English/English_Reading_Situational_Report_.mp4

Policy

Vision

At Stoneyholme Community Primary School, we believe that being able to read, having the necessary skills to understand what they read and enjoying reading are key to improving our pupil's life chances. In addition to its intrinsic value, reading is fundamental in supporting all other areas of learning, as through it children learn about people, places, and events outside of their own experience. Reading enables them to subconsciously absorb and use new vocabulary and other language features effectively in their writing and speaking.

Intent

At Stoneyholme Primary School, the teaching of Reading maintains high priority, with the intent of ensuring that children become fluent, proficient and confident lifelong readers who are equipped to read a wide range of material for enjoyment and for learning.

Our Reading Curriculum aims to help the children develop the following key skills and understandings drawn from the EYFS statutory educational programmes and National Curriculum Programme of Study (2014).

Read a wide range of texts
Read for a range of purposes
Evaluate and reflect on what has been read
Respond to what has been read
Read aloud with expression and intonation
Use a range of strategies and cues in Reading
Develop phonemic awareness and phonic knowledge
Develop a positive and confident attitude to reading
Develop an understanding of grammar and punctuation
Develop vocabulary
Use Reading as a model for writing
Find information in books, computer-based sources and libraries

Implementation

In the Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1 children undertake a daily, structured, synthetic phonics programme (Red Rose Letters and Sounds) to help them decode words
In the Early Years and Key Stage One our Guided Reading Scheme starts with fiction and non-fiction books that children are able to fully decode using the phonics skills they have learnt at school
Our core scheme is Pearson’s Phonics Bug, supplemented with books from other schemes which are also fully decodable
By the end of Year One and throughout Year 2, this is added to with "real" story books and non-fiction texts, allowing children to consolidate other reading skills and enhance their understanding of books
Children listen to texts being read aloud regularly
Every child is encouraged to read for pleasure, having access to attractive and well stocked class libraries in every classroom and our KS1 and KS2
In Key Stage 2 children take part in three weekly whole class Reading lessons, in which they learn higher order reading skills and analysis
Children consolidate their skills with the Accelerated Reader Scheme where they choose from a range of carefully levelled books then show their understanding and progress through the programme’s quizzes
Children are given opportunities to read aloud to adults, to each other in pairs and in larger groups
Children are given opportunities to read silently for pleasure, or in response to a structured task
They borrow books regularly from our well stocked school and class libraries
All children are expected to undertake Reading homework every day. Parents are actively encouraged to support their children with this either by reading with their child, listening to their child read aloud and/or talking to them about what they have read
On visits outside school, children are encouraged to read environmental print, information signs and labels etc.to support their learning
There are several areas outside of the school building where Reading activities can take place and outdoor activities are planned which include a Reading focus
Our Green Screen facility is utilised for children to practise performing and reading stories and poems with expression
We celebrate National Story Telling Week, National Non-Fiction November and World Book Day annually with a variety of events and provide Reading focussed activities for other whole school events such as Anti-Bullying Week and Mental Health Awareness
Interventions are available to support children who need to catch up in order to enable them to keep up.

Subject leader supports teachers and LSAs as necessary through the provision of training and other support (modelled lessons, support with planning, provision of resources etc.) when it is necessary

IMPACT

As part of daily phonics in EYFS and KS1, teachers monitor children’s ability to recognise and blend. Children are formally assessed at least half termly, assessments are recorded on Phonics Tracker and outcomes inform future groupings and teaching
In KS1, key questions and activities are planned and responses are monitored and noted on the planning pro-forma
From Year 2, Teachers monitor responses to Guided Reading tasks in children’s Reading Journals and use these to inform assessment judgements and future planning
From Y3, Children undertake a Star Reader Assessment at the beginning of the Autumn Term, then the end of each half term thereafter
Home Reading Records are monitored regularly by teachers to check for participation and engagement
Outcomes from the above are transferred onto Assessment Records, which allows for any gaps across the Assessment Foci to be identified and addressed in future planning
The English Subject Leaders monitor and evaluate Reading in the school formally through a termly analysis of assessment results
They monitor Long and Medium-term planning, scrutinise children’s work, conduct pupil interviews and audit skills and resources
Star Reader and Accelerated Reader Reports are analysed for Reading mileage and progress and used to support assessment judgements
The impact of any additional Reading interventions is monitored through weekly SAT meetings and TLPs

Pupil Voice

Showcase

Writing

At Stoneyholme Community Primary school, we want our children to foster a love for language and develop creativity while building essential writing skills. By adopting these elements, our intentions are to deliver a writing program which aims to inspire young learners to develop their writing abilities and find joy in self-expression. Through the teaching of our English writing curriculum, we strive for children to know more and remember more.

I am a Stoneyholme writer because...

I can adapt my writing for a range of different purposes and audiences
I can use wide and varied vocabulary to achieve varied effects in my writing
I can apply my knowledge of phonics and spelling patterns to help me spell new words
I understand the foundations of grammar and apply it effectively to my writing I can punctuate my writing effectively to aid understanding
I can organise my ideas to develop cohesion in my writing
I take pride in my presentation of my writing and I have developed a legible, joined, increasingly efficient handwriting style
I can develop my writing through drafting, editing and improving my work

Road Map

Curriculum Overview

Situational Report

/docs/English/Callum/English_Writing_Situational_Report.mp4

Policy

Writing

Vision

Intent

The intent of our English writing curriculum at Stoneyholme Community Primary School is to enable the children to become confident and enthusiastic writers who understand and are able to apply with increasing competence the characteristics of a wide range of genres, both fiction and non-fiction. Our curriculum involves establishing clear goals that reflect the school's values, community context, and the needs of the students.

The aims of teaching writing at our school are:

To equip students with the writing skills necessary to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions confidently
To encourage imaginative thinking and personal expression through diverse writing styles and genres
To make writing enjoyable and relevant by connecting lessons to students’ experiences and interests
To focus on grammar, punctuation, and spelling to build a solid writing foundation.
To teach students to engage in the writing sequence (Reading response and reading analysis, gathering content, planning and writing), emphasising that writing is a journey
To ensure every pupil is immersed in rich and varied vocabulary to enable them to access and understand wide-ranging texts and to use this vocabulary in their own writing
To encourage pupils to write clearly, coherently and accurately for a variety of purposes and audiences; adapting their language and style as required
For the good practise in English lessons to spread throughout the whole curriculum
To provide constructive feedback to guide students’ progress and help them reflect on their writing
To encourage students to evaluate their own work, fostering independence and critical thinking
To invest in ongoing professional development for teachers to ensure they are equipped with the latest strategies and resources for teaching writing effectively

Implementation

We teach the children to:

Write with confidence, fluency and with an understanding of genres
Understand the sound and spelling system and use this to spell accurately
Have fluent and legible handwriting
Have an interest in words and their meanings and a growing vocabulary
Know, understand and be able to write in a range of genres in fiction and poetry, and understand and be familiar with some of the ways in which narratives are structured through basic literary ideas of setting, character and plot
Understand, use and be able to write a range of non-fiction texts
Plan, draft, revise and edit their own writing
Have suitable technical vocabulary through which to understand and discuss their writing
Through reading and writing, develop their powers of imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness

Teaching Methods

Our approach to teaching writing is to immerse the children in reading a particular genre and identifying the characteristics of the texts before then going on to writing within that genre. This is implemented through a scaffolded structure of which Talk for Writing is a regular feature. This approach enables children to imitate the key language they need for a particular topic orally before they write it. Through engaging and motivating activities that help them rehearse the tune of the language they need, followed by modelled and shared writing to show them how to craft their writing, children are given scaffolded support to write in a similar style. Each writing lesson features the teaching of an element of grammar or punctuation relevant to the focus genre. Teachers model the planning and writing, then support the children to apply what has been scaffolded. Children are then given another context in which to apply independently what they have been taught. Children’s writing books demonstrate the journey from reading response and analysis through to finished product which provides a reference point for the next time they write in a particular genre.

Contexts for Writing

Daily English lessons are planned that focus on reading through to the writing phase. As often as possible, children are given opportunities to write for a real purpose. Extensive use is made of the school’s emphasis on experiential learning to provide opportunities for this to happen. Visits outside of school provide an impetus for writing opportunities and teachers plan exciting and motivating experiences for the children using the outdoor environment in order for them to have a context, an enriched vocabulary and a multi-sensory experience to draw on for their writing. Knowledge and skills in writing are applied across the curriculum. Children should produce one piece of quality independent writing every day in any curriculum area.

Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling and Handwriting

Grammar and punctuation skills are taught in English writing lessons during the grammar warm up. They are then applied in short writing tasks and during the writing phase. Spellings are taught discretely. All pupils in EYFS and KS1 have daily phonics sessions, following ‘Red Rose Letters and Sounds’. In Year 1 to Year 3 ‘Red Rose Letters and Sounds’ is followed to teach spellings and in Year 4 to Year 6 ‘No Nonsense Spelling’ is used. All pupils in KS2 will take part in a focused Spelling session at least twice a week. Handwriting is taught weekly at a time suited to each class. The Teach Handwriting scheme is used to teach handwriting.

Special Needs

Children whose progress is slower than expected are identified by class teachers and the Senco. Provision is adapted according to individual IEP’s which target the children’s needs, and support is provided where appropriate. This is done in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the Code of Practice.

Equal Opportunities

Bilingual learning support assistants (LSAs) throughout school are used to give all children access to the curriculum. Children with particular learning needs (new arrivals) are given focused support programmes, aimed at keeping them included in the class environment and giving them access to the age-related curriculum. The contexts used in developing writing skills are aimed at reflecting the backgrounds of the children as well as teaching them about the cultural variety in wider society.

Impact

At Stoneyholme Community Primary School, our pupils:

Enjoy reading regularly, for information and for enjoyment/pleasure
Enjoy writing and use the age-appropriate features of different genres and styles
Can write for different purposes and audiences and pupils take great pride in their writing
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling skills are evident throughout the school in their books
Write with increased independence and writing across the wider curriculum is the same high standard as in English books
Show evidence of a clear teaching sequence in English books
Experience a wide range of genres that are taught across the school
Can express preferences and give opinions, supported by evidence, about different texts
Know how to take the next steps to improve their writing
Respond to feedback and they use classroom resources to support their learning
Presentation is of a high standard through following the school’s handwriting policy

At Stoneyholme Community Primary School:

SAT meetings with year group staff are held weekly to ensure individual progress is being made and interventions support progress
Intervention is targeted and ensures that a greater proportion of pupils are on track to meet year group expectations or in the case of those working significantly below expectations to make better than expected progress
Subject leader action planning shows an awareness of standards for the subject and addresses areas for development and improvement annually
Teachers monitor children’s progress in writing using formative assessment and maintain records of children’s progress against assessment foci.
Children are given feedback as to the success of a piece of writing, what could be done to improve it or what the next steps in learning are.
They are given time to make the improvements.
Teachers report half termly a teacher assessment of the level at which the children are working, based on their ongoing assessments.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Development

The English subject managers and other members of the Senior Leadership Team monitor the standards of writing:

Staff questionnaires
Book scrutinies
Monitoring planning
Discussion with teachers
Pupil interviews
Observations of literacy environments
Analysis of data
Observations of teaching and learning
Lesson walkthroughs

Through the analysis of half-termly data, subject managers identify appropriate emphases for each cohort on the basis of previous results. They coordinate the provision of literacy intervention programmes and ensure value added. They monitor the quality of provision and establish support programmes where necessary. They ensure the provision of professional development in response to staff needs. They report termly to the Governing Body on progress against the Action Plan. At the end of the year, they analyse progress against the Action Plan and identify further priorities for development.

Pupil Voice

Writing helps me write stories and imagine how exciting they can be (Year 3 Child).

I like writing stories because you can write about anything you want. We have been writing about 'The Boy at the Back of the Classroom' (Year 5 Child).

I enjoy writing because it improves your vocabulary which helps you to become a better writer. I like to write narratives because you get to use your imagination (Year 6 Child).

Showcase

Year 6

/i/Callum_Broadleday/Year_6_Writing-540p30.mov

Oracy

At Stoneyholme Primary School, our children will develop transformative oracy skills to become effective communicators able to confidently adapt and be contextually expressive. Effective oracy skills will prepare children for their futures and their communities, positively impacting on educational achievement and attainment.

I am a Stoneyholme orator because...

I can communicate effectively showing an awareness of the listener
I can speak audibly, clearly and confidently structuring my sentences using the appropriate grammar
I can express my thoughts, ideas and opinions articulately
I can ask questions to clarify and extend my understanding
I can incorporate a rich, deep vocabulary bank into my interactions
I can adapt my style of speech to the situation I am in

Road Map

Curriculum Overview

Situational Report

/i/video/English/English_situational_report_oracy_power_point.mp4

Policy

Vision

Impact

To listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments, thoughts, feelings and opinions. To gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener(s)
To speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English
To maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments
To use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas
To ask relevant questions to clarify and extend their understanding and knowledge
To articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions
To offer explanations for why things might happen
To give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings
To consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others
To participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates
To build an extensive, deeper and richer vocabulary to support life and learning
To select and use appropriate registers for effective communication, adapting the style of speech to the relevant situation and communicate effectively across a range of contexts and to a range of audiences

Implementation

School understands the importance of both dialogic oracy (being actively involved in dialogue) and oracy education (learning how to talk) and ensures children engage in both.

In the EYFS children’s learning in oracy is taken from the statutory Educational Programme for Communication and Language.

Children are read to frequently, told stories and engage in role play.
Adult directed activities involve the teaching of listening and spoken language creating class posters of what makes a good listener and speaker. Later lessons focus on extending sentences using conjunctions, sentence structure/grammar and tense.
Listening with Lola is used to teach and embed active listening skills.
During teaching and learning in the Continuous Provision adults read, sing and interact with the children. They comment on what children are engaged with echoing back what children are saying extending sentences, re-wording grammatical errors and with added new vocabulary.
Children regularly learn outside the classroom and experience out of school trips and visits to further widen their vocabulary and content for conversations.

In Key Stage One and Two children’s learning is taken from the National Curriculum

The Key Learning in Spoken Language document (Lancashire) supports teachers with planning oracy. This is plotted onto year group Long Term Plans allowing adults to choose the best ways to incorporate key learning into all curriculum areas.
Strategies for developing oracy techniques are integrated into the English Unit Plans where they will be the most effective. These include the document A Progression in Language Structures (Tower Hamlets) which has been adapted for Stoneyholme detailing the language structures to be taught in each year group. Adults also use the adapted Book Talk language structures supporting children to verbalise their response to and analysis of reading. Drama techniques are also used in this part of the sequence to support children with understanding, responding to and analysing texts. All class teachers have been trained in the Talk 4 Writing programme delivered by Lancashire. This is integrated into the unit planning and involves learning narratives and non-fiction by heart in order to internalise the structure of different text types supporting later writing. Teachers plan for grammar using the Sentence Toolkit resource (Lancashire) which is based on the I model promoting the use of oral rehearsal to embed structures.
Children are able to use, embed and extend their oracy skills in a variety of situations. They take part in whole class, group, paired and individual activities and lessons. At the beginning of each new school year children are explicitly taught how to be effective listeners and speakers. They create a class poster of key skills and knowledge to display in their classroom. This is the basis of the Talking Partners strategy. Talking Partners is a strategy used throughout the curriculum to give children the opportunity to share, discuss and explain their thinking to a partner before sharing this with a group or class.
Each classroom has a vocabulary wall showing specially selected cross-context words each week. These include diagrams from EYFS to Year 2 phasing into explanations from Year three onwards. These words are not subject specific but rather chosen because they can be used in a variety of contexts. Subject specific vocabulary is allocated per year group by Subject Leaders and displayed on the relevant learning wall.
School provides many spaces throughout school for social talk including quiet spaces outside and activities to give the children content to talk about during breaks. This allows for quality back and forth interactions and conversations throughout each day.
Children are provided with opportunities to perform songs, stories and rhymes they have both read, innovated and invented. These performances are further enhanced through the use of ICT including IPads and Green Screen technology.
Storytelling Week is celebrated each year with classes having a focus on telling, acting and performing stories. This culminates with a Family Read where families are invited in to share stories and activities with their children and take part in rehearsing and performing part of a story which is put together to create a digital recording of the whole book.
Planned opportunities to embed oracy knowledge and skills are woven throughout our enrichment programme. These include Ginger Bear, Tatty Bumpkins, green screen videos, radio programmes, podcasts and drama to name but a few.

The explicit teaching of oracy constitutes a significant part of every child’s educational experience at Stoneyholme Primary School in order for them to develop a full, rich repertoire of oracy skills.

Impact

To ensure oracy skills are explicitly taught and embedded throughout the school curriculum and school life we:

Monitor the Long and Medium Term Planning and Unit Planning documents for coverage of the EYFS Educational Programmes and National Curriculum
Scrutinise work through photographs in books, digital recording on the children’s Ipads and school website
Monitor learning environments both inside and outside
Audit adults through questionnaires
Collect pupil voice through interviews