English underpins our learning at William Penn Primary School. We enable children to become effective communicators by developing their spoken and written skills. We promote a love of reading and writing by using a selection of rich and varied storybooks to fully engage with a wide range of learners. Our carefully planned and sequenced curriculum, underpinned by inclusive practice, provides all children with opportunities to build on their experiences as they become independent readers and writers.
Early Years Foundation Stage
Early reading begins with children developing listening, vocabulary, and background knowledge. We do this by reading aloud to children daily and talking about stories, non-fiction, poems, and rhymes. Using the Read, Write Inc Phonics scheme our pupils learn graphemes and phonemes, which they use to blend words. Our reading practice books are closely matched to each child's exact phonic knowledge so they can read with accuracy and fluency.
We use Drawing Club to spark the children's imagination and develop their literacy skills. From an early age we set the foundations for the development of strong handwriting.
In Key Stage 1
In Key Stage 1 we also use Read, Write Inc for our phonics programme. Sessions are differentiated through attainment groups. The children will be heard reading individually and in groups. Reading is taught through a shared reading approach. Pupils explore vocabulary, prediction and sequencing, making inferences and retrieving information. In Year 1 and 2, pupils are taught writing through a whole class approach using rich and varied storybooks.
In Key Stage 2
In Key Stage 2 we teach reading through a scheme called Hooked on Books. This is a whole class approach that helps children to build deep and rich reading comprehension.
Pupils explore vocabulary, prediction, sequencing, making inferences and retrieving information, ensuring that they are able to make justified responses using evidence from the text.
In addition to this, pupils explore a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts and online sources in their foundation lessons, which are based around texts linked to the topic being studied. For writing, we use a range of novels which are closely linked to the theme of the term using the Power of Reading. We put quality children’s literature at the heart of our English curriculum which develops reading comprehension and writing composition, and fosters a whole school love of reading and writing. We raise engagement and attainment in language, vocabulary, reading and writing in line with the National Curriculum.
Grammar, punctuation and spelling are taught through discrete lessons and are also rehearsed at the point of writing.
SEND
We understand that some children will need adaptations to support their progress. All children will have access to support such as word mats with high frequency spellings on and special pencil grips. They will be encouraged to make mistakes as having a growth mindset is key to becoming confident writers. Children will also be offered bespoke support when writing either through adult support or through scaffolding provided for by the teacher. There will be opportunities for pre-teaching. We also provide the children with visual tools to help them with their learning.