Wonder Primary English (reading & writing)

Our core mission is to nurture a genuine love for writing in all our pupils. We aspire for each child to develop a distinct and expressive writing voice, utilising writing as a powerful tool for thought and expression. To achieve these goals, we uphold a set of guiding principles: 

1. Diverse Writing Experiences: Throughout their primary journey, our pupils engage in a rich variety of writing experiences, exploring different genres. We believe that exposure to diverse forms of writing enhances creativity and skill development. 

2. The Reading-Writing Connection: We emphasise the essential link between reading and writing. To illustrate how writing functions effectively, we use high-quality model texts that inspire and guide our pupils. 

3. Oral Composition: We recognise the importance of oral composition. We encourage verbal expression as a foundation for confident and articulate writing. 

4. Regular Writing Opportunities: In every writing lesson, pupils are provided with the opportunity to put pen to paper and express their ideas, fostering continuous growth. We value each child as an individual, and in our writing lessons and throughout interventions, we provide personalised support to help them realise their unique potential. 

5. The Simple View of Writing: Our teaching approach is grounded in “The Simple View of Writing” (Berninger et al, 2002), which we break down into manageable knowledge and skills over time. This ensures a structured and comprehensive writing education. 

6. Writing Process Mastery: Pupils are explicitly guided through the writing process, including planning, drafting, editing, and redrafting. This method empowers them to refine their work and take pride in their writing accomplishments. 

Our primary aim is to equip each child with the tools and enthusiasm they need to become confident, skilled, and passionate writers. We believe that fostering a love for writing not only enriches their academic journey but also prepares them for a lifetime of effective communication and self-expression. 

Wonder writing process 

All pupils are taught to compose their writing using a process that is based on the writing composition process outlined in the EEF’s Improving literacy in Key Stage 2 report: 

Essential elements of our writing curriculum: 

At our primary schools, we follow a structured writing process that revolves around key principles. Each topic centres on a fundamental concept, serving as the driving force behind the topic’s exploration. The central model text, often crafted by our dedicated teachers, aids pupils in understanding the underlying discourse structure. Grammar instruction is seamlessly integrated into context, aligning with overarching learning objectives. We utilise authentic texts to vividly showcase word usage, sentence construction, and discourse features, ensuring a comprehensive and engaging writing experience for our young learners. 

Our Approach to Learning Objectives and Intentions 

At our primary schools, we understand that writing is a multifaceted and personal journey for our pupils. Therefore, our approach to learning objectives differs from the traditional format, where objectives are explicit statements of expected lesson outcomes. Instead, we use questions like “How can we…?” and “How well can we…?” to set ambitious expectations while acknowledging that successful writing can take various forms. These key learning questions serve several important purposes: 

• Fostering a Culture of Inquiry: They encourage a classroom culture of curiosity and exploration, where pupils are encouraged to ask questions and seek answers. 
• Keeping Learning Open: We avoid restricting learning to specific boundaries, ensuring that our pupils are not limited by narrow definitions or ceilings on their potential. 
• Challenging All Pupils: Key learning questions are designed to challenge every pupil, regardless of their level, promoting growth and development. 

• Encouraging Critical Thinking: They stimulate deep, critical thinking and encourage pupils to analyse and evaluate their work. 
• Engagement and Stimulation: These questions engage and stimulate pupils’ curiosity and creativity, making learning a dynamic and exciting process. 
• Reflecting on Learning: They provide natural opportunities for pupils to reflect on their progress during and after lessons. 
• Retrieving Prior Knowledge: Key learning questions also prompt the retrieval of prior knowledge, helping pupils connect new learning with what they already know. 
• Teaching Disciplinary Thinking: They promote thinking that is specific to the subject matter being taught, helping pupils become more proficient writers. 

Our approach to learning objectives and intentions is designed to create an enriching and inclusive learning environment, where every pupil can thrive and develop their unique writing skills. 

Assessment of writing 

All skills taught to pupils are part of our writing skills progression, ensuring a structured and comprehensive approach. Pupils are regularly assessed against the expectations for their year group using assessment tick sheets. These sheets serve as valuable tools to gauge pupils’ independent understanding of the required writing skills and inform teacher assessments. To maintain accuracy, moderations occur routinely throughout the year, guaranteeing precise and fair evaluations of our students’ writing abilities. 

Accelerated Reader

This is a computer program that helps to develop a child’s independent reading. It works in the following way: children choose a book at their level, when finished they take a short quiz. If they pass the quiz, this tells the teacher they have fully understood the content of the book. They can also gain ‘points’ depending on the difficulty of the book they read.

STARS Testing

Each term, children in KS2 (and Y2 when ready) take a test on a computer or tablet called STAR Reading. The test uses multiple-choice timed questions to determine a child’s reading level. Questions in STAR Reading adjust to the child’s responses so if they respond correctly, the difficulty increases and if they answer incorrectly, the difficulty is reduced. When a child has completed the test, their teacher can find their ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ also known as book level. This is communicated to parents and pupils.

Book Level Range

The ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ is the book level range. This is a range of books that will challenge a child without causing frustration or loss of motivation. Books that have a quiz on Accelerated Reader are given a book level which represents the difficulty of the text. Book levels range from 0.5-13.5. Children should s=choose books withing their level to make the most progress in their reading.

We aim to create a love of reading through encouraging reading at home and working closely with parents to do this is vital. In order to foster a love of reading across various genres, we aim to expose children to a wide range of texts and stock our library accordingly.

Reading Learning Journey

In Nursery Years we share 15 minutes of high quality poems or stories and learning action rhymes. Activities focus on listening, attention and oral blending of words.

In Reception and Year 1 we have 20-30 minutes of reading with emphasis on fluency and accuracy with both reading and spelling. There are also 3 practice reading sessions with daily catch ups for those who need it.

From Year 2, once pupils are no longer reliant on phonics to decode words and are able to read fluently, through to Year 6, pupils are taught reading during daily Whole Class Reading (WCR) lessons. These lessons are held at the beginning f each day and last 30 minutes for Key Stage 1 and 40-45 minutes for Key Stage 2.

How are skills taught?

We use the VIPERS framework to teach reading skills comprehensively. VIPERS stands for Vocabulary, Inference, Predict, Explain, Retrieval, and Summarise. These key components help our students not only understand the text but also analyse and interpret it at a deeper level. 

Whole Class Reading Lessons

Monday – class novel: each class has a novel to study which they discuss and use to complete other work in the curriculum.

Tuesday – Thursday – Linked Extracts: We build in other curriculum activities linked to the text, such as, environment links and history links.

Friday – Comprehension: This lesson is used to complete a comprehension activity. It will cover a variety of VIPERS skills that have been the focus during that week.

Supporting Readers

We prioritise reading and the support of pupils catching up with their peers. Through careful lesson design and further support outside of reading lessons we ensure pupils are supported. More information can be found in our policy in the ‘Useful Links’ below.

Assessment

We assess reading in multiple ways:

• WCR Lessons – pupils are assessed daily against objectives covered during whole class reading lessons.
• STARs Reading Assessments – Each term KS2 (and Y2 when ready) take a test on a computer or tablet called STARs Reading. These are adaptive, multiple choice questions which help teachers to assess pupils’ progress and guide them towards appropriately challenging books to read.
• PIRA Test – to help inform teacher assessments, pupils will also complete a PIRA reading test. these are paper assessments and will test a pupil’s ability to respond to a variety of texts using their reading skills.
• Accelerated Reader (AR) Book Quizzes – Pupils’ understanding of the book they are reading is done through AR quizzes. These are monitored to see if pupils understand their books with a pass score of 60% needed.

Phonics (Reading and Spelling)

At Melbourne Primary School we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. We teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme.

We start teaching phonics in Nursery/Reception which ensures all children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabet code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through the school. As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read.

We also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Comprehension

We value reading as a crucial life skill. By the time children leave us, they read confidently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary. We encourage children to see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose.

Because we believe teaching every child to read is important, we have a Reader Leader who drives the early reading programme in our school. This person is highly skilled at teaching phonics and reading and they monitor and support the reading team, so everyone teaches with fidelity to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.

Foundation for Phonics In Nursery

• We provide a balance of child-led experiences for all children:
• Sharing high quality stories and poems.
• Learning a range of nursery rhymes and action rhymes.
• Activities that develop focused listening and attention, including oral blending.
• Attention to high quality language.
• We ensure all Nursery children are well prepared to begin learning grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) and blending in reception.

Reception and Year 1

We teach phonics for 30 minutes a day. In Reception, we build from 10-minute lessons, with additional daily oral blending games, to the full-length lesson as quickly as possible. Each Friday, we review the week’s teaching to help children become fluent readers.

Using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised expectations and progres:

• Children make a strong start in Reception: teaching begins in week 2 of the autumn term.
• Children in reception are taught to read and spell words using phase 2 and 3 GPCs and the words with adjacent consonants (phase 4) with fluency and accuracy.
• Children in Year 1 review phase 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell words using phase 5 GPCs with fluency and accruacy.

Teaching and Reading

We teach children to read through reading practice sessions three times a week. These:

• are taught to small groups of approximately six children
• use books matched to the children’s secure phonic knowledge
• are monitored by the class teacher

The reading practice sessions have been designed to focus on three key reading skills:

• decoding
• prosody: teaching children to read and understand expression
• comprehension: teaching children to understand the text

In Reception these sessions start in week 4. Children who are not yet decoding have daily additional blending practice in small groups, so they can quickly learn to blend and read books.

In Years 2 and 3, we continue to teach reading in this way for any children who need to practice reading and decoding books.

Assessment

Assessment is used to monitor progress and to identify any child needing additional support as soon as they need it. Pupils are assessed informally every day by the teacher and every 6 weeks to identify gaps in their learning that need to be addressed. Children in Year 1 sit the Phonics Screening Check. Any child not passing the check re-sits it in Year 2.

“Reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s success” (OECD 2002)

At Melbourne Primary School we believe that reading should be a fundamental part of childhood and a skill which should be developed to support lifelong learning.

Our aim is to develop and embed a strong, sustainable reading culture within the school community. Confident and competent readers will foster a love of reading through a rich and varied experience of texts, in which they are empowered to exercise freedoms of choice and independence.

Inspiring children to read underpins all learning and secures a good trajectory for personal development and understanding he world in which they live.

Our Aim

• Children have a rich curriculum which encourages extensive reading of books and other texts.
• Planning enables links across learning, which creates a wide range of opportunities in which children can read for pleasure.
• Children experience whole books to support their understanding of literary structures and allows them to become absorbed in the story.
• All children have access to a wide range of texts in different formats and genres.
• To engage and support parents in enabling access to a full range of reading experiences.
• Home-school relationships will promote the importance of all adults in fostering a love of reading.

Enthusiasm for Reading

• Celebrating Reading Success – each week we celebrate the class reading reading champions
• 11 before 11 Challenge – we encourage children to use the 11 before 11 bookmark to read. If they achieve all 11 they win a prize.
• Accelerated Reader Champion Bookmark – a fun competition to complete the AR quizzes. For each pass they jump up the bookmark and receive a prize when it’s complete.
• Book Babble – 10 minutes at the end of the day for classes to celebrate reading. Pupils show what they have been reading and instils a sense of enthusiasm for reading.
• Post-it Note Reviews – by sticking a review in the book, children can help others decide whether to read it.
• Reading Areas – Every class has a dedicated reading area. These are tidy and inviting and display interesting and topical books.
• Whole Class Reading – Pupils are exposed to a range of texts and genres.
• Class Novel – Each class has a novel to immerse themselves in. They discuss it with their class and complete other curriculum work linked to the book’s topic.

Nurturing Lifelong Readers at Pocklington Junior School 

Our commitment to reading extends beyond the classroom. We inspire a lifelong love for reading by encouraging reading for pleasure. Our comprehensive approach supports reading fluency and comprehension, empowering students to tackle a variety of genres with confidence. We believe in the partnership between school and home, encouraging reading at home and working closely with parents to nurture young readers. We expose children to a wide range of texts, fostering curiosity and broadening horizons. Our impact on reading is not only measured in improved literacy skills but also in the joy and passion our pupils carry with them on their literary journeys. 

The Reading Learning Journey from Year 3-6: 

Our reading program is designed to support pupils throughout their journey from Year 3 to Year 6. We recognise that as children grow, so do their reading abilities and interests. We aim to cater to these developmental changes by providing a progressive and engaging curriculum that evolves with them. 

Teaching Reading Skills with VIPERS: 

We employ the VIPERS framework to teach reading skills comprehensively. VIPERS stands for Vocabulary, Inference, Predict, Explain, Retrieval, and Summarise. These key components help our students not only understand the text but also analyse and interpret it at a deeper level. 

Monday – Class Book: On Mondays, the entire class immerses themselves in a carefully selected class text. This shared reading experience promotes a sense of community and enables pupils to deepen their understanding and explore this across the curriculum too. Regular reading of this is timetabled into the week to ensure momentum and engagement. 

Tuesday to Thursday – Linked Reading: Throughout the week, our pupils delve into linked reading materials that build on the concepts introduced in the class text. Fred’s teaching scheme is used to explore a wide range of genres linked to significant themes such as Black History month, World Environment Day and Disability Awareness week. This approach fosters critical thinking and encourages students to make connections between texts. 

Friday – Comprehension: Fridays are dedicated to comprehension exercises. We focus on honing skills such as understanding the main ideas, making inferences, and summarizing text effectively. These sessions help students develop a deeper understanding of the texts they encounter. 

Supporting Readers Across School: 

We understand that every pupil is unique, and we offer additional support to ensure all children reach their full reading potential. Our dedicated reading support staff work closely with teachers to identify and assist students who may need extra guidance or intervention. 

Assessments: 

Regular assessments are a crucial part of our reading program to track progress, identify specific learners’ needs and tailor lessons effectively. 

1. STARS: We use the STARS assessment to measure pupils’ reading age and comprehension skills. This helps us identify areas that require improvement and develop personalised reading ages to ensure children read books that meet their reading needs. 
2. Accelerated Reader: Our Accelerated Reader program encourages independent reading. Pupils choose books within their reading level, read them at their own pace, and take quizzes to demonstrate comprehension. 
3. NFER Reading Tests: Termly NFER reading tests assess pupils’ reading comprehension, vocabulary, and reasoning abilities. These assessments provide valuable insights into each child’s growth and areas of development. 

Phonics 

Read Write Inc., developed by Ruth Miskin, provides a structured and systematic approach to teaching reading. It is used by more than a quarter of the UK’s primary schools and is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. 

Each Read Write Inc. programme meets the higher expectations of the new curriculum and uses effective assessment to accelerate every child’s progress. 

Read Write Inc – Our Phonics Scheme 

The Government strongly recommend the use of synthetic phonics when teaching early literacy skills to children. Synthetic phonics is simply the ability to convert a letter or letter group into sounds that are then blended together into a word.  

Here at Pocklington Junior School we use the Read Write Inc. phonics scheme to effectively catch up children with their reading by providing a systematic and structured approach that targets phonemic awareness and decoding skills, ensuring a strong foundation for reading success. 

Reading opens the door to learning. A child who reads a lot will become a good reader. A good reader will be able to read more challenging material. A child who can read more challenging material is a child who will learn. The more a child learns, the more he or she will want to find out. 

The children are assessed regularly and grouped according to their ability. They will work with a ‘Reading Leader’ who is a RWI trained teacher or teaching assistant. 

Reading 

When using RWI to read the children will: 

• Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple prompts 
• Learn to read words using sound blending (Fred talk) 
• Read lively stories featuring words they have learnt to sound out 

Blending 

Help your child learn to read words by sounding-blending (Fred talk) eg. c-a-t = cat, sh-o-p = shop. Children learn to read words by blending the letter-sounds that are in the Speed Sounds set (shown further down the page). 

Help your child to say the pure sounds (‘m’ not ‘muh’, ‘s’ not ‘suh’ etc.) as quickly as they can, and then blend the sounds together to say the whole word. 

Reading Books Sent Home (Read Write Inc Books) 

Children engaging in phonics instruction will receive a specially curated phonics reading book to take home. These books exclusively feature sounds they have mastered, fostering confidence and reinforcing their phonics skills as they progress on their reading journey.  

Please encourage your child to read though the speed sounds page first, then the green and red words page and then check your child understands the meaning of words on the vocabulary check page, before they start reading the book. Your child will have read this book at least three times before they bring it home. They should be able to read this book with fluency and expression by the time they bring it home and they should have a good comprehension of what the book is about. At the back of the book are find it/prove it questions for you to do with your child. 

Our reading curriculum is designed to ensure that all children recognise reading as an open door to all other learning opportunities. Through reading, our children have the opportunity to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially, and spiritually. We understand that each book offers new and unique experiences, challenges thinking, and nurtures imagination. We aim for our students to not only read but to want to read. We inspire confidence and competence in our children by exposing them to a wide range of high-quality texts, in the classroom, in our reading space corners and in our school library.

Our aim is to ensure that every child becomes an independent reader, fostering a life-long enjoyment of reading and books. We prepare our children right from the start of our Foundation Stage to transition to secondary school as enthusiastic, fluent, and confident readers in any subject, equipping them with the knowledge, understanding, and attitudes they need to reach their full potential as individuals and literate members of society.

CUSP Reading Curriculum

We are delighted to be working with Unity Schools Partnership and have adopted their reading curriculum known as CUSP (Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership) which is underpinned by the very latest research evidence from education and the field of cognitive science.

CUSP Reading is deliberately designed to be ambitious and aspirational, ensuring that every child leaves our school as a competent, confident reader. Drawing on the latest research around explicit vocabulary instruction, reading fluency and key comprehension strategies, this curriculum is a synthesis of what we know works in helping children make outstanding progress in reading and a distillation into consistent, well-structured practice. Pupils receive a daily diet of excellent reading teaching and is supplemented by regular opportunities to engage with shared reading experiences, promoting the joy of reading with the whole school community. The clear structure and principles ensure that teaching is progressive, challenging and engaging and the rich, diverse literature spine acts as both a mirror so that every child can see themselves in the core texts and as a mirror to engage pupils with experiences beyond their own field of reference.

Reading for Pleasure

Reading for pleasure is at the heart of everything we do, and we celebrate the joy that comes from exploring the pages of a book. Our Reading For Pleasure Partnership with parents helps children to develop as curious learners who actively participate in dialogue by questioning, relating to, expressing views, and engaging in discussions around a range of quality, engaging texts. We place books, texts, and images at the heart of daily school life, creating an atmosphere where reading for pleasure is celebrated.

Academic Excellence

Reading is not just a skill; it is the key that unlocks a world of knowledge. Our meticulously designed reading curriculum guides children from the earliest stages of phonics in Nursery to advanced comprehension strategies integrated into the CUSP Reading Curriculum. This approach allows children to achieve their potential against the key performance indicators set by the class teacher and assessment lead based on their previous assessment data. Children who are not achieving in line with expectations are given intervention sessions in order to address any misconceptions and to allow children to progress with their learning. At the end of each term, all children are formally assessed – these tests are used to enable teachers to plan effective lessons and to break down barriers to learning.

Cultivating Curious Minds

Beyond academic achievement, our emphasis on reading for pleasure sparks curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. The joy that comes from exploring the pages of a book becomes a catalyst for active engagement in learning. Our Reading For Pleasure Partnership extends beyond the school walls, involving parents in the journey of developing curious learners. Through dialogues, questioning, and discussions around quality texts, children become not only readers but critical thinkers and articulate communicators.

Holistic Development

We understand that reading is not confined to textbooks; it is a tool for holistic development. By immersing children in a diverse range of high-quality texts, we foster cultural, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual growth. The literature spine of our curriculum acts as a mirror and a window, reflecting the experiences of every child and opening doors to worlds beyond their own.

Lifelong Learners

Reading is not just a subject; it’s a lifelong skill that prepares our children for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Our focus on creating independent readers ensures that every child leaves Stamford Bridge Primary with a profound enjoyment of reading and the necessary literacy skills to thrive in secondary school and beyond. The impact is not only seen in academic accomplishments but in the development of well-rounded individuals ready to contribute meaningfully to society.

At Stamford Bridge Primary School, the impact of our approach to reading is evident in the growth, confidence, and enthusiasm our children exhibit as they navigate the world of words. We are not just shaping readers; we are fostering a community of lifelong learners poised for success in the ever-evolving landscape of knowledge.

The journey of learning to read begins with a systematic approach to phonics, a path that extends seamlessly from Reception through Key Stage One and, where appropriate, into Key Stage Two. The systematic teaching of phonics is a high priority throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. To facilitate this, we employ the highly organised and effective Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Programme. Our trained staff teach the understanding of the relationships between phonemes, or sounds, and the graphemes, or written spelling patterns, that represent them.

The journey of phonics commences in our Nursery, where children participate in daily ‘Foundations for Phonics’ sessions. Our youngest learners are encouraged to engage in enjoyable linguistic activities, exposed to a wide array of stimuli ranging from rhyming words, alliteration, songs, to role-playing. The primary focus here is to nurture a deep listening acumen in children, guiding them to relish the world of words.

This journey of phonics continues in Reception and year 1, where children engage in daily phonics sessions to continue to build that strong early word recognition. As they progress through Key Stage 1, and, as needed, Key Stage 2, this journey continues as they engage in tailored phonics sessions within small groups. These sessions encompass activities that encompass speaking, listening, spelling, and reading, all tailored to meet their current requirements. Teachers rely on observations and continuous assessments to ensure that each child is appropriately challenged and to pinpoint those who may benefit from additional support. In instances where children require extra assistance, timely intervention is meticulously planned as soon as their needs are identified.

We believe that systematic, high-quality phonics instruction is crucial. However, we understand that additional skills and opportunities are essential for children to fully embrace the objective of becoming well-rounded readers, especially in terms of comprehension and understanding. Children have phonetically decodable reading books that are carefully matched to their phonics knowledge, which they are encouraged to read regularly at home to ensure fluency and automaticity in reading is developed. These books are matched to the Little Wandle phonics programme.

Impact

As a result of high quality phonics provision, children make excellent progress from their starting points. The vast majority of children pass the phonic screening in Year 1 and the re-take in Year 2 if they didn’t originally pass.

Children develop a love of reading, gaining satisfaction from their growing success in developing independence and fluency.

At Stamford Bridge Primary School, the impact of our approach to reading is evident in the growth, confidence, and enthusiasm our children exhibit as they navigate the world of words. We are not just shaping readers; we are fostering a community of lifelong learners poised for success in the ever-evolving landscape of knowledge.

Parent/Carer Support

Each September we hold an introductory phonics workshop for EYFS parents to illustrate first-hand how children are taught to read and write in the early years of school.