English at St John's
At St John's, we have adopted an approach to the teaching of reading and writing, that places children’s literature at its core. The school subscribes to ‘The Literary Curriculum’, developed by The Literacy Tree, to help provide pupils with a broad range of high quality reading and writing experiences.
During their time at St John's , children have the opportunity to study and indulge in high quality rich texts.. In addition stimulating trips and experiences, promote high quality writing across all aspects of the curriculum.
Our Intent for English and Literacy
The purpose of this document is to clarify the ‘how, why, and what’ of English teaching at St John's. This is to be used by staff to clarify expectations, highlight the resources that we have at our disposal, and to ensure that a high-quality English curriculum is being taught to all. At St John's, we want to ensure that our children will make a profound, positive impact to the outcomes of every child. The importance of being literate has never been more important in our society, and those who struggle to read and write are at a catastrophic disadvantage. Studies show that children who leave primary school able to read and write, are much more likely to be successful in later life.
At St John's, we are not just attempting to teach the fundamental skills and knowledge so that our children are capable; we are aiming to instil in them a love of independently pursuing their development of literacy. We aim to create life-long readers, who engage in a wide range of books for both information and pleasure, who are able to apply their skills and learning into other areas of their lives and education.
Staff receive regular CPD on the teaching and planning of English within school, and take part in the continual moderation and assessment of writing.
Theological Underpinning:
Luke 2:52- 'And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine human favour.'
How we implement our English Curriculum
At St John's, we teach English every day, along with separate handwriting, phonics and comprehension lessons. This ensure that children have a suitable level of exposure to all areas of the English curriculum. Weekly English homework is also sent home with age-appropriate spellings to be learned, aiding the development of their vocabulary.
Each child will receive a Reading Record at the beginning of the year, where they will keep a written record of their reading with adults outside of school. Children are encouraged to read at home every day and also bring their reading books to school every day in order to take advantage of reading at any opportunity.
Every class should be rich in language, speaking and listening, with a culture of children reading in lessons at every opportunity (from the board, reading questions aloud etc.). Teachers will at all times model the correct spoken language of English along with the standard of handwriting expected while both writing on the board and in class marking.
We aim to use high quality books that offer opportunities for empathy and can aid philosophical enquiry, as a means of developing spoken language requirements through debate, drama and discussion using the issues raised through, and within, the text. These are then used as a basis for writing opportunities that are meaningful; whether short or long, where children are able to develop a clear sense of the audience that they are writing for. We want our children to have real reasons to write, whether to explain, persuade, inform or instruct and that where possible, this is embedded within a text or linked to a curriculum area.
Reading
Learning to read is one of the most important things your child will learn at our school. Everything else depends on it, so we put as much energy as we possibly can into making sure that every single child learns to read as quickly as possible.
We want your child to love reading – and to want to read for themselves. This is why we work hard to make sure children develop a love of books as well as simply learning to read.
We start by teaching phonics in Reception using the highly successful ‘Read Write Inc’ phonics programme. Children learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell well.
The children also practise reading (and spelling) ‘tricky words’, such as ‘once,’ ‘have,’ ‘said’ and ‘where’.
Once children can blend sounds together to read words, they practise reading books that match the phonics and the ‘tricky words’ they know. They start to believe they can read and this does wonders for their confidence.
Teachers regularly read to the children, too, so the children get to know and love all sorts of stories, poetry and information books. This helps to extend children’s vocabulary and comprehension, as well as supporting their writing.
Up until the end of Year 2, your child will work with children who are at the same reading level. This is so that the teaching can be focussed on their needs. Some older children will continue to access Read Write Inc groups if they need further consolidation and development of reading skills. We check children’s reading skills regularly so we that we can ensure they are in the right group. Children will move to a different group if they are making faster progress or may have one-to-one support if we think they need some extra help. In Key Stage 2 (years 3, 4, 5 and 6,) the children undertake regular guided reading sessions with the staff in their class, have a wide selection of reading materials to choose from and projects linked to reading, with rewards systems for encouragement.
How long will it take to learn to read well?
Every child is different and children will learn to read at different speeds. By the end of Year 2, most children will be able to read aloud books that are at the right level for his or her age. In Year 3 and beyond, we concentrate more on helping children to understand what they are reading, although this work begins very early on.
In the summer term of Year 1, the government asks us to do a phonics check of all the children. We will let you know how your child has done. Children who do not pass the phonics check in Year 1 retake the assessment during Year 2 to ensure that they have made progress. If your child is a candidate for this, then we will let you know in advance and also feedback the findings.
Click here to access our Whole School Reading Overview
Click here to access our Reading Skills and Progression Map
Click here to access our Reading Progression Overview
Our Approach to Teaching Early Reading and Phonic Skills
We use the Read Write Inc. phonics scheme of work within our school. Read Write Inc. is a phonics programme, for 4 to 7 year olds learning to read and write. Children are placed into homogenous reading ability sets and then learn various phonemes (segments of sound) and the corresponding grapheme i.e. how that sound is written. Sounds are divided into 3 sets. In Reception children will learn Set 1 sounds and some Set 2 sounds; in Years 1 and 2 (Key Stage 1), children will secure Set 2 sounds and learn new Set 3 sounds.
The programme involves specific terminology which your child may talk about when they come home:
• Fred the Frog: Fred the Frog is a frog which is used as a vehicle to help the children blend sounds. Children learn pure sounds first but then need to learn to blend sounds together so that they can read a word. Fred can only read pure sounds, so the children help Fred by blending the sounds so that they can help him to read a whole word!
E.g. c -a - t sounds out as cat. ‘c- a- sh’ has three sounds which make the word ‘cash’.
• Green Words - these are words which can be read phonetically
• Red Words – these are words which cannot be read phonetically.
Running alongside the Read, Write, Inc scheme of work is the Fresh Start programme. This is literacy catch-up intervention for pupils at risk of falling behind their peers in early secondary schooling. It provides a systematic and rigorous practice in phonics so that pupils are at an appropriate level to join the mainstream group after the completion of the intervention.
Reading for pleasure is a core is an entitlement we believe each and every child is entitled to. Teachers read aloud to children every day which develops their listening and comprehension skills. Our aim is to develop a passion and a love for reading high quality texts in our children.
Read-Write-Inc_info_for_parents.pdf
St John's approach to Writing
Writing
At St John's, we believe that writing is a fundamental skill that nurtures creativity, critical thinking, and effective communication. Our approach to writing instruction is designed to build a strong foundation and foster a love for writing in all our students.
1. Integrated Learning: Writing is seamlessly integrated into all areas of the curriculum, allowing students to develop their skills through diverse and meaningful contexts. Whether in science, humanities , or the arts, students are encouraged to express their understanding and ideas through writing.
2. Developmentally Appropriate Practices: We tailor our writing instruction to meet the developmental needs of each age group. From early literacy skills in the early years to more advanced writing techniques in the later years, our approach ensures that all students receive the support and challenges appropriate for their level.
3. Process-Oriented Approach: Students are guided through the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. This approach helps them understand that writing is a recursive process and encourages them to take pride in their work.
4. Emphasis on Creativity and Expression: We encourage students to explore their creativity and express their unique voices. Through a variety of genres and formats, students have the opportunity to experiment with different styles and develop their personal writing identity.
5. Collaborative Learning: Writing is not just an individual task but a collaborative process. Students engage in peer reviews, group writing projects, and discussions, which help them learn from each other and refine their skills.
6. Support and Feedback: Our dedicated teachers provide ongoing support and constructive feedback to help learners improve their writing. We focus on both strengths and areas for growth, ensuring that every student receives the guidance they need to succeed.
7. Celebrating Achievements: We celebrate writing achievements through classroom displays, writing fairs, and publishing opportunities. Recognizing and sharing students' work fosters a sense of accomplishment and motivates them to continue developing their writing skills.
By nurturing a positive and supportive writing environment, St John's aims to equip our students with the skills and confidence they need to become effective and enthusiastic writers throughout their academic journey and beyond
Click here to access our Whole School Writing Overview
Click her to access our Writing Skills and Progression Map
ENGlish
Age Related Expectations - Writing Click here
Our Approach to Handwriting at St John's
At St John's, we have high expectations about the presentation of written work across the curriculum. We have a well-established Handwriting programme that begins in EYFS where the children are taught the appropriate posture and grip for writing and they learn to form their letters correctly in preparation for writing cursively by the end of Key Stage 1.
Our Approach to Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling
To provide a more meaningful context and a clearer understanding of expectations, the teaching of grammar, punctuation and spelling are embedded in our whole-school thematic approach. We provide complete coverage of all National Curriculum expectations for writing composition, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary, as well as coverage of spelling, phonics and reading comprehension as part of our topic based learning.
Our Planned Impact
The impact on our children is clear: progress, sustained learning and transferrable skills. With the implementation of the writing journey being well established and taught thoroughly in both key stages, children are becoming more confident writers and by the time they are in upper Key Stage 2, most genres of writing are familiar to them and the teaching can focus on creativity, writer’s craft, sustained writing and manipulation of grammar and punctuation skills.
Children will be given continuous opportunities to develop their reading, writing, speaking and listening across all areas of the curriculum. We aim that, by the time our children have left our care, that they have developed a love of reading along with a strong foundation of writing, so that they are equipped to apply these skills to any area of their lives. We aim to provide all children, regardless of their backgrounds, with the necessary tools to excel.