English
Building Strong Foundations
In our Early Years Foundation Stage, children are taught from nursery about: environmental sounds, instrumental sounds, body percussion ( eg, clapping and stamping), rhythm and rhyme, alliteration, voice sounds, oral blending and segmenting (hearing that c-a-t makes 'cat'). This might include listening walks, playing and identifying instruments, action songs, learning rhymes and playing fun games such as 'I Spy'. This phase is very important for developing children's listening, vocabulary and speaking skills.
Reading
We actively encourage our pupils to read for pleasure as we know that reading is the key to life long learning and will provide our pupils with significant educational advantages across the curriculum. Our aim is for all our pupils not only to become children who can read, but for them to become children who grow to love reading and who read often.
We deliver the teaching of reading initially through the read Write Inc. phonics scheme, and then, once they have a strong phonics foundation embedded we move on to using the CUSP Reading curriculum which facilitates the daily teaching of reading skills based on rich and engaging texts. As with every area of our curriculum, vocabulary is a vital part of this, as is the regular revisiting of skills to make sure they are embedded.
Phonics
In Reception, soon after children have started in September, we begin the structured phonics programme, Read Write Inc.
Read Write Inc. phonics scheme which uses a systematic, synthetic phonics approach to teach children the sounds in English, the letters that represent them, and how to form the letters when writing. It includes reading books written using only the letters they have learnt at each level (and a small number of separately taught tricky words). It enables children to develop reading fluency and comprehension skills: children quickly feel confident and go on to become successful readers.
Accelerated Reader
Once children have completed the RWI phonics scheme, we use Accelerated Reader in our school to raise the expectations, progress and attainment in reading. Regular STAR reading tests are taken to closely monitor the children's progress and to make sure their ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) level is accurate. This level gives the children a range in which to choose their reading books, empowering them to know what will be a challenge for them or what will be the correct level for them. We encourage children to read for pleasure by providing a wide range of texts for all ages. The children regularly change their reading books and are guided by their ZPD level. We have a well-stocked library- full of both fiction and non-fiction- which children can access for a wide range of reading experiences.
Writing
We deliver writing through the CUSP curriculum. Children are taught to develop both stamina and skills in writing as they progress through the school. They are taught to write at length with an emphasis on vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and imagination! We weave these skills into many different genres (such as autobiographies, newspaper reports, balanced arguments) which we then revisit later in the year to make sure those skills are embedded. Please see the Box folder below for our coverage of writing genres throughout the school.
Drawing club is also used to enhance the CUSP Curriculum in our Early Years Foundation Stage. It opens up the magical world of tales and storytelling to children whilst simultaneously enriching their language skills and developing their fine motor control. It immerses children into a world full of imagination where anything can happen and often does. Drawing Club is a true adventure and is based around the golden blend of picture books, tales and animations. It involves a short period of Time Together as a whole class, followed by time with children exploring their ideas and creativity and shares a treasure trove of vocabulary with children - helping to open up a love of language in our pupils, right from the Early Years Foundation Stage.