Hand Writing

Being able to form letters quickly and precisely is a necessary skill to become a successful writer.

Rehearsing letter formations helps children to become fluent writers and allows them to spend more time composing their ideas.

Below is the link to our handwriting website (LetterJoin) and supporting information.

The login details are:

For a tablet:

Username: qu6620

Swipe code: a captial "L" shape starting at the top left.

For a desktop / laptop

Username: qu6620

Password: home

St Paul’s CE Primary

English Intent Implement & Impact Statement

‘Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write’.

 Annie Proulx

Intent

Here at St Paul’s, our English curriculum allows all our children from all of our diverse and celebrated backgrounds to foster a love of reading and writing, which develops as they progress throughout the school and beyond. Regardless of background, beliefs or culture, we inspire children to enjoy books, talk about texts and become immersed in rich stories, which are fundamental in developing the first steps in becoming lifelong readers and writers. High quality phonics lessons are used to support all children, to ensure they can access the full curriculum.

By the end of their St Paul’s journey, children learn to be avid readers, who read fluently and widely, and can express their opinions, likes and dislikes, and preferences of a range of texts, which celebrate diversity within our school and reflects the wider community.

Here at St Paul’s, we aim to inspire and enthuse all children by providing them with a knowledge-rich curriculum and encouraging them to achieve beyond their potential. Our curriculum develops children’s imagination and vocabulary through reading a wide range of texts and experiences which inspire and enthuse; provides purposeful writing opportunities across a range of fiction and non-fiction texts; gives children opportunities to apply their reading and writing skills across the broader curriculum; promotes a lifelong love of reading and writing through the discussion and study of high-quality texts, which promote and celebrate a range of cultures, ethnicities and faiths; and provides opportunities to explore English through other curriculum areas, such as Drama, Art and Music.

Children are taught to become creative writers through use of the “y” structure (immerse, imitate, innovate) and given purpose for the writing through the TAP and real audiences.

Implementation

Speech and Language

We believe that for children to be able to make progress in English, they need a strong foundation in speech, language and vocabulary, which begins during their time in EYFS. Therefore, a language- rich environment with a focus on oracy is vital.

Children are given time to experiment with speech through talk and role play, so that they can consolidate, rehearse and improve their ideas before recording them.

Phonics and Early Reading

In Reception, phonics is introduced, and is taught through the Sounds Write scheme which supports all abilities to acquire the phonic skills they need to succeed in the wider curriculum. Children read fully decodable books and eBooks to support the phonics they have learnt in class.

Reading in KS2

In KS2, progress in reading is developed by daily Destination Reader sessions, which is a scheme we adopted in 2016. These sessions provide opportunities for pupils to read and discuss range of rich and diverse texts, whilst developing their skills in inference, evaluating language and clarifying information.

We also use Accelerated Reader to provide ability- matched texts and comprehension questions to check understanding, which children can access independently.

Writing

Writing units are based around high quality and exciting texts that extend children’s vocabulary and provide opportunities to explicitly teach new concepts for specific audiences and purposes.

The teaching of writing takes place daily. High quality modelling of grammar and vocabulary- as well as the reading and discussion of rich texts- is promoted to ensure the progression of writing. Grammar is also taught daily and focuses on fundamental skills that children then incorporate into their written tasks. These skills progress throughout the school, and are built on rather than taught discretely.

Children are given an opportunity to discuss and talk about their ideas before being asked to begin writing. All children are given the opportunity to edit and improve their work. In upper KS2, children use draft books.

Handwriting and presentation

Handwriting skills enable our children to develop pride in their work. Early Years provision focuses on fine motor control and strength through play based activities that moves into taught handwriting skills when children are ready. Handwriting lessons continue through KS1 so children can develop a fluid cursive style. These skills are then applied in all other writing activities. As children progress through the school, high expectations of presentation are promoted for all.

Spelling

When children have moved beyond using phonics, No Nonsense Spelling is used throughout the school. This is a scheme we have delivered since 2016.

Interventions

All areas of English are tracked and monitored to ensure any gaps in learning are rapidly addressed. This includes the use of Star Reader assessments, PIRA tests, and phonic tracking.

Language Link is used to swiftly identify and Speech and Language needs which may hold back a child’s progress. Targeted interventions are provided by our specialist Speech and Language TA and Clark SLT (an independent Speech and Language Therapy provider.)

Impact

Upon leaving St Paul’s Academy, we want children to:

• be fluent and accurate readers,
• to read for pleasure and purpose,
• be able to apply their reading strategies to fully understand what a text is conveying,
• have experienced a wide range of different genres and styles of written work from a variety of cultures and backgrounds,
• be articulate and confident speakers,
• be able to write clearly and concisely for a range of purposes,
• have a love of writing for both enjoyment and as a life skill,
• have developed a wide range of vocabulary, have the passion to continue reading and writing into their adulthood.