Reading

For information about our phonics and reading in school please click here to take you to our 'Reading and Phonics' section.

Writing

From the important early stages of writing by mark making and physical development in nursery through to deep understanding of texts, vocabulary and reader engagement, we aim for our children to be confident writers.

Our approach to teaching English encompasses all aspects of writing in the English lesson, rather than stand alone lessons so children are actively applying their learning. We teach children a variety of genres of writing through the over-arching themes of:

• Writing to entertain
• Writing to inform
• Writing to persuade

Transcription

The transcription element of the curriculum teaches spelling and handwriting. Through the teaching of phonics in EYFS and KS1 we aim for children to have a strong understanding and application of phonics for reading but also to apply in their writing. Children are supported in this through direct links to the phonics teaching and resources.

We teach handwriting skills right from Early Years through the development of children's gross and fine motor skills. Children need to be able to manipulate their whole hand to be able to write comfortably. To develop this we use a handwriting scheme developed by Future Steps Occupational Therapy. Children complete exercises within the class to improve their hand manipulation and upper limb strength.

Being confident and capable in these two areas means children develop fluency in their writing so they can focus on composition. 

Composition 

For children to be successful writers, they need to be exposed to high quality texts to explore their composition and how the writer has communicated their ideas through their chosen structure and vocabulary. Through daily vocabulary work, children develop the range of words they can use to have the desired effect on their audience.