Early Years and Key Stage 1
Our children's Reading and Writing follows the Extend Letters and Sounds phonics programme. Once children are ready to move on, we follow the Extend Early Reading and Writing programmes.
Children learn phonics every day in Early Years and Year 1, and where appropriate in Year 2.
Year 2 and Key Stage 2
Writing is taught daily in Year 2 and Key Stage 2. Reading is taught three times a week as a whole class session and where appropriate additional sessions.
Once children are ready to move on from the Early Reading and Writing programmes, we use the National Curriculum to support the progression of learning in Writing. There are many opportunities for Writing across the Wider Curriculum with appropriate links made. We ensure that these links support the independence of Writing and the other subjects, so that the core learning of each is covered. We do not link Writing to the Wider Curriculum where it is inappropriate.
From September 2023, children in Years 3-5 will complete a significant amount of written work when learning the Opening Worlds curriculum. This writing will be of a high quality, with an expectation of meeting the Every Time I Write criteria as well as the expectations of a high quality explanation text.
Each class has a book which is read daily by the teacher to children. These are a combination of fiction and non-fiction books. Books are not always linked to the project, to ensure that we are able to use quality age-appropriate texts that do not fit with the projects that we study.
The Writing process
Throughout the school we have a clear Writing process that we follow when planning and teaching units of learning. This ensures a consistency across the school. For each unit of learning, children:
(1) Start with a Cold Write to show what they already understand about a genre
(2) Look at a good example of a text (a WAGOLL)
(3) Learn the Success Criteria for the genre
(4) Fill in any gaps in understanding
(5) Write a second draft
(6) Fill in any further gaps in understanding
(7) Complete a best draft
(8) At least once a term, 'publish' a best piece of writing
