English and Communication
Phonics
All of our children learn phonics through a tried and tested program. The program we use is Read Write Inc. This is our prime approach to early reading.
Children in nursery follow the Read, Write Inc nursery program which helps to increase their vocabulary and develop a love of stories and poems. When they are ready they learn to read and write the one letter sounds.
In Reception the children learn the 44 main sounds heard in the English language as well as learning tricky words. They use these sounds to read and write simple words and sentences.
In Year 1 the children revisit the 44 main sounds and learn different ways to spell these. The children also continue to learn many more tricky words and develop a more adventurous vocabulary. At the end of Year 1 all children are screened using the national phonics screening check.
Year 2 consists mainly of learning to spell and read more complex words and write extended sentences.
In year 2 we use a program called ‘Read Write Inc Spelling’ which continues to develop the children’s spelling and phonic skills. We also use the Year Group Spelling Lists provided in the National Curriculum.
Reading
Intent
We believe that reading is a vital life skill, one that is high on our priority list at St. Peter’s. In our school we passionately believe that every child will be able to be a confident reader.
We make this happen in the first instance with excellent early phonics teaching. Each year we buy lots of new books for home reading and for our class libraries. Once the children have mastered their phonics, they progress onto reading books that are graded so that they are reading appropriately challenging whilst supporting their developing fluency.
We want every child to develop a love of reading.
Writing
For Writing, we follow 'Talk for Writing' as our main strategy. Children start making marks on paper at an early age and from these early mark makers we aim to develop confident and fluent writers. Across the school, children are encouraged to write for different purposes and we constantly look to develop their vocabulary and sentence structure skills. Initially we teach the children to print letters using a script which will later be easy to join. By Year 2 children are being taught to join sets of letters and simple words. In KS1 the focus is on writing confidently and at length. In KS2 the focus is on spelling, punctuation and grammar and being able to write in a range of styles and genres. Our writing results are consistently above national average.
Speaking and Listening
Across the school, we are consistently trying to develop the children’s speaking and listening skills. At home, you can help by encouraging your child to speak using full sentences and new words. Learning to take turns and listen to different people is also a lifelong skill.
Taking part in plays, productions and presentations helps children to develop their confidence for speaking in front of a group / audience. This is part of their work readiness.
