English

English Statement:

At Robert Kett Primary School, we follow the CUSP English reading, writing, and spelling curriculum.

As the ability to read and write permeates all our curriculum subjects, in line with our vision statement, we aim to empower children through their daily English lessons.

Both reading and writing lessons are underpinned by explicit vocabulary instruction. This vocabulary is referenced across all of the Robert Kett curriculum; we want to encourage our children to make links with all curriculum subjects so that they can build a schema on which to build knowledge.

The reading curriculum is underpinned by a reading spine which brings together a diverse selection of texts. From EYFS to year 6, children are exposed daily to high-quality texts, which we hope will open them up to the wider world. Phonics and fluency are taught alongside comprehension throughout the week, with fluency being explicitly taught.

The writing curriculum is delivered in two blocks: Block A and Block B. In Block A, pupils will meet key concepts for the first time. In Block B, pupils revisit these concepts and build on prior knowledge. Each block has two parts. In the first part of the block, pupils are taught key concepts at sentence-level, and then they will master these through short writing tasks. In the second part of the block, pupils apply this knowledge to an extended outcome.

Success is measured in many ways at Robert Kett. In writing, children’s work will be evaluated against identified ‘ingredients of success’ and then through ‘key indicators’ which will assess how well children are keeping up with the intended curriculum.

All of our English lessons are taught using a six-part structure:

• Connect

• Explain

• Example

• Attempt

• Apply

• Challenge

Knowledge notes are used to help children navigate lessons and are used as a reference in future lessons.

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We encourage all our children to partake in English lessons, so that they can listen to and be exposed to some of the best that fiction and non-fiction authors have to offer. To support our children, we use a reading and writing support toolkit to help provide access for all.

Early Years: Soundwrite

In EYFS and Key Stage One, Sounds-Write sessions are taught daily for 30 minutes.  Teachers teach children these key concepts and skills throughout their phonics sessions:

Conceptual Knowledge:

1. Letters are symbols (spellings) that represent sounds.

2. A sound may be spelled by 1, 2, 3, or 4 letters.

3. The same sounds can be spelled in more than one way.

4. Many spellings can represent more than one sound.

Skills:

1. Blending – the ability to push sounds together to build words.

2. Segmenting – the ability to pull apart the individual sounds in words.

3. Phoneme manipulation – the ability to insert sounds into and delete sounds out of words.

Children in EYFS begin with the Initial Code where they practice all three skills whilst learning the 1:1 sound-spelling correspondences and securing their understanding of key concept 1. This teaches children that the system is reversible, enabling them to decode and encode a wide range of words and sentences. Initially, children learn to read and write simple one syllable words with a CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) structure.  Word structure complexity then systematically builds up so that children apply their code knowledge to monosyllabic words with up to 6 sounds.

Once they have mastered the Initial Code, children continue to practice all 3 key skills whilst moving onto the Extended Code, which explores key concepts 2, 3 and 4. During the Extended Code, children read and write monosyllabic and polysyllabic words at an age-appropriate level.

Key principles of the Sounds-Write programme:

• Sounds are presented in the context of a whole word, not in isolation.  No previous knowledge of sounds is needed before starting the lessons.

• Teachers refer to sounds, not letter names.

• Precise pronunciation of consonants is always taught.  Pupils should say the individual sounds separately and without an attached vowel e.g., /m/ is mmmmm, not ‘muh’.

• The teacher uses gestures to let pupils now exactly what they want the pupils to do (e.g., pointing to individual sounds or running finger along a word to encourage children to blend.). 

• Writing and spelling is an integral part of each lesson.

• Teaching through errors is a very important part of the Sounds-Write approach.  Staff are trained in the potential errors they could encounter and specific ways to address them.

If you would like any guidance on how to support your child at home with phonics, please contact Miss Harvey (phonics lead)

Accelerated Reader

Alongside the teaching of Reading, we use Accelerated Reader (AR), a computer-based programme, to support and manage children’s independent reading practice. Children complete a short, low-stakes assessment online (STAR Reading test), which determines what level (ZPD range) they are currently working at. This then helps the teacher and your child to select books that they can read independently.  These books will be at an appropriate reading level, providing challenge but without being frustrating, therefore allowing pupils to experience enjoyment and success in their quizzes.

Once your child has completed the reading of their book, and they feel that they have understood it well enough to answer questions about it (which may take more than one reading), they will take an online quiz on that book. Passing the quiz with 85% or more accuracy demonstrates that a child has understood what they have read, and they can then choose another book within their ZPD range.

Where appropriate, teachers may choose to direct pupils to explore books outside of their ZPD range, to either further challenge or consolidate a child’s reading comprehension.

Please see the Parents’ Guide to Renaissance for further information on how to support your child with AR.