The subject of English at St. Mary’s takes in reading, phonics, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation, speaking and listening. Alongside following the National Curriculum and the EYFS Profile, St. Mary’s values the input of parents and carers into helping the children to develop a love of reading and writing. Below you will find our policy documents for the different areas of the subject, our intent for the subject of English, along with some resources to use with your child at home.

Phonics & Early Reading Lead: Miss Hargrove

This term we held a book fair in September to encourage pleasure for reading. We raised £651.40! This means we have qualified for rewards at 40% and therefore, have earned £260.56 to use on new books for school! Thank you to our pupils and their families for all their support!

Our intent for English

Phonics (reading and spelling)

At St Marys we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At St Marys, we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Comprehension

At St Marys we value reading as a crucial life skill. By the time children leave us, they read confidently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary. We encourage our children to see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose.

Because we believe teaching every child to read is so important, we have a Reading Leader who drives the early reading programme in our school. This person is highly skilled at teaching phonics and reading, and they monitor and support our reading team, so everyone teaches with fidelity to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.

Little Wandle Programme Overview Reception And Year 1 Pronunciation Guide Autumn 1 (1)

Pronunciation Guide Autumn 2 1 (1)

For videos on how to pronounce phonemes correctly please visit: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents

Writing

At St. Mary’s, our intent is to provide all pupils with the best quality education in English so that all pupils will speak, read and write fluently in order to communicate their ideas and feelings effectively.

From Foundation Stage to Year 6, children at St. Mary’s are provided with many different opportunities to develop and apply their writing skills across the curriculum (as outlined in our Writing Policy). We want our pupils to be engaged and take pride in their writing. In order for all children to ensure they can achieve their best in writing, we teach them how to plan, revise and evaluate their work. In doing so, pupils will develop an awareness of their audience, the purpose and context of their writing and most importantly, improving their acquisition of vocabulary and grammar of the English language.

English Long Term Plan

St Marys English Whole School LTP 2023 24

St Marys English Whole School MTP 2023 24

Phonics Long Term Plan

Reading

In reading, phonics is emphasised in the teaching of Early Reading, with discreet phonics lessons being taught from Foundation Stage to embed a concrete foundation for reading. We encourage pupils to read widely, across all genres, to develop their knowledge, to establish an appreciation and love of reading and to develop their comprehension skills – across the curriculum. It is our intention that all pupils will be able to read fluently and with confidence and are ready to continue positively with their secondary education.

At St. Mary’s Primary School, reading is fundamental to all children’s learning and progress. From Foundation Stage, children read on levelled books, matching their phonics level. Our main reading scheme is Collins Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.

Phonics lessons are carried out daily in Foundation Stage and Year 1. In Year 2 and Key Stage 2 keep up interventions are carried out where certain children have struggled to embed the fundamentals of phonics. The school follows the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Phonics Scheme, which has been embedded throughout the key stages. Children in Foundation and Stage and Year 1 read books at their phonetic level several times a week as part of reading practise sessions. It is our intention that every child who attends St. Mary’s learns how to read fluently and confidently throughout their time at our school.

Each year, Year 1 pupils take part in the National Phonics Screening Test, where they are expected to reach a benchmark level. All Year 1 parents are provided with a preparation pack and there are meetings with the Year 1 class teacher in order to support children in getting ready for this assessment.

St. Mary’s have also subscribed to Accelerated Reader where all children in the school have access to levelled books in school and online books and reading material at home. This intends to give all children the opportunity to read a wide variety of books using a structured, challenging and progressive approach. All books in school are colour banded and this ensures that appropriate challenge is provided for all children. Children are also encouraged to borrow a book from the school and class libraries. All children are encouraged to read daily both at school and at home and class teachers monitor home reading journals to ensure that reading practice is carried out.

Parent Booklet – Hints and tips related to the Reciprocal Reading model we use in school

Reading with Your Child Booklet

Parents Reading Workshop