English
As with the whole of our curriculum, we have identified key knowledge, skills and experiences, which we want pupils at Leys Primary School to experience throughout their time with us. Underpinning these is a commitment to facilitating and promoting opportunities for spiritual, moral, social and cultural experiences as often this is where the greatest degree of meaning and fulfillment is experienced. To find out more about this, please see the documents above, or alternatively, open the SMSC tab for the complete document.
Reading and Writing:
We use a range of texts chosen to the interests and developmental needs of our pupils. Some of the texts and lesson resources come from Pearson Wordsmith programme of study and others from CLPE, Power of Reading; some are created by our highly talented teaching staff. The resources include high quality print and e-books across a range of genres and are age appropriate but also allow for differentiation.
You will see from the year group long term plans (see below) that the books studied as part of the English curriculum are coherently linked to other subject areas. This allows children to experience the genre and themes in more depth and provides the best opportunity to for children to acquire and apply the widest range of vocabulary in context.
Reading:
Within the school we have an extremely well stocked library where children have daily access to books from a range of fiction and non-fiction. Many of our books are coded with the Accelerated Reader quiz codes so children are able to access the enormously successful and motivating Accelerated Reader programme.
Children have independent choice over the AR books they read, but are required to make their selections within their identified ZPD range. By doing this, children are reading texts which are within their comprehension range but which also provides a degree of challenge. The results of AR and Star Reader tests provide us with standardised scores so we are confident our assessment of reading is accurate.
Access to the online quizzing is available to pupils each day between 8.50 and 9.15 a.m. It is therefore vital children arrive on time to school so they can complete the quizzes and enjoy the feeling that success brings, right from the start of the day. Children can opt to quiz via remote means using a home computer, laptop or phone. There is a link for this on the children's page of the school website.
Accelerated Reader certificates are awarded regularly via children's class teacher or during Friday assembly.
E-books from Pearson Bug Club are allocated to every child from Reception to Year 6. These colour banded books are allocated to pupils by their class teacher and are updated regularly as children progress through the colour band scheme. Children have access to the e-books during one computer session per week, and during Guided Reading sessions in class too. We also strongly encourage children to access their own Bug Club pages from their home computers or tablets or perhaps do so via computers at their local library.
For our early readers there is a heavy emphasis on acquiring phonic knowledge and we strongly encourage parents and guardians to discuss their child's particular phonic reading needs with his or her class teacher, as required. Children are able to access 'phonic fully decodable' books in both hard copy and e-book versions via Bug Club and we request you support your child's reading of these early texts to give them confidence in this essential life skill.
Handwriting:
The Nelson Oxford Handwriting scheme is used across the school. We place a high level of importance on children’s awareness of writing for different purposes. Pupils are taught about writing which is appropriate for planning or drafting and that which is to impress. Expectations are high – not least because this element of communication is part of the measurement in KS1,(end of Year 2) and KS2, (end of Year 6) tests – but because it is a basic form of communication which is often the first impression that people make of us.
Grammar and Spelling:
Grammar and Spelling are taught using a combination of resources. We provide discrete grammar and spelling lessons through the week but importantly take every opportunity to incorporate these essential skills and rules to all aspects of writing in lessons from across the curriculum, where we believe it is learned and understood best in practice.
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The subject of English is amongst the most dynamic across the school. Every opportunity is taken to embrace language and literature. Examples of this are the highly successful event days such as World Book Day, Roald Dahl Day, or National Poetry Day. We also hold semi-regular author visits and book signings, plus the annual Scholastic Book Fair which provides a huge amount of book resources for our school community.
We participate – and have previously won - the Barking and Dagenham borough Poetry Competition and have had finalists celebrated in the National Writing competition: Wicked Young Writers. There is much to enjoy within this subject area.
Thank you for taking the time to read the above.