English at Shipham
English, communication and language are at the heart of our capacity to imagine, think create and make a crucial contribution
to children’s development as successful learners. A child's developing use of language underpins their achievement across the curriculum and lays the foundations of active involvement in cultural life, society, work and life-long learning.
“Reading is a passport to countless adventures”
Mary Pope Osbourne
Reading
How we teach reading
Reading is central to the curriculum at Shipham First School. If a child cannot read fluently and with understanding, they will not achieve as well as they should in other subjects. They will also miss out on a crucial life skill that is also one of the most enjoyable past times that both adults and children can have. For these reasons we place great emphasis on how we teach reading. When it comes to successfully learning how to read, we have clear expectations for staff and children, and for how parents can support their child developing as a reader.
In the Early Years and Key Stage 1
At our school, we promote a ‘phonics first’ approach to reading and we use Unlocking Letters and Sounds for the planning of our high-quality, systematic phonics programme. We begin teaching phonics in the first term of reception to ensure that children have a firm foundation in their reading journey. We use a phonetically decodable reading scheme. In addition to this, children are immersed in stories throughout the wider curriculum provision, with opportunities provided for children to read independently, with their peers or be read to by an adult.
In Key Stage 2
We build on the children’s early reading success by continuing the teaching of reading in Key Stage 2. This is delivered through whole class sessions where children are taught strategies to support their comprehension. These specific skills include predicting, questioning, clarifying, summarising and activating prior knowledge. High quality texts are selected to support the teaching of these key skills and teachers model and scaffold these strategies, as children become independent and confident readers.
How we make reading exciting and motivating for the children
Books, books and more books!
We use exciting and engaging texts to help bring all areas of the curriculum to life. Our topic learning is supported by well-known and well-loved books by the best current and classic authors. Every classroom is stocked with high quality books, and we use these books to motivate, engage and challenge all children. Creating and responding to all kinds of texts offers access to the world of knowledge and imagination and generates lasting enthusiasm and enjoyment.
Book Week
One of our highlights of the school year, World Book Day! Every year we celebrate World Book Day with 'dress up' days and various activities. We also welcome a pop-up book fair, where children can access and choose from a wide selection of books that aim to meet the interests and varied age range of our readers.
Share a story
At Shipham, our children love to 'share a story' with their peers, we often pair up with other classes and enjoy stories together.
Author Visits
We've recently had visits from two Authors! Nina Grontvedt, a Norwegian children's author visited Shipham and ran workshops on the art of writing stories. Tracey Corderoy, Author of the 'Shifty McGifty' series visited us to give us a reading of one of her books and to deliver 'illustration' workshops for each of our classes.
Surprise Storytellers
Chestnut class have exciting, weekly visits from a 'Surprise Storyteller'. The storyteller changes each week and can be parents, grandparents, family members and we've even welcomed Mrs Netto and our Wessex Learning Trust CEO, Gavin Ball.
How do we assess reading?
We assess children’s reading skills from the very beginning of their reading journey. Throughout their phonics journey, children are regularly and routinely assessed to ensure that any gaps in learning are identified and to ensure that their reading books correspond with their phonics stage. Once children have mastered phonics, a more formal reading assessment task may be administered to ensure there is an accurate view of the child’s current reading abilities.
How do we help children who find reading difficult?
Regular assessment throughout the teaching of phonics helps to ensure gaps and misconceptions are addressed as early as possible. Swift, regular 1:1 short intervention is put in place, which helps to ensure all children make the expected progress. Where children’s reading difficulties do not relate to phonics, an intervention with a focus on comprehension may be necessary.
How can parents help their children with reading?
Regular practice at home
Reading at home gives children the vital practice they need to become confident, fluent readers. Reading with children and practicing their phonics at home each day, will make a huge difference to their progress and future outcomes. Books that are sent home are closely matched to a child’s current phonics phase so that each child can achieve success in their reading. As children progress beyond phase five phonics, they move onto our coloured book band scheme so they can continue to build and progress in their decoding, fluency and comprehension skills and become avid, expert readers. Alongside these reading scheme books, children are encouraged to take a book home of their choice to share and read alongside an adult in order to promote a love of reading.
Share a story together
Enjoy a book together, it's so important for children to 'hear' stories
'Turn on the subtitles'
Research has shown that turning on the subtitles has a positive impact on a child's reading development. Turn on those subtitles!
“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty.
It should be offered as a gift”
Kate Dicamillo
Writing
At Shipham, we have a progressive English curriculum that provides children with purposeful opportunities to become skilful and confident writers, who write for their pleasure and that of their audience.
Teachers aim to ensure that children are fully engaged in their writing and that they understand how to use spelling, grammar and punctuation to good effect by:
- Using high-quality hooks (novels, picture books, images, short film clips) to engage children
- Immersing children in a range of text types - reading, reading and more reading!
- Using different strategies to enable children to build up their narrative knowledge bank
- Identifying grammar and punctuation within shared texts and extracts
- Modelling expectations in small steps
- Giving continued feedback so that children’s writing develops through the process.
Handwriting