Literacy
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We follow a synthetic systematic phonics programme called ‘Sounds Write’ daily to support the children in meeting good outcomes for reading. At all stages throughout the delivery of the programme, children’s reading attainment is assessed and gaps are addressed quickly and effectively through carefully tailored and regularly monitored intervention opportunities. We also use phonics sessions to develop children’s expertise in cursive handwriting. Topic themes in the EYFS, including ‘Let’s Celebrate’ and ‘Polar Explorers’, are driven by high-quality texts which create an integrated approach to learning from which pupils can experience the full curriculum. Children also enjoy taking part in daily story time sessions and reading a variety of books inside and outside of school through quality guided reading sessions and individual reading with adults. Children are sent home with decodable phonic reading books that are matched to their individual phonic level. A rigorous and systematic approach to the reading curriculum delivered through our Sounds Write programme and Cosy Club sessions develops pupils’ fluency, confidence and enjoyment in reading.
In partnership with yourselves, we will help your child to:
Word Reading
- Read individual letters by saying sounds for them
- Blend sounds into words
- Read some letter groups that each represent one sound and say sounds for them (for example sh, ch, ay, ee)
- Build up a sight vocabulary of words
- Read simple phrases and sentences in line with their phonic knowledge
Comprehension
- Foster a love of books
- Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and anticipating key events
Writing
- Form lower-case letters correctly in line with their phonic knowledge, and some capital letters
- Spell words in line with their phonic knowledge
- Write short sentences and phrases
Writing
We use Drawing Club to teach writing. Drawing Club is a creative way to teach across a range of curriculum areas and allows the children to share their creativity through pictures and writing. It always starts with a high-quality story that might be a book, a traditional story or an animation. We then share new vocabulary and the teacher will model a drawing with some writing. The children are then free to create their own drawing while discussing it with peers and the adult. They are then asked to add some code (writing) which will increase in complexity as they gain more phonics and a greater understanding of how letters, words and sentences work together to give meaning. Each writing session the children will be asked to write words, phrases or sentences from dictation. This is in line with the phonic code that has been taught. Handwriting is taught in a addition to Drawing Club and children are taught to hold a pencil in a tripod grip and to sit correctly ready for writing. Handwriting lessons follow the Letterjoin plans which start with patterns and move to letter formation in letter families.
Throughout their first year, we encourage writing for a purpose. By having mark making resources easily accessible and transferable to all areas, writing opportunities become part of the children’s play – shopping lists and prescriptions are often written during role play and food orders taken in the mud kitchen.