Welcome to St. Peter’s English page on here you will find information on Phonics, Reading and Writing. You will also find useful links on ‘How to help at home’.
Phonics
At St. Peter’s we use Phonics as a way of teaching the children to read and write. We use the Letters and Sounds document as our basis and support it with Jolly Phonics.
Throughout Reception and KS1 the children receive a daily phonic sessions of twenty minutes. The children re-cap the sounds they have learnt and are then taught a new sound. It is practiced by taking part in a variety of phonic activities and then it is applied in their reading and writing.
Children are also taught to read and spell Tricky words, these are the words which they cannot decode.
In 2012 a statutory check was introduced in Year 1. The screening test assesses a child’s phonic knowledge learnt in Reception and in Year 1. It was developed to help identify the children who need extra help with decoding and blending before they begin Year 2.
Any children in year groups further up the school who have been assessed as working below national expectations in phonics will receive further phonics intervention to support their development in reading and writing.
Reading
At St Peter’s we aim to foster a love of reading. Classrooms reflect the importance of reading for pleasure by providing the children with a quiet reading area and a range of fiction and cross- curricular topic books. All children are given the opportunity to read to an adult in school twice a week and hear a class book or picture book read to them daily (if possible) by the class teacher. Each class has an opportunity to use the library where children can choose their own library book. The children also have the opportunity to take home a reading scheme book.
Oxford Reading Tree is the main reading scheme used at St Peter’s and it is supplemented by a selection of real books. Reading scheme books are colour banded according to difficulty so that children who are familiar with the level at which they are working, can independently choose an appropriate book. The children’s book band reading levels are carefully monitored by the class teacher in guided reading sessions and the children move up a colour band as their reading improves. When they become fluent readers (usually in Year 4) children can choose books themselves by browsing independently.
Guided and independent reading takes place outside the English lesson during ERIC time. Guided reading may be carried out by the class teacher or teaching assistant and is based on the reading targets for that particular group of children. Guided reading groups have similar reading ability and reading ages. Over the course of the year guided reading covers all the reading assessment statements so that children are prepared to answer a variety of question types and can retrieve as well and interpret information in the books they are reading. Teachers use the ongoing assessment from guided reading sessions to up date Classroom Monitor reading statements.
Children are encouraged to share books as well as to read quietly by themselves. All children have reading diaries which parents are encouraged to use at home and sign when their child has read to them. Older pupils may record their own reading activities although it is expected that their parents still monitor home reading.
Comprehension is taught within English lessons and also throughout the curriculum. Comprehension skills are assessed each term. Parents are encouraged to support the development of reading comprehension by asking their children questions when reading at home to check their child’s understanding. Book marks matching the children’s reading colour band level help support home reading by providing parents with examples of progressively challenging sets of questions.
When children are struggling to progress, extra support is given to them through reading interventions and for some children ‘rapid reading’ is offered. Children may also receive additional support in the form of interventions recommended by the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) as and when appropriate.
Writing
English is at the heart of all children’s learning. Therefore, through the English curriculum we aim to develop the skills and knowledge that will enable the children to communicate effectively and creatively through spoken and written language, inspire a love of reading and equip the children with the skills to become lifelong learners.
Aims