English including phonics

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

What does this look like at NJK?

Writing

Children’s learning experiences take place in vocabulary rich environments which reflect the Pie Corbett Talk4Writing process and the ongoing passion for reading for pleasure that NJK has. Classrooms will exhibit a working wall display with learning prompts such as model texts, story maps, genre specific vocabulary, Talk4Writing action cards and WAGOLL examples. This is integral to children’s learning process at NJK. Outcomes from prelearning activities are used to plan sequences of learning and appropriate teaching and learning strategies. This helps teachers identify pupil need and additional support required, especially for those vulnerable pupils who may be at risk of underachieving or falling behind.

Timely support ensures all pupils make good progress and achieve well. Children understand how to improve as a result of useful written and oral feedback from staff and peers. Children use lesson time purposefully including responding to ‘Think for Pink’ to further challenge or deepen their understanding of a specific point. Children have adequate opportunity to practise key skills and are encouraged to take pride in all that they achieve and be resilient to mistakes, which are part of the learning process.

SPAG lessons are abound with talk of conjunctions and prepositions, of passive and active tenses, antonyms and suffixes. Children and their teachers are using terminology and concepts that have been absent from the classroom for some considerable time.  NJK uses the Rising Stars Skill’s Builder Scheme. This structured and systematic approach to learning grammar, spelling and punctuation throughout the key stages means that your children are becoming more confident in tackling varied and challenging writing tasks. Across the school pupils are encouraged to use their SPAG knowledge to improve their written work. Teachers always check pupils’ spelling and punctuation in line with their developing knowledge.

Reading

For younger children in particular, Read Write Inc phonics teaching is highly effective in enabling them to tackle unfamiliar words and their phonics knowledge is used as the primary approach to learning to read and write.  In addition the focus on children reading aloud regularly from books that are well suited to their level  helps them practice these skills and gain confidence as readers, as they progress through their learning journey.

The school library is central to NJK and houses a huge array of  book banded books from recognised reading  schemes and famous authors. This variety of reading schemes ensures that there is something to interest everyone; whilst being displayed in easily accessible colour bands. Children are encouraged to change their reading book regularly and read daily at home. Parents are requested to record this in their childs' home school link book.

Read Write Inc books are also sent home every 3 or 5 days depending upon the book your child is reading. Please ensure that you spend 5 mins listening to your child read the book. The book will be very familiar with them as they will have already read it 3 times that week. The emphasis at home is fluency and expression. Please return Read Write Inc book the next day in order for the resources to be used by other groups.

The automated library system enables us to analyse reading trends to support both reluctant and enthusiastic readers alike. The library is run by Year 4 pupil librarians who are always willing to help and can be found in the library before school and at lunch times every day. Children are encouraged to change books regularly before school and read daily at home, as they do at school during guided reading sessions, in Read Write Inc lessons and across the wider curriculum.

Parents are provided with clear and timely information on how well their child is progressing and how well their child is achieving in relation to the standards expected. Parents are given guidance about how to support their child to improve. 

Love is one of our core values at NJK and our love for language and literature is evident.