AIMS

 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.

Reading

At Stonehill we believe that reading is the gateway to the wider curriculum. Reading is a priority at this school. 

Learning to read is the most important thing your child will learn at our school. Everything else depends on it, so we put as much energy as we possibly can into making sure that every single child learns to read as quickly as possible.

We want your child to love reading – and to want to read for themselves. This is why we put our efforts into making sure they develop a love of books as well as simply learning to read.

At Stonehill, the systematic teaching programme for phonics is Read Write Inc. (RWI).

Intent

At Stonehill, it is our intention to ensure that by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.

We therefore intend to encourage all pupils to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop: knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live; to establish an appreciation and love of reading; to gain knowledge across the curriculum; and develop their comprehension skills. We are committed to providing vocabulary rich reading material. At Stonehill we know that reading is the gateway to the wider curriculum and therefore it is a priority that all children leave Stonehill readers.  

Reading is essential to everyday life and our aim is to ensure children:

• Read easily, fluently with a 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;
• Appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage;
• Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas;

At Stonehill School we have developed a curriculum which ensures children spend longer being taught the common features and skills in reading in order to have a more coherent Reading curriculum and therefore be able to develop a mastery approach.

We intend to do this by:

• Ensuring our children have access to a high quality English curriculum that is both challenging and enjoyable.
• Providing our children with a variety of reading opportunities, which will enable them to make the connections in learning needed to enjoy greater depth in learning.
• Ensuring children are confident in reading and are not afraid to take risks.
• Fully developing independent learners with inquisitive minds who have secure English foundations and an interest in self-improvement
• Developing fluent readers.
• Ensuring we close the gap so the bottom 20% catch up.

Implementation

Planning

EYFS

• The systematic teaching of phonics using RWI has a high priority throughout Foundation stage and we use ‘Making a strong start to ensure the children make good progress in their early reading.
• Phonics is taught daily to all children in Foundation Stage.
• This is taught at the start of every day.
• Children are grouped according to their phonic knowledge. This is assessed each half term. 
• The children are taught Guided Reading in a carousel  after lunch four times a week. They are taught using phonics books matched to the sounds that they know to support their progress. 
• The children take home a match book bag book that links with the book they are using in class. 

  KS1

   

• The systematic teaching of phonics using RWI has a high priority throughout Key Stage 1. Phonics is taught daily to all children in Year 1 and those in Year 2 who have not passed phonics screening. This is taught at the start of the day in a daily speed sounds lesson. The children are grouped three ways with a fourth group working on age appropriate spellings. This ensures that all children are working at a closely matched level to their phonological ability.
• Staff systematically teach learners the relationship between sounds and the written spelling patterns, or graphemes, which represent them.
• Once children are confidently reading, they move on to the Accelerated Reader programme.  This generally happens when pupils are in Year 2.
• RWI Reading sessions are taught through the guided reading carousel. All children have their day one read with a teacher. Then, the day 2 read is with an LSA. Day three is a child’s third chance to read their book with a partner and then answer comprehension style questions. On the final day of their carousel they have a chance to play phonics games or complete an independent comprehension. The children on AR follow are included within the carousel, however they have their day 1 read with the teacher, day 2 independent follow up, day 3 is their chance to read their book to themselves and then their final activity is to complete an independent comprehension.
• All children in school have a closely matched reading book to take home. In EYFS and KS1 this will be the RWI bookbag book that goes alongside their reading book from Guided Reading sessions. This is closely matched to the sounds taught and known to date. The children also take home a library book as a reading for pleasure book. 

KS2

• The school ensures all texts are accurately matched to pupil ability, as all books within AR are graded to ensure progression and challenge for all children.
• Children who have not cracked the phonics code in Years 4,5 and 6 complete the RWI Fresh Start programme. Children in Year 3 continue with the RWI Phonics programme in class. 
• All children above ‘Yellow books’ complete an  AR Star reader test to ensure they read appropriately challenging books for their reading ability. These are completed after every half term. The children progress through the levels if they score 80% or more on three consecutive AR quizzes on their current level. All tests are recorded in the accelerated reading folder.
• Guided Reading is taught in carousel. Every group will work with the teacher who is the skilled practitioner once a week, they will complete a follow up task from reading with the adult, complete a comprehension based on a ‘real book’, have a chance to read to themselves. The texts cover a range of genres and question stems are used to support the children in their learning.

Children record their follow up tasks it their Guided reading books with the title of the text at the top of the page.

Teachers mark the learning of the children, who have completed the follow up task in their Guided Reading book with a tick and highlight the title of the text.  

Reading is at the heart of all our teaching at Stonehill and children are regularly given the opportunity to read. At the end of every day all classes have a class story that is read by an adult.

All children take home a closely matched ability book and a reading for pleasure book.

Every classroom has a reading corner displaying high quality texts. The books are displayed creatively and every class has non fiction, fiction, poetry and diverse books to choose from.

A detailed Skills Progression documents highlight the skills that are taught in each year group.   

Assessment

1. Summative assessment:

Herts for Learning, Easy Tracking is used and reported termly, to track pupils progress over the year. This data is used as part of the Pupil Progress meetings and to set children’s targets. (TAFs in Year 2 and Year 6 are also used to assess children formally.)

1. RWI and Star Reading:

Reading assessments are used half termly to ensure that the children are reading fully decodable phonics books and then books closely matched to their reading ability. Half termly assessments ensure slippage is caught quickly.  

1. Formative assessments:

Techers and learning support assistants are continually assessing children’s learning. This information can be: used as immediate feedback during the lesson, given as part of the marking and feedback given in books, used to inform future lessons or additional support.  

Moderation:

To ensure assessments are accurate, the subject leader and teachers take part in in-school and local moderation clusters. (Y2 and Y6 may also be moderated in line with the KS1 and KS2 TAFs)

The reading leader completes moderation on RWI assessments completing a random sample from each year groups to check assessments are consistent.

Impact

What impact has the above had on:

• Phonics screening?
• Reading Assessments?
• The ability to use skills across the curriculum?
• Children’s enthusiasm and resilience in their learning?
• Are they ready for the next stage of their education?

A English concept or skill has been mastered when a child can show detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum and, as a result, achieve well.

These will be assessed through: assessment, marking and feedback, tracking, pupil progress meetings, performance management, moderation and standardization and pupil voice.

Writing

At Stonehill, it is our intention to ensure that by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.

At Stonehill, writing is a crucial part of our curriculum. All children from Foundation Stage to Year 6 are provided with many opportunities to develop and apply their writing skills across the curriculum. 

Our intention is for pupils to be able to plan, revise and evaluate their writing. To be able to do this effectively, pupils will focus on developing effective transcription and effective composition. They will also develop an awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. We also intend for pupils to leave school being able to use fluent, legible and speedy handwriting.

English is essential to everyday life and our aim is to ensure children:

• Read easily, fluently with a 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;
• 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 compliant in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

At Stonehill School we have developed a curriculum which ensures children spend longer being taught the common features and skills in writing in order to have a more coherent English curriculum and therefore be able to develop mastery in English.

We intend to do this by:

• Ensuring our children have access to a high quality English curriculum that is both challenging and enjoyable.
• Providing our children with a variety of writing opportunities, which will enable them to make the connections in learning needed to enjoy greater depth in learning.
• Ensuring children are confident in writing and are not afraid to take risks.
• Fully developing independent learners with inquisitive minds who have secure English foundations and an interest in self-improvement
• Developing fluent readers and writers.

Implementation

Planning

1. Long term:

Long term plan has been developed using the writing units that have been released by Herts for Learning, ensuring the units are taught in the correct order.

1. Medium term planning:

The Herts for Learning Long term planning is split into units. Each unit clearly states the key NC statement outcome and any other related statements. It also outlines the key concepts of that unit.

1. Short term planning:

Each unit of work is separated into individual lessons for teachers to adapt and teach.  

Teachers mark the learning of the children. In writing, the teachers highlight where the learning intention has been met in green. They then use blue dots in the margin to show that there is something that needs editing for the children to complete independently. At least twice a week, children will also have grammar cards linked to their curriculum level to complete in their books.

A detailed Skills Progression documents highlight the skills that are taught in each year group and is linked to the planning.

Each classroom has an English working wall that shows current learning. Staff should refer children to this so that they are familiar and use it regularly as a prompt to learning. This can be also used to help develop independency.  

Handwriting

Handwriting is a basic skill that influences the quality of work throughout the curriculum. By the end of Key Stage 2 all pupils should have the ability to produce fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy joined-up handwriting, and to understand the different forms of handwriting used for different purposes.

Our intention is to make handwriting an automatic process that does not interfere with creative and mental thinking.

We use Letterjoin to teach handwriting through regular sessions with the following aims. 

• To develop a neat, legible, speedy handwriting style using continuous cursive letters, which leads to producing letters and words automatically in independent writing.
• To establish and maintain high expectations for the presentation of written work.
• For pupils to understand, by the end of Year 6, the importance of neat presentation and the need for different letterforms (cursive, printed or capital letters) to help communicate meaning clearly.

Spelling

At Stonehill from Year 2 upwards we use Essential Spelling to teach spelling. This resource focuses on the teaching of spelling so that children understand how to apply patterns, strategies and knowledge to other words and not just to a list of words given for that week. It also provides links to prior knowledge and tracks back to related objectives so that teachers can give targeted support to children who are not yet able to spell words from their year group programme of study. The sequences follow the daily phonics model of Review, Teach, Practise and Apply.

Assessment

1. Summative assessment:

Herts for Learning, Easy Tracking is used and reported termly and used to track pupils progress over the year. This data is used as part of the Pupil Progress meetings and to set children’s targets. (TAFs in Year 2 and Year 6 are also used to assess children formally.)

Stonehill Writing Assessment frameworks are in the front of each English book for teachers to highlight regularly, at least half termly.

2. Formative assessments:

Techers and learning support assistants are continually assessing children’s learning. This information can be: used as immediate feedback during the lesson, given as part of the marking and feedback given in books, used to inform future lessons or additional support.  

Moderation:

To ensure assessments are accurate, the subject leader and teachers take part in in-school and local moderation clusters. (Y2 and Y6 may also be moderated in line with the KS1 and KS2 TAFs)

Impact

What impact has the above had on:

• Phonics screening?
• Reading Assessments?
• The ability to use skills across the curriculum?
• Children’s enthusiasm and resilience in their learning?
• Are they ready for the next stage of their education?

A English concept or skill has been mastered when a child can show detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum and, as a result, achieve well.

These will be assessed through: assessment, marking and feedback, tracking, pupil progress meetings, performance management, moderation and standardization and pupil voice.

.

Accelerated Reading

Accelerated Reader is a reading program designed to encourage and promote successful reading. It helps students to track their reading comprehension by providing them the tools to measure their improvement. AR places the focus on the careful reading of books, which in turn promotes critical thinking.

Children read books in their ZPD. After the child has read a book, the child logs on to the classroom computer and takes the AR Reading Practice quiz for the book they just completed. They earn points based on their success on each quiz. The questions are designed to show how well the student understands the material. It’s one thing to read a book – it’s another thing to comprehend it in a meaningful way. The school provides incentives by way of the AR Store to encourage successful reading. It's a fun, exciting way to encourage a love of reading in children.

Story Time

At Stonehill, we use the last 15- 20 minutes of the day to share class stories. We ensure that over the year the children hear a variety of genres that they may not always naturally choose. We focus on having calm classrooms where the children can listen and join the adults in the room on the latest adventure