At Acre View Primary School, we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. One of our priorities is helping children read and develop their all-important comprehension skills. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning,

We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society

These aims are embedded across our literacy lessons and the wider curriculum. We have a rigorous and well-organised English curriculum and framework that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. We use a wide variety of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children.

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

We use the following high-quality schemes:

• Read, Write Inc Phonics
• Read, Write Inc Fresh start
• Steps to read
• Steps to Write
• Support for spelling

At Acre View Primary School, we identify children who need support and provide intervention in the most effective and efficient way that we can. We help each child maximise their potential by providing help and support where necessary whilst striving to make children independent workers once we have helped to equip them with the confidence, tools and strategies that they need.

We run parent information sessions on phonics and reading for Year 1 parents, reading and SATs for Year 2 parents and a SATs meeting for Year 6 parents so that they understand age-related expectations. These sessions are always very well attended by parents and carers who often comment about how helpful the sessions have been for them.

Marking is rigorous in English and across the curriculum, and spelling corrections to help children correct and consolidate their work. Regular English book monitoring are carried out to check all teachers are following our marking policy rigorously. 

We love to celebrate success of all learners and strive to help all children achieve their goals. Reading is celebrated in classrooms and around school. In addition, throughout the school year our English curriculum is enhanced through World Book Day, author visits parent and a range of trips and visits which enrich and complement children’s learning.

The development of spoken language is greatly valued at Acre View Primary School and is a key part of all lessons. Children are encouraged to explain and discuss their ideas in all areas of the curriculum. A wide and varied vocabulary is seen as invaluable for all children. Key vocabulary is selected and taught by the teacher and focus words are displayed in the classroom on the vocabulary working wall.

Children are encouraged to explore new words by asking questions, using a dictionary and exploring synonyms and antonyms. All pupils receive constructive feedback of their spoken language and listening on a daily basis in order to improve their knowledge and skills and to help secure foundations for effective spoken language.  Each class studies at least one poetry unit each year.

Poetry is also explored in Storytime as poetry books are built into each year groups bank of books in our school reading spine. Pupils are encouraged to enter poetry competitions.

Most lessons contain a grammar element that relates to the learning within the lesson. Sometimes lessons focus solely on one area of grammar, such as relative clauses.  This often includes modelled examples of text types, features of the genre of writing, grammatical features of writing, interesting vocabulary choices etc. cross-curricular subjects. 

Staff have expectations for quality written work across all subjects. Pupils are encouraged to apply their phonic knowledge to read and segment words, use grammar and recall spelling rules when completing any written work.

Staff encourage careful, neat presentation and will teach how to achieve this. Teachers monitor the presentation across all pupil books, in each subject across the curriculum.

Handwriting is taught using the RWI Phonics Handwriting scheme/ Nelson handwriting scheme. Pupils begin to join letters once they can write all 26 lower case letters accurately.

Cross Curricular teaching - We aim for our pupils to be able to read across the curriculum, also called content literacy or active reading, is defined as "the ability to use reading and writing for the acquisition of new content in a given discipline.” 

• Key Words
• Dictionary Skills
• D.E.A.R time
• Class Reading (Exposure to higher level learning)
• Promoting reading for pleasure
• Author and Poet visits
• Literary celebrations eg. World Book Day
• Access to a range of reading materials
• Age/ability appropriate reading
• Reading skills/decode a text
• Reading for purpose
• Participation in national creative writing competitions 
• Special literary trips e.g. Theatres, cinema

D.E.A.R time - 'Drop Everything and Read'

Studies have found that reading for pleasure enhances empathy and the ability to understand one’s own and others' identity. It has also been shown that those who read for pleasure have higher levels of self-esteem and a greater ability to cope with difficult situations. A few great reasons to engage in reading daily!

At Acre View Primary School, pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure. Each day, pupils have a dedicated twenty-minute reading session called ‘Drop Everything and Read’. All pupils are supported, so they can engage with D.E.A.R. time and have access to a wide range of reading books aimed at their interest and ability level and regularly visit our fantastic school library.

Benefits of Reading Twenty Minutes Per Day

Reading for twenty minutes a day exposes children to a vast quantity of words and by being exposed to such large amounts of words, improves vocabulary which then helps children to be more confident writers. Reading also stimulates children’s imaginations and introduces them to possibilities beyond their own life experiences. It also can help develop empathy and encourage children to consider how others may feel. Learning to approach situations and consider the feelings of others can help our children to be more compassionate in life.

At Acre View Primary School we use a combination of formative and summative assessments.

• Our Read, Write Inc and Fresh Start are monitored every six to eight weeks as recommended by programme lead Ruth Miskin. The English Leaders and trained HLTAs who teach these programmes carry out these assessments.
• All pupils' reading skills are assessed in Autumn 1 and Summer 2 .
• Individual reading and writing assessments are updated and moderated termly to ensure progression is made and teacher assessment is accurate.
• National reading and writing tests are completed by pupils who are working at age related expectations or above. Pupils identified as working significantly below their age-related expectations do not complete national tests but are assessed using the different assessments listed above.
• Support for Spelling assessments will be completed every half term by the class teacher or HLTA.
• At the end of each term, primary teachers submit assessment data on a grid. This indicates attainment and progress for each individual pupil in reading and writing. This data is analysed by the English subject leaders and action is taken where necessary.