Literacy

Intent

At St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, we believe that a quality Literacy curriculum should develop the children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. One of our priorities is helping children to read and develop their all-important comprehension skills, as well as have a love of reading. 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 so they can use discussion to communicate effectively and further their learning across the curriculum.

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. We aim to give our children the tools that they need to succeed throughout life.

At St Mary’s, these skills are embedded within Literacy lessons and developed consistently over time. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak, read and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching across all subjects; for pupils, understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum.

We believe that fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects and our teachers develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject.
Through our English curriculum, we aim to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.

Implementation

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 gramma 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.

At St Mary’s we teach Literacy using a variety of programmes, each carefully chosen to develop and inspire each child’s Literacy skills and knowledge. Since the 2020 pandemic, we have been striving to close gaps for all children as swiftly as we can and ensure all of our children reach their full potential. We have reflected on the needs of our pupils and have since introduced a new phonics scheme- Supersonic Phonic Friends and a new handwriting scheme- Kinetic Letters. Since introducing these new programmes in 2021/2022 we have already seen a significant improvement in handwriting and phonics in EYFS and KS1.

We teach phonics using Supersonic Phonic Friends in EYFS and also KS1. EYFS and KS1 children take part in engaging and supportive lessons to enable them to have the best possible start with early reading and writing. There are two videos on the website to support parents not only with the different phases of Phonics and how they can help at home but also the Supersonic Phonic Friends programme.

The children’s reading books are phonetically decodable, staff carefully select the books to ensure that they match the children’s phonic level to support the children’s progression with phonics and reading.
In EYFS and KS1 the children have five key books read to them each half term. The “Favourite Five” books are repeatedly read so the children can join in with repeated refrains, key vocabulary and begin to explore characterisation. By the time the children reach the end of KS1, they will have a solid understanding of 120 high quality and highly enjoyable children’s books, all rich in vocabulary, characterisation, illustration and narrative. This not only develops their love of reading but also supports their speaking and listening development. Reading stories is prioritised at St Mary’s so that we can further instil a love of reading for all of our pupils/
Children develop their love of reading and are taught key Literacy knowledge and skills through our Power of Reading schemes of work. Through quality children’s literature and creative teaching approaches we develop a high-quality literacy curriculum and foster a whole school love of reading and writing.
Regular assessments allow us to identify those who need additional support to make the progress they need. Interventions are timely and specific to the children’s needs ranging from extra 1:1 readers, phonic interventions, handwriting practice and vocabulary interventions.
In KS1, The children are taught specific spelling, grammar and punctuation knowledge and skills through Supersonic Phonic Friends. The KS2 children use our Rising Stars programme. Rising Stars is a hands- on, flexible and lively programme which supports our children with their spelling skills.
Children’s handwriting is taught through a holistic approach using Kinetic Letters. We focus not only on presentation but also physical development, posture and pencil grip. The parents have had regular opportunities to attend an in school workshop on Kinetic Letters, this is also on the school’s website.
Each class’s timetable is organised to enable weekly access to the library, with an up to date selection of books to provide quality reading materials for all children to promote reading for enjoyment. The children are given opportunities to suggest what authors and texts we have in our library.
We also engage in special events such as World Book Day, poetry events and our very successful book fairs.

Impact

The impact on our children is clear: progress, sustained learning and transferable skills. With the implementation of our Literacy intent well established and taught thoroughly in both key stages, children are becoming more confident writers and by the time they are in upper Key Stage 2, most genres of writing are familiar to them and the teaching can focus on creativity, writer’s craft, sustained writing and manipulation of grammar and punctuation skills.

Since the 2020 pandemic we have been striving to bridge gaps for all of our children at St Mary’s and we are encouraged to see the impact of our implementations not just in term but also at the end of year assessments. We are very encouraged by our 2022 statutory assessments and we aim to continue delivering a rich, creative and supportive Literacy curriculum for all children at St Mary’s.

We hope that as children move on from St Mary’s to further their education and learning, that their creativity, passion for English and high aspirations travel with them and continue to grow and develop as they do.

Literacy skills are taught and developed through a variety of approaches and programs throughout the school. The children are taught in a range of ways to develop not only the mechanics of reading and writing but also their imaginative, creative and analytical skills. The school has a well-resourced library which is monitored and cared for by the pupils themselves, the children are encouraged to select books independently to read for pleasure. Each classroom also has a designated Reading Area where the children can choose books and read for pleasure in their Soft Start time or in their free time. The school annually celebrates key dates in Literary diary such as National Poetry Day, Roald Dahl Day and of course World Book Day!

EYFS

Reading Areas available for independent reading during Choosing Time.
Story and Song Time at least once a day
Story books are also used in topic work.
Favourite Five – Five books are read repeatedly over a half term so that by the end of the year the children know 30 books by heart.
Phonics is taught with lots of real-life opportunities for the children to apply what they have learnt.
Non-Fiction books are made by staff so children can read books at their phonics level.
In Reception, children are read with 1:1 on a book band colour book once a week.
Pobble - This is resource which the whole school uses. The class teacher will choose an image to inspire the children to create their own stories both orally and written.

KS1

Reading Areas available for independent reading during Choosing Time.
Story Time at least once a day
Story books are also used in topic work.
Favourite Five – Five books are read repeatedly over a half term so that by the end of the year the children know 30 books by heart.
Phonics is continued to be taught.
Power of Reading- Children learn about a text where they are taught inference, predictions, drama, art, writing and reading skills.
Children are read with 1:1 on a book band colour book once a week.
Rising Stars SPAG program which teaches statutory spellings and grammar to match the curriculum.
Pobble - This is resource which the whole school uses. The class teacher will choose an image to inspire the children to create their own stories both orally and written.

KS2

Reading Areas available for independent Reading
Children read independently during some Soft Starts.
Power of Reading- Children learn about an unknown text where they are taught inference, predictions, drama, art, writing and reading skills.
Targeted children are read with 1:1 and there are some Guided Reading Sessions.
Children can visit the school library to choose their own books.
Rising Stars SPAG program which teaches statutory spellings and grammar to match the curriculum.
Pobble - This is resource which the whole school uses. The class teacher will choose an image to inspire the children to create their own stories both orally and written.

Across the whole school there are a range of interventions used to support targeted children and their specific needs.