EYFS National Expectations

 

Listening, Attention and understanding
Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions.  Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding. Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers.

Speaking
Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary. Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate.  Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher.

Comprehension
Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary. Anticipate (where appropriate) key events in stories. Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, nonfiction, rhymes and poems and during role play.

Word reading
Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs. Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending. Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.

Writing
Write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed. Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters. Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.

Intent

At Christ the King Catholic Primary, we believe that all pupils should be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing. We want pupils to acquire a wide vocabulary, a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn. We want them to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. We believe that all pupils should be encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their writing, in part by developing a good, joined, handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school. We believe that all good writers refine and edit their writing over time, so we want children to develop independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvement in all pieces of writing, editing their work effectively during and after the writing process.

 

Implementation

At Christ the King Catholic Primary School, we encourage our children to aim high and think creatively when writing. We encourage them to be adventurous in their language and to write with clear purpose and for pleasure, developing confident, independent and reflective writers.  For these aims to be developed, we intend to:

• Use a variety of high-quality texts to engage and inspire young writers.
• To broaden children’s understanding of vocabulary
• Encourage the use of ambitious vocabulary choices leading to competent and independent use of language in their writing. 
• Encourage high levels of achievement and exhibit a whole school positivity towards writing.
• Support children in the planning, writing and editing stages to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
• Apply their grammatical, phonetic and spelling knowledge in their writing, SPAG starters are used at least three times a week to support this.
• Develop writers who can refine and edit their writing over time, being able to identify their own areas for improvement in all pieces of writing, editing their work effectively during and after the writing process.
• Use conferencing discussions with individuals or small groups to help support this editing process.
• Moderation Pieces are sent on to next teacher in order to easy transition and support raising standards.
• Half Termly book scrutinies by English coordinator to ensure that all writing opportunities are being taught and at an appropriate standard.

Learning Tools

The following tools are made readily available as part of first quality teaching throughout the school:

• Themed prompt sheets (including key vocabulary, common exception words, grammar examples).
• Dictionaries and thesauruses (text and online versions)
• Working wall with WAGOLL or Knowledge Organiser, vocabulary and any other resources to support
• Vocabulary (word of the week) displayed, Alan Peat sentences and other important vocab and language examples available for children.
• Purple Polishing- children will work independently and with a partner to check through their writing- editing any spelling, grammar or punctuation mistakes. This should be supported/modelled during Year 1 and encouraged to be more independent by the end of Year 2. Children have the opportunity to up-level their writing during this process.
• Success criteria grids are used to support children in knowing if they have been successful.

Teaching and learning

Short writing opportunities to be planned for each week and at least one longer independent writing task in each two/three week unit of work.

Teachers to plan different writing styles into other curriculum areas, which are clarified in long term plan.

Teachers and TAs must model planning writing, writing and handwriting before every piece. Expectations should be high.

Teachers must read out loud regularly to their class (Daily wherever possible)

Teachers must promote high- quality literature at every available opportunity. Using other children as role models. (The new library will support this). 

Every class is to have a Book of the Week that the teacher reads a summary of and promotes to the class.  This can be discussed during weekly Book Talk sessions.

Editing and proofreading skills are modeled by adults and used by children after every piece of extended writing. KS1 are to be supported with this process.

To develop opportunities for staff to observe high quality teaching of writing and modeling as part of their professional development.

 

Vocabulary

‘As vocabulary increases, teachers should show pupils how to understand the relationships between words, how to understand nuances in meaning, and how to develop their understanding of, and ability to use, figurative language. They should also teach pupils how to work out and clarify the meanings of unknown words and words with more than 1 meaning.’ (National Curriculum)

At Christ the King, the children in years 1-6 will be introduced to a vocabulary rich program. Children will be given challenging vocabulary to investigate and in turn developing a wider understanding of vocabulary. Using ‘Vocabulary Ninja’ (Andrew Jennings) https://vocabularyninja.wordpress.com, each class will be given a new word each week to discuss, investigate and the challenge themselves to use either in writing, discussions or identify in their reading. Children will be given a house point for every successful use of a new word. Children will learn to celebrate language and challenge themselves to use new words in a variety of ways.

To support this, reading comprehension sessions will begin with teaching key vocabulary.

Impact

Our children will:

• Be engaged in their English lessons and challenge themselves to be more successful writers.

• Enjoy writing across a range of genres.
• Become independent writers using a wide range of taught skills including varied sentence structures, challenging vocabulary, cursive handwriting (from year 3) and cohesion.
• Be able to edit and improve their writing using effective methods.
• Use their phonics skills effectively when segmenting for spelling.
• Have a wider understanding of vocabulary and challenge themselves to use ambitious vocabulary in their writing.
• Teachers will feel more confident in their judgements of greater depth writing.
• Moderation will support these judgements and prove them to be accurate.
• Teachers will have high expectations of greater depth writers and use challenging models to ensure
• The % of pupils working at Greater Depth within each year group will at first improve and overtime is in line with national averages.

Christ the King Catholic Primary School
Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement:

Reading 

 Intent

At Christ the King Catholic Primary School, we we believe that all pupils should have the opportunity to be fluent, confident readers who are able to successfully comprehend and understand a wide range of texts. We want pupils to develop a love of reading, a good knowledge of a range of authors, and be able to understand more about the world in which they live through the knowledge they gain from texts.

We encourage the children to explore text across all genre and to select more challenging text which will enable them to develop and broaden their exposure to challenging vocabulary.

We believe reading is key for academic success and in order to promote and nurture this life skill, we implement the following:

• In EYFS and year 1, there is a heavy emphasis on the development of phonetic knowledge and their lessons are structured differently to all other year groups (see Phonics document).  However, whilst we have a selection of Phonic Reading Books, they are generally given (alongside a reading scheme book and they correlate with the sounds being currently taught to them),  to those children struggling to consolidate sounds.  All other children follow the reading scheme which correlates to the phonics programme taught in classes.
• Each class from years 2- 6 have two hourly reading sessions a week as part of their writing journey, alongside 2 half-hour reading sessions, a library visit and Book Talk to discuss new reads and authors.

Implementation

     Learning Tools

• We have revised the choice of texts used in all classes for our writing units to ensure that the texts and genre that the children are being exposed to are of a high quality.

We have invested in a selection of higher quality text to stretch our more competent readers, however these are not restricted to specific children only.   They are offered to the children to enable them to make more insightful       choices when selecting books.

• In KS2 we have a series of scaffold tools which support the children when structuring their responses in comprehension lessons. All staff use these in lessons where they are needed.
• In LKS2, all children follow our banded reading scheme.  Those fluent readers in year 5 and 6 have access to free choice books, these are monitored by teachers to ensure a wide selection of genre are chosen.  For any children in UKS2 who are not yet fluent, they remain on the reading scheme and are prioritised by staff.  They are identified as daily readers.
• We have recently refurbished our library to create an inviting, relaxing environment in which to explore books. We have also invested in a new selection of non-fiction books.  During Library time, the children will be given the opportunity to relax in a quiet environment, rich in sensory experiences.
• Children have full access to thesauri and dictionaries.
• Classes have designated areas where identified words and their meanings are displayed.
• We have organised author visits to promote a love of learning.  There are future visits planned to target specific groups such as boys and PP children.
• Throughout the year, our GD readers attend author days and have the opportunity to work with other children of similar abilities.

 

Teaching and Learning

• In EYFS and Year 1, Pupils are taught in small groups, focusing on individual sounds, groups of sounds and common exception words within different ‘phases’. We have an agreed progression for the teaching of new sounds and use Anima Phonics scheme and resources to support this. Those in need are given additional support from teachers and teaching assistants. During the Summer Term in Year 1, pupils undertake a Phonics Screening Test which assesses their ability to apply what they have learnt. After this, lessons move towards whole class reading lessons that take the same model as Years 2 to 6. Pupils who do not pass their Phonics Screening Test continue to have intervention to support the acquisition of these key skills.  This may continue to year 3 if deemed necessary.
• In EYFS children receive workshops from Drama Tots to support them with their communication skills and in turn their writing.
• From year 2-6, during Book Talk, the children take turns to share the books they have either read or are currently reading.  They discuss elements such as genre, plot, setting and characters.  They also respond to questions from their peers.  Teachers also share books that they have read that may be suitable material for the children to read also.  The purpose of this is to expose the children to new books and to promote an excitement around them.
• Children from Nursery through to Year 6 all have a check-list of recommended books for their year group so parents are aware of correct pitch to support reading at home.
• Children from years 1-6 have two hourly reading sessions as part of their reading through to writing cycle. These sessions involve orientation of a text, discussion and investigation of the etymology of unfamiliar words and their context.  During this time, teachers model reading to their pupils and in a supportive environment, children are encouraged to read a shared text, applying the skills taught by the teacher.  Various comprehension skills are taught during these sessions using VIPERS. The questions are synonymous in style with the question-type typically used in the end of phase assessments.
• During comprehension lessons, prior to reading a text, children scan the material to identify any unfamiliar words, the pronunciation and meaning are discussed before the first reading of the text has begun.  This allows more children greater access to the text and further develops their understanding.
• In all classes, teachers share a class novel, during this time they both model and target individual readers to read aloud to the whole class using the ‘I read, You Read’ strategy.
• Children are also encouraged to steal unfamiliar, more technical language to share on a display board in classes - this also encourages children to use their reading to develop their writing.

• Our younger GD readers from years 3 upwards, have the opportunity to access new, challenging text which they review.  Their reviews are then displayed in the library to enlighten other children when they are choosing books.
• Children of any reading ability from years 5 and 6 also have the opportunity to receive training to become librarians.  They then assist in the daily running of the library.

Assessment

• Feedback and marking should be completed, where possible, within the lesson. All marking and feedback is given in line with our marking and feedback policy.

• Assessment of learning is completed termly using PiXL assessments
• Children complete weekly comprehension activities using either written text or films as a stimulus.
• Moderation of teacher assessment is also completed termly to ensure that judgements are accurate. This is carried out within school and additionally, within the academy. Support is given by HT and Literacy Lead at Christ the King.

Impact

Our children will:

• enjoy reading across a range of genres 
• be able to succeed in all reading lessons
• Be engaged in their comprehension lessons and challenge themselves to read a wider range of genre which exposes them to higher level language.
• They will be able to structure responses to text in a logical, organised manner, using quotes to substantiate their answer.
• Enjoy reading a range of genres and be excited by books.
• Be able to mimic styles of writing witnessed in books and apply them to their own writing.  They will write as readers.
• Pupils will use a range of strategies for decoding words, not solely relying on phonics
• Have a wider understanding of vocabulary and challenge themselves to use ambitious vocabulary in their writing.
• Teachers will feel more confident in their judgements of greater depth reading.
• Moderation will support these judgements and prove them to be accurate.
• Teachers will have high expectations of greater depth readers and use challenging models to ensure greater outcomes
• The % of pupils working at ARE within each year group will be at least in line with national averages.
• The % of pupils working at Greater Depth within each year group will be at least in line with national averages
• The will be no significant gaps in the progress of different groups of pupils.

PHONICS

• http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/question/index/3 - lots of information and guidance for parents/carers
• http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ParentsMenu.htm - a selection of interactive games for all phonic phases. Mostly simple games.
• www.ictgames.com/literacy.html - a great selection of games that link well with games in Letters and Sounds.
• http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/ - printable resources for each of the Letters and Sounds phonic phases, also links to games aligned with each phase.
• http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/alphabet-eng/alphabet.htm - Letter names come up in alphabetical order
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/index.shtml 

Activities for all phases

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/literacy/phonics/index.shtml - Phonic game with a choice of difficulty (some HFWs, some vowel blends, very varied)
• http://www.bigbrownbear.co.uk/magneticletters/

Make any words with this useful game.

• http://www.phonicsinternational.com/hear_the_sounds/hear_the_sounds_1.htm -  The useful page which demonstrates the pronunciation of all sounds

SPELLINGS ACROSS BOTH KEY STAGES

• https://spellingframe.co.uk/