English
Writing
Intent
At Carlton Junior and Infant School, we understand that writing is a lifelong skill which is required throughout both education and employment. We, therefore, believe children should be equipped with the skills to write for a variety of purposes and vary their vocabulary and grammar appropriately to suit. Whilst we value writing for a clear purpose, we also want to provide a culture where children write for enjoyment too. Our writing curriculum is structured so that children are taught two genres in depth each half term so that they can understand them fully in terms of a reader and a writer. Our curriculum is well structured and progressive to enable children to build upon prior knowledge from earlier year groups and skills taught in previous terms.
Implementation
Our school follows the ‘Read to Write’ framework. It provides the best opportunities for all children to progress and succeed. The programme is clearly broken down into half termly expectations for fiction and non-fiction with additional objectives identified for those children on track for greater depth. Teachers plan using the genres laid out in the document and incorporate the relevant grammatical skills within their daily lesson plans. The objectives which are covered over the term are the same objectives then used to assess the children’s learning. This enables gaps to be identified quickly, and interventions put in place to address them. High quality CPD in Talk4Writing, Power of Reading, Read to Write, and raising standards of narrative have been accessed by staff and are used to supplement the teaching of writing. Following the curriculum and addressing the elements of each genre, teachers have autonomy in their teaching of daily lessons, but the standard structure of a teaching sequence would look consistent across the school; reading around a text to identify the features and linguistic choices, building up on the grammatical and language skills associated with the text, planning the structure of the text, and finally writing an independent version of the text style. This may then be followed by editing and redrafting. Those children who are on track for greater depth will also use this time to redraft their writing for an entirely different audience, or purpose. Staff are confident in the knowledge that they are following a clear and consistent approach to the teaching of writing across the school. They use their professional judgement to adapt planning to the needs of their children and provide writing opportunities, developing the interests of children where possible. All children in KS1 and KS2 are assessed using the year group necessities. Teachers must be confident that children can independently show each of the skills on the year group necessities before they are deemed ‘Age Related.’ Instead of standalone interventions, staff utilise instant interventions where possible. This enables misconceptions to be addressed as close to the point of the lesson as possible.
Impact
Pupils enjoy writing and view it as relevant and purposeful, a vehicle to communicate their ideas creatively across a range of subjects Pupils enjoy talking about their writing and reflecting on the writing of peers. They are keen to develop as writers and improve the effect of their writing on their reading audience and are able to adapt their writing based upon audience and context. Children share their writing with peers and other adults across the school. Writing is celebrated at Carlton, with termly writing awards celebrating and displaying writing across the school. Also we share poetry and stories in themed assemblies and the children love this experience. Handwriting is celebrated in half termly assemblies. The % of pupils working at Age Related Expectations by the End of Key Stage 1 and 2 will be above the national averages.
“Writing allows me to express myself in creative and innovative ways.” (Head Girl 2022)
“Writing is a fun process and I love to edit my work to refine my ideas and make my writing more coherent.” (Deputy Head Boy 2022)
Reading
WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE THE GOLD SCHOOL AWARD IN READING!
At Carlton reading is at the heart of everything we do. There are three schemes which we follow in order to guide children in to becoming confident, fluent readers. These schemes are followed throughout the whole school so that all children are given the best start at reading.
Intent
At Carlton Junior and Infant School, we recognise that reading is a key life skill. Therefore, teaching children to read with confidence is vital and we aim to enable our pupils to become lifelong readers. We will provide children with the ability to read fluently, read for understanding and read for pleasure. We aim to instill a love for reading in all children and provide them with the skills to be continuous learners throughout their adult lives. Our reading curriculum is structured in a manner which teaches segmenting and blending until children are fluent readers, ensures logical progression, addresses gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills, and provides children the opportunity to read at an age-appropriate level. We see reading is a crucial part of our curriculum, because children utilise the skill of reading throughout the wider curriculum.
Implementation
Daily phonics plans are in place in EYFS and KS1 to teach children the mechanics of reading. Teachers use Read Write Inc. programme which is a highly engaging, structured synthetic phonics programme. It accelerates learning by allowing children to learn new graphemes by grouping graphemes and provides memorable clues for children. Each lesson is planned in detail, with interactive resources, songs and worksheets available for children. Children are regularly assessed and interventions are put in place for those children who require additional support to move through each phase.
Teachers in Key Stage 1 and 2 produce individual guided reading plans which are designed to give children the opportunity to develop the skills required for reading. The One Education Reading Award is a Reading Quality Standard for schools and settings. It is the only Reading Quality Mark that supports schools with the development of their entire Reading curriculum and we have achieved the Gold Award for this and use the gems and planning to structure our reading for meaning lessons. All teachers ensure that there is a balance of fiction, non-fiction and poetry every half term.
Teachers use whole class reading for meaning to ensure that all children have a reading lesson at least four times per week. Principles of reciprocal reading are incorporated to focus on making predictions, clarifying new vocabulary, questioning what they have read and making summaries of a text. These strategies have been adapted to suit whole class reading as this has proven more effective for our children. Staff see the value in children’s use of spoken language to deepen their comprehension of reading. Our policy works on teaching children comprehension skills, not simply testing them with comprehension questions. Those children who have additional needs or require additional help are supported through additional reading sessions, targeted teacher or adult support during lessons and our use of additional at home activities.
Impact
Pupils will have had experience of a range of different text types and authors; they will be able to communicate their favourite styles of book. Parents will have a good understanding of how to support their children with their early reading to ensure that good progress continues to be made. Classes have an interesting and inviting book corner which will expose children to a range of different text types. In EYFS and KS1, effective phonics lessons are delivered daily. Books are appropriately linked to the phonics stage children are at. Children are able to use their love of books to inspire their writing and overall the % of children achieving age related will be above national average.
“Reading is the cheapest ticket to travel anywhere in the world and Carlton has taught me this.” (Year 6)
“Reading is the key to unlock your imagination and succeed in all areas of life.” (Year 5)
“I do love a good book because it provides me with so many ideas to write.” (Year 4)
“You can never get bored with reading because there is so much to read.” (Year 3)
“Reading is important and I read every day.” (Year 2)
“My favourite book is the Emperor of Absurdia.” (Year 1)
“I love changing my voice when I read.” (Early Years)
The Rigby Star reading scheme is used throughout EYFS, KS1 and KS1 and it runs parallel to the Oxford Reading Tree Scheme which is also used at Carlton. The schemes have been matched up to ensure each stage complements the relevant reading age of the children. Children are regularly assessed, using PM Bench Marking, to ensure that they are reading the correct stage book. Books for children are selected to enable both paces of reading and sufficient challenge to help progress pupils’ reading fluency. Children in Key Stage One are given a reading book to take home regularly and have a reading diary which is a home /school link to allow parents to support their child at home.
Rigby Star is a mixture of a single book fiction book and a wide range of non-fiction books. Fiction books have a range of colourful and exciting characters to excite and interest the young reader. The non-fiction books are exciting and cover a wide range of topics. Rigby Star also includes the ‘Pirate Crew’ range of books which are funny and adventurous. These books are used within school for daily guided reading sessions and are used to develop comprehension skills. Rigby Navigator books (Non-fiction) are also used in school for group reading. When children reach a level 3b in their reading assessment they are able to choose their own home reading book from the class library. Throughout school children have daily Guided Reading lessons with a focus on our Reading Gems.
Please see below the recommended reading books according to year groups:
Enrichment - Harry Potter World
After reading our class book Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, we visited Harry Potter world which was an amazing experience. We walked down Diagon Alley and saw some of the sets that were used as part of the films.
Reading At The Park
For National Poetry Day, year 5 & 6 enjoyed performing their favourite poems to their peers at the park. We also used drama to feel the emotions and feelings that the poems portrayed.
Summarising
During guided reading , children in year 6 role played to summarise key events of their class book Kensuke's Kingdom.
