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English

English Curriculum Intent:

At Bryn Offa C of E Primary School, we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and develop a habit of reading widely and often. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and are able to adapt their language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. We want pupils to acquire a wide vocabulary, a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words by effectively applying their knowledge of spelling patterns and rules. 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.  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.

At Bryn Offa, English is planned to ensure that language is taught in an exciting, stimulating and enjoyable way including many cross curricular opportunities. Our curriculum has been carefully planned across a 2 year cycle to ensure key skills are taught in the most exciting way possible, ensuring the best outcomes for children. Our approach is to make sure that the essential language skills are delivered across the curriculum, enabling children to become confident learners in applying their communicative skills in reading, writing and spelling.

Please click on the resources below to find guidance on how to support your child at home in Phonics and Early Reading:

Phonics at Bryn Offa

At Bryn Offa, the systematic teaching of phonics has a high priority. We follow Bug Club Phonics which directly matches our Phonics Reading Scheme. Phonics is the process that is used to help children read and spell by breaking words down into separate sounds or ‘phonemes’.  It enables children to blend sounds together to read whole words and to spell by segmenting words into individual sounds. Learning the correct letter sounds is one of the first things the children do when they come to school. Getting the sounds correct is one of the best ways parents can support their child reading at home. Below is a video of the pronunciation of all the letter sounds your child will be learning.

Further information on our Phonics Scheme

Phonics Screening Check

At the end of Year 1, children undertake a Phonics Screening Check. This is a statutory assessment that was introduced in 2012 to all Year 1 pupils and is a quick and easy check of your child’s phonics knowledge. It comprises of a list of 40 words, of which 20 are real words, and the other 20 are ‘nonsense’ or ‘alien’ words. It will assess your child’s phonics skills and knowledge learnt through reception and year 1. Your child will read one-one with their current teacher, so it is a familiar face. Children will be asked to ‘sound out’ a word and blend the sounds together. The check is very similar to work the children already undertake during their phonics lessons. All year 1 pupils will take the phonics screening check during the Summer Term. Interventions to support children with their phonics are implemented in Key Stage One and continue into Key Stage 2 if necessary.

Ways to help your child at home with phonics:-

  • Play games with magnetic/ foam letters to see how quickly your child can put them in alphabetical order while singing the alphabet song, or see how quickly your child can spell words made up of the phonic sounds they have been learning in school.
  • In the early stages of reading, encourage children to point at the letters when they are sounding them out.
  • Encourage your child to ‘sound out’ any unfamiliar words, and then blend left to right.
  • Look for words around the house or when travelling look for road signs to see if you can spot familiar words and letter patterns.
  • Encourage your child to write notes, e-mails, and letters to your friends and family.
  • Encourage and support your child to read regularly at home, or take them to the library to find books that interest and engage them. Make it fun and enjoyable for them!
  • Let your child see you reading magazines, newspapers, books for enjoyment as they will want to copy you!
  • Praise your child when they are reading and using their phonic skills!

Websites to access at home (which provide more detail on synthetic phonics programmes, and activities to support you and your child at home);

http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/

www.letters-and-sounds.com

http://www.lcfphonics.com/

https://www.phonicsbloom.com/

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb/phonicsshed

Reading

We are passionate about ensuring all children become confident, fluent and enthusiastic readers and writers and believe that phonics helps to achieve this.  The reading curriculum at Bryn Offa is taught in a logical, systematic progression which enables children to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to develop as readers.

We view reading as a fundamental life skill and aim to develop a genuine love and lasting passion for reading within every child. Reading is the foundation to all learning; we want children to develop a positive reading ethos in which a love of reading is acquired. Children who enjoy reading, have been shown to have higher attainment across the curriculum. Through providing a wide range of stimulating and engaging fiction and non-fiction texts, we aim to capture children’s imaginations and teach them the skills needed to be proficient and confident readers. Children are encouraged and steered towards reading widely to develop knowledge of themselves and the world around them, establish an appreciation of reading and also to gain knowledge across the curriculum. We strive to ensure the children at Bryn Offa have the opportunity to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Reading is viewed as a key skill across the curriculum so is an integral part of every child’s school day at Bryn Offa. Adults in our school act as role models in our enthusiasm for reading and will regularly daily to children. 

Regular guided and whole class reading takes place across the school, offering a sequence of activities that develop understanding in both word reading and comprehension skills. VIPERS is an integral strategy to lessons to aid the recall of the 6 reading domains as part of the reading curriculum. Other strategies to develop reading skills include whole class teacher led reading, group or individual reading with an adult, sharing a text with peers, echo and choral reading and completing journal activities or follow-up comprehension. When reading a text, children are taught and encouraged to apply their questioning, predicting, summarising and clarifying skills which are proven to develop children’s comprehension of a text both verbally and in response to questions. Throughout reading sessions, high-quality discussions are modelled and promoted to support understanding of the fundamentals of vocabulary and grammar, thus making the integral link to both reading and writing. Pupils are given the opportunity to discuss as individuals, groups or as a class. They are the key areas which we feel children need to know and understand in order to improve their comprehension of texts and to increase pupils’ vocabulary by reading widely as this provide opportunities to encounter words they would rarely hear or use in their everyday life. Links across subjects were established in our Long-Term Plan to help deliver the reading curriculum effectively in a way that will engage the children and stimulate interest.

All teachers are all aware of the end points at each key stage and play a vital role preparing children to meet the required standards.  The curriculum is taught in a logical progression over seven years, systematically and explicitly so that all pupils can acquire the intended knowledge and reading skills.  The reading curriculum has been planned and sequenced to ensure children have opportunities to revisit, practise and repeat learning which is key to deep understanding and having a mastery of skills.

In addition to our well-resourced school library, each classroom has an engaging Reading Corner. The library is timetabled to ensure all children have time to enjoy a wide range of books. Bryn Offa also has a ‘Book Club’ where we choose a book to study and create Reading Newsletters to share with the school.

Parental Involvement in Reading

Pupils are encouraged to take their books home every night. It is hoped that parents will actively participate in helping their children to become enthusiastic readers by listening to them read, sharing and discussing books with them. Reading Records have a laminated bookmark attached which provides a range of questions from the different reading strands encouraging parents and carers to ask a range of questions appropriate for their year group. As pupils become more able, they are expected to keep their own simple reading record or diary. Children’s reading books are carefully matched to their phonics stage or reading age as they progress through school. Children are also encouraged to choose a topic and challenge book of their choice. Please find below, further details of how you can support your child with reading at home.

Supporting Reading at Home

Recommended Booklists for Year Groups

https://www.booksfortopics.com/yeargroups

Writing

The teaching of writing at Bryn Offa aims to build, year upon year, on children’s basic skills and conventions of writing. The curriculum is planned on a 2 year cycle, ensuring many cross-curricular links are utilised offering pupils a wide range of genres and purposes for writing. Children’s writing is assessed half termly which is used to set future interventions and targets. Talk for Writing is incorporated into all year groups which is used to help develop young, imaginative, creative and effective writers and for children to develop a love and enjoyment of writing. When leaving the school, they should be writers who can demonstrate:

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  • spelling at an age-appropriate level or above
  • writing in a clear joined-up style

Composition:

  • understanding the purpose and structure of a range of text types
  • planning, writing, drafting and editing a range of texts
  • creating interesting and imaginative texts through exposure to a rich and varied curriculum

Grammar:

  • understanding the function of word types
  • using a range of punctuation accurately
  • structuring sentences in a variety of ways

During their time at Bryn Offa, pupils will experience a wide range of types of writing and learn to become competent writers through following the progression of skills outlined in the National Curriculum. As a result they should leave the school as confident writers who are able to express themselves on paper in an accurate and appropriate manner.

The ways in which children at Bryn Offa work is always flexible and includes; class, group, pair and individual work. Where needed, children will have guided writing sessions led by their teachers to address specific writing needs.

The teaching of writing incorporates a range of strategies to address the needs of individual children. Shared writing, up-levelling of writing, modelled examples of writing, and teacher scripted writing sessions are some of the strategies that are used at Bryn Offa.

As they develop their understanding of the writing purpose, children need to have a clear understanding and appreciation of the writing process – becoming more skilled at planning, drafting, editing and proof reading their work as they progress through the school.

The teaching of the conventions of English grammar is in accordance with the National Curriculum and, where appropriate, is taught in the context of the children’s wider learning.

Children’s Work

A poem by Summer Berridge

Life

It has its ups and downs

But why?

The world can be as kind as a triangle

But don’t fret, kindness overlaps bad but it does it by a crumb

Bad, good, we all have our days

Sometimes people like sitting by the beautiful beach bay

Sometimes people like being left alone

But my favourite is listening to water

Spelling

Spellings at Bryn Offa follow the sequence set out in the National Curriculum.

Any gaps in children’s phonic knowledge are identified as they progress through the school using the school’s phonic assessment tool. Gaps in children’s phonic knowledge are closed through targeted intervention groups.

The school follows the Spelling Shed Scheme from Year 1. Children are regularly assessed and are set age and ability appropriate spellings which they practice at home through an online app and using a range of spelling strategies they have learned during designated spelling lessons. Each child has a spelling journal where they:

  • investigate spelling patterns and rules
  • understand the definitions of the words they are learning
  • learn about the origins of words
  • develop a range of strategies for learning spellings
  • learn about associated punctuation skills
  • use words in context
  • Become fluent through dictation lessons where spellings and punctuation are assessed

In addition to the set programme and learning different strategies for spelling, children are encouraged at all times to use word books, dictionaries and thesauri as a matter of habit. These are kept easily accessible for children and the use of them is modelled. Interventions are in place to support children with their spellings and phonic gaps.