English

Intent 

It is incredibly important that our Hook Norton children have the very best beginning to their reading learning. We aim for our children to quickly gain reading skills and gain confidence in their own reading abilities. This quick acquisition of skills and fluency through systematic teaching of synthetic phonics is essential in ensuring children develop a love of reading. It additionally provides children with the confidence to write, spell and use grammar correctly. 

Implementation 

We follow a rigorous and systematic approach to the teaching of phonics through the Read Write Inc phonics scheme. We have a consistent approach through Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1, and if necessary, beyond. In Early Years and Key Stage 1 our children participate and enjoy daily discrete phonics sessions teaching the sounds that letters make. The children are grouped according to their next steps in learning, with children that need additional support in smaller groups where possible. Our approach ensures consistent practice, continuity and progression in the teaching and learning of phonics. Our staff are highly trained and experienced in delivering our phonics programme and staff work together to develop phonics teaching. We regularly assess our children to ensure they are receiving a targeted, tailored phonics teaching programme and put in place additional sessions for those children that require further repetition and support. 

Children apply their phonetic skills by decoding books in whole class Read Write Inc sessions, as well as by taking home the Read Write Inc Book Bag Books that carefully match the scheme and each child’s stage of learning. Children apply their phonetic skills to their writing in dictation exercises and editing sentences. 

In Year 2 and Lower Key Stage 2 children receive discrete spelling lessons through the Read Write Inc Spelling scheme. This is in line with the National Curriculum expectations for spelling and includes dictation exercises, investigations of spelling patterns and focussed spelling activities. Several members of the Key Stage 2 are trained in delivering phonics and are able to use this in their teaching where necessary. 

Impact 

Our children are consistently and confidently able to apply their sounds to reading and spelling. Children that need additional support receive it and make progress, developing a secure knowledge of phonics. Children perform well above National Average in the Year 1 Statutory Phonics screening. Children apply spelling rules and grammar correctly as they move into Key Stage 2. 

The reading scheme we use at Hook Norton CEP School is Oxford Reading Tree. The phonics scheme we use is Read Write Inc. 

ReadWriteInc Parent Information Booklet - Reception

Reading Information for KS1 parents

ReadWriteInc Parent Information Booklet - Year 1

Intent

We seek to develop the highest levels of oracy and listening skills in our children. We teach them to listen well, with respect and care. We aim for our children to develop into active listeners who develop their visualisation skills, subsequently enhancing their imagination and supporting their reading and writing skills.

Implementation

We achieve this from the earliest stages in school by creating a language rich environment where staff talk with the children and model effective communication in all interactions. We develop vocabulary in every area of our curriculum. We develop children’s vocabulary through talk and plenty of it! We provide children with opportunities to use language appropriately and explore the rich wealth of vocabulary provided through role-play, storytelling, poetry and high quality literature.

We encourage parents to read to their children daily. In order for children to develop their vocabulary, they need to have access to high quality texts which are read to them, discussed and promote a greater extensive vocabulary, wisdom and a deeper understanding of texts. Teachers read aloud daily and explore intonation, expression and word meanings.

Pupil voice is an integral feature of learning and we seek to develop personal independence, trust and leadership through providing a variety of opportunities such as School Council, Eco Council, Class Assemblies and performances.

Impact

Through our exciting and engaging curriculum, we encourage our children to communicate their thoughts and ideas. Our children enjoy recalling, questioning and exploring information and are able to communicate their ideas and thoughts clearly, developing an awareness of their audience and maintaining positive body language.

Speaking and Listening Skills and Knowledge Progression

Intent

Reading is a key tool for life. It is at the heart of our learning and essential to every aspect of the curriculum. Teaching children to become confident and fluent readers is an exciting part of what we do at Hook Norton. Children at our school develop a genuine love of reading and books, a respect for the pleasure reading can bring and the information it can provide.

Implementation

We have many opportunities for reading inspiring and exciting books and materials thanks to well-resourced reading areas throughout the school. Our children are encouraged and supported to choose appropriate and exciting reading materials, matched to their abilities and from a variety of genres. Book areas and libraries are designed to look appealing and make it simple for children to select from a rich range of texts.

The development of children’s reading skills begins in the Early Years and Key Stage 1 through the rigorous and systematic teaching of Phonics using the Read Write Inc phonics programme. Children read texts that carefully match to their phonetic knowledge to help them build confidence and fluency applying their decoding skills.

We aim to create successful readers. In Whole Class reading lessons children are explicitly taught strategies including inference, questioning, summarising, prediction and summarising. Pupils are taught to use these strategies to THINK, check their comprehension and understanding and review texts when something does not make sense. Pupils develop skills in skimming, scanning, forming opinions, thinking aloud and asking questions. These skills can them be applied by pupils with increased independence when interacting with texts across all curriculum areas. Quality texts are used that engage our children, develop a breadth of vocabulary and support ideas for writing. We continually evaluate and update our core texts to maximise cultural capital and adapt to the introduction of newly published materials alongside classic texts.

Teachers foster a love of reading by reading aloud daily. From Nursery onwards, children enjoy engaging fiction, non-fiction, stories, reports and poems together. These texts are carefully selected to ensure excitement and enjoyment. Staff model fluent reading with intonation and expression. Children are encouraged to share and discuss their favourite texts with one another. Activities based on texts are exciting and engaging – from story sacks, to role play and drama.

Events through the school calendar including World Book Day, visits to the village library and Christmas productions provide enrichment opportunities that encourage a sharing of stories as well as applying reading to creating performances.

We encourage parental engagement with reading through our parent meetings and interactions. We strongly encourage parents to read with their children everyday whatever their child’s age and stage. We advocate for children not only reading to their parents, but for parents to read to their children too, sharing a love of books together. We support this through sending home phonetically decodable books for our early readers to ensure success, alongside reading for pleasure books for families to share. As children advance in their reading, they are able to select from our range of quality texts with teaching staff closely overseeing choices.

Impact

We inspire children to enjoy reading, to choose to read for pleasure and to become lifelong readers that appreciate the value books can bring to our abilities to LEARN and THINK. Our children leave Hook Norton with a LOVE of literature, and an enthusiasm to LIVE a life filled with imagination, DARING to dream of new possibilities and adventures! So many of our children engage with village library events, demonstrating a passion for reading that extends beyond the school gates and into their bookshelves and lives at home.

Reading Skills and Knowledge Progression

Intent

We intend our Hook Norton children to leave us being able to express themselves independently and clearly in written form. We provide them with fundamental and essential knowledge and skills of Standard English, spelling, punctuation, grammar and clear handwriting to create the confidence to record, communicate and create. We aim for our children to understand the structure and forms of writing and support them to adapt their writing to different audiences and purposes across the curriculum.

Implementation

At Hook Norton writing is important from the beginning. Children in Early Years learn how to hold a pencil correctly and how to form their letters. In a language rich environment children are given a purpose for writing in their play. Children begin the Read Write Inc phonics scheme from the nursery. Letter formation is practised and they learn to segment to spell and to choose the correct grapheme phoneme correspondence for words as they progress into Key Stage 1. Grammar and punctuation is taught through these sessions and there is an emphasis on transcription and dictation initially, teaching children fundamental basic skills and building their confidence to write.

Writing skills continue to develop through a high quality text-based and genre-based approach that link to our termly curriculum themes. Pupils are immersed in a text or genre and explore a text to build an understanding of writer’s craft and the components and processes involved in writing – planning, drafting, sharing, evaluating, revising, editing and publishing. Our curriculum plans for exciting and interesting stimuli for writing that encourages high engagement from our children. We role play, read aloud, take part in drama, discussions and visualisation. We allow pupils the time to explore the text, introduce new writing skills and apply with greater levels of independence. Our texts and genres are chosen to deepen knowledge of the wider curriculum and immerse them into enjoyable literary texts providing meaningful context for writing. The teaching of spelling, grammar and punctuation is woven into our English lessons to provide children with an understanding of these key skills in context and to give them the confidence to apply in their own writing.

The teaching of spelling additionally takes place through discrete spelling teaching using the Read Write Inc spelling scheme through Year 2 and Lower Key Stage 2. Sessions take place teaching grammar and punctuation throughout the school, so that children understand the fundamental structure of sentences and can apply this to their own compositions.

Handwriting is an essential skill in building fluency and stamina in children’s writing. We aim for all children to join their handwriting during their time in Key Stage 1, helping them to write neatly and fluently. Sessions are tailored to the needs of the individual child – those who need additional early support and practise are given the time to improve their fine motor skills and hone their handwriting skills more frequently.

Impact

Our children develop a love of writing and are confident to write for a variety of purposes and to different audiences. They make excellent progress from their starting points and leave our school being able to effectively communicate in grammatically correct and accurately spelled pieces of writing. They will acquire knowledge of literary techniques and styles and a respect for the writers who produce them.

Writing Skills and Knowledge Progression