Malton Primary Academy

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Proud to be part of

Hull Collaborative Academy Trust

English

Malton Primary Academy English Intent Statement

Our English curriculum provides a meaningful learning experience for all students. Split into the key disciplines of reading and writing, Malton’s English curriculum offers all pupils high quality, research-based teaching; rigorous teaching of systematic phonics through RWI phonics; explicit teaching of reading skills through a rich, broad range of texts with depth; the opportunity to develop a love of reading; opportunities to develop oracy through high-quality talk throughout the school, discrete teaching of spelling rules and spelling strategies through daily spelling sessions informed by rigorous assessment; explicit teaching on the craft of writing and grammar for writing; and the opportunity to develop increasing proficiency as a writer to  express ideas both for a purpose and for pleasure. Our aim is to develop a love and passion for reading and writing coupled with the automaticity needed to use reading and writing as a vehicle for future success in education and the world beyond. 

Reading 

 Early Reading 

At Malton we follow the RWI phonics programme. RWI is a complete phonics programme with high quality training, assessment, intervention and resources (including decodable books). We train all new members of staff in the RWI approach and provide ongoing training and support for existing teachers through practice sessions and coaching. We carry out interventions to support pupils to ‘keep up’ with the programme in the form of ‘fast track tutoring’. Comprehension is built into the programme with opportunities for pupils to discuss and reflect on the text, building literal retrieval and inference skills. Children’s early independent reading is exclusively reading the RWI fully decodable books, ensuring that children are only asked to read books with sounds that they know. The structure of the RWI text means pupils read the text at least three times, allowing children to become familiar with the text and read it with increasing fluency. We ensure children have other authentic reading experiences through daily storytime, parent reading sessions and borrowing children’s literature to read at home with parents. Once pupils can read accurately and fluently, they move on from the RWI programme and the related decodable books. Intially children have access to our bridging scheme books to build confidence and nurture their ability to decode accurately and fluently. However, children move on from this scheme when they are ready . From this point, teachers support pupils  to choose a book that matches their interests and reading ability (e.g. suitable length, appropriate themes etc). 

Reading in Key Stage Two

From the moment a child starts their journey here with us at Malton Primary, they will be exposed to lots of high quality, engaging texts through our daily Storytime. These texts are rich in new vocabulary and have been selected to engage the children in great discussions.  

From Y2 upwards, all pupils will take part in a daily Whole Class Reading Session. The purpose of these sessions is to continue to build pupils’ growing fluency and stamina for increasingly more challenging texts including great stories, non-fiction and poetry.  

During these sessions, teachers will model effective strategies to support pupils in their comprehension of a text. Children will be taught the background knowledge and vocabulary needed to maximise their understanding in these lessons. 

 Reading for Pleasure

At Malton, we believe that reading is our passport to everywhere! Once our pupils have learnt how to decode words and read them speedily, the goal is to fully understand and enjoy the different texts that they read. We are extremely lucky here at Malton Primary to have our very own library space which is filled with a wide range of books. There really is something for everyone! Our staff are always on hand to offer guidance to our children when they are selecting their own books for pleasure. Every classroom has their own mini library so that pupils have access to books at all times. We also have many ‘pop up’ book areas around the school where children can find books on Sport, Science or Art for example with ease. 

What books our pupils will bring home  

Initially, your child will bring home 2 books each week: 

1. A reading book for practise (This may be a RWI Book Bag Book or an Oxford Reading Tree book). 

2. A library book of their own choosing. This is a book that we ask you to share at home together. Your child may struggle to read all of this this for themselves but will love hearing you bring it alive for them.  

Over time, you will notice that your child will increasingly wish to read their library book at home rather than their reading practise book. This is exactly what we would hope to see and this should be encouraged! The reading scheme books are a stepping stone in supporting pupils to build their confidence and stamina for longer, age-appropriate books. Any reading is fine.  
 
Reading is a key skill that enables your child to access the whole curriculum. In school we encourage everyone to discover the pleasure books can give. We explain that books are not just for reading words on a page but that they can present new ideas and topics for us all to discuss and learn from. 

Every day in school we ask your children to read in a variety of contexts, for example, to follow instructions, to solve problems, to research or to read for pure pleasure. In addition, we hear your children read during reading sessions and on an individual basis as appropriate. 

We hope that at some point during the week, you and your child manage to find time to share a book and investigate print that surrounds us in our everyday lives. You may like to share a picture book, comic, magazine, poetry book, an information text… the list is endless! Your child will have chosen their own Reading for Pleasure book at school that they hope to share with you each week. 

Writing

Writing in EYFS and Key Stage One 

In KS1 and EYFS we aim to target transcription to make the mechanics of writing an automatic process which in turn, by unburdening working memory, allows the children as they progress up the school to focus on complex compositional elements. 

Our high-quality teaching of the RWI phonics scheme is the driving force which allows children to build the vital building blocks of writing. Writing opportunities are built into daily provision in EYFS, with pupils mark marking and writing with a focus on letter formation and phonetical knowledge. In addition, daily writing sessions are provided which are centered around high-quality texts which children have prior knowledge and familiarity with.  

Through a mixture of dictation exercises and oral rehearsal, foundational fluency in early writing is prioritised throughout teaching and learning.  

Writing in Key Stage Two 

After children have mastered the foundations of writing and can use them with increasing automaticity, they focus more heavily on the compositional element of writing and how to write for an audience and a specific purpose based on the four main purposes: to entertain, to inform, to persuade and express feelings. Pupils develop a strong awareness of the different purposes for which one might write and are taught over time to write for a range of different audiences and how to adjust their writing for these different purposes.  Our approach to writing is centered on  producing quality not quantity where pupils learn the nuances and conventions of producing effective written communication between the reader and the writer. Through effective modelling and reflection, pupils learn key writing behaviours that allow them to write truly independently with the teacher acting as the facilitator rather than the instructor. We nurture the pupils’ ability to self-regulate their own progress as a writer and the effectiveness of their writing across a range of audiences and purposes. Pupils are given regular opportunities to write but we also understand that time, care and attention need to be given to oracy and the executive functions (planning, drafting and reviewing) required for writing. Children are taught the necessary speech and language skills to present their work effectively with the intonations, grammatical conventions and emphasis needed for effective communication. Language is used as the vehicle to bring writing to life and to demonstrate the magic of grammar, punctuation and vocabulary. Throughout the writing curriculum, high quality stimuli such as ambitious text extracts, film clips, images and lived experiences are the driving force behind producing ambitious, quality work. From pictures to film clips or lived experiences, our teachers help children to make connections between background knowledge and the creation of new knowledge. 

Finally, our pupils further develop their maturity as writers by being active participants in a ‘community of writers’, in which they read, share, think and talk about their writing together. In doing so, they see themselves as truly worthy, accomplished writers whose ideas and written work are highly valued by their peers and teachers. 

Spelling, punctuation and Grammar 

At Malton, we recognize the importance of highly accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation in writing. SPAG progression is carefully sequenced to build knowledge both hierarchically and cumulatively using prior knowledge as the building blocks of future learning. Our grammar teaching will typically review prior grammatical skills and introduce new knowledge with opportunities for repeated practice. Where possible, we the teaching of grammar and punctuation are taught within a context. When children are taught grammatical skills for writing, the overall coherence, quality and precision of their writing improves drastically and allows them to communicate more effectively.  

Spelling in KS1 and KS2 is taught through short but effective daily sessions. Throughout the week children develop an in-depth understanding of a particular spelling focus. Below is the structure of the spelling week: 

Introduce new words 

Oral rehearsal 

Practice 

Apply 

-Re-cap of previous spelling rule/words 

-Introduction to spelling rule and words – can the children find any patterns/anything in common? Expose children to words from statutory spelling lists which match the rule.  

-Clarify meaning of any unknown words 

-Look at morphology of words e.g. root words/prefixes/suffixes  

-Choose a word to look at etymology (history) of words (UKS2) 

 

-Look at syllable breaks/phonemes within words – lots of oral rehearsal of words/breaking words down into their parts.  

-Sing/shout/whisper/robot voice words 

- Link to prior phonetical knowledge  

-Act words out – drama!  

-Orally compose sentences which the spellings could be in (check children’s knowledge of word meaning). 

 

Practise various activities e.g.  

-Correcting spellings which are wrong  

-Finding other words which match the spelling rule  

-Draw/write the words using calligrams 

-Defining words using a dictionary 

-Sort words into categories depending on what rule they follow e.g. tious/cious.  

-Defining what word class the words are e.g. noun, verb, adjective, adverb.  

-Write description of a given image with the spelling rule in. 

 

Dictated sentences – children to write spellings in given sentences. 

Children can be challenged by being provided with spellings which contain the rule but which they may not have been exposed to throughout the week.  

Challenge children to write their own sentences in with the words that they have learnt – can they use two spellings in one sentence? 

Ensure that these spellings are picked up on throughout marking and feedback in other areas of children’s work. 

 

 

Handwriting 

At Malton Primary School we believe handwriting is a skill which, like reading and spelling, affects written communication across the curriculum therefore handwriting skills should be taught regularly and systematically. We strongly believe cursive handwriting teaches pupils to join letters and words as a series of flowing movements and patterns and supports pupils to write with ease, speed and legibility. 

We aim to:  

-To encourage children to develop a sense of pride in their work, enabling them to present work for an audience. 

-To teach print and then the pre-cursive script initially, forming letter shapes with ‘leads in and out’, leading to a cursive, joined script when ready.  

-To teach cursive handwriting to our children.  

-To support pupils to eventually develop the ability to produce letters without thinking in an automatic style response. This releases the brain to concentrate on other ideas i.e. spelling, syntax, grammar, style and content. Through purposeful, guided practise, pupils will foster a comfortable and legible handwriting style.  

-To write legibly in both joined and printed styles with increasing fluency by;  

  • Having the correct pencil grip  
  • Sitting correctly in the seat  
  • Knowing that all lower-case letters start from the line  
  • Forming all letters correctly  
  • Knowing the size and orientation of letters 

 

To teach handwriting, we use the RWI scheme which follows a clear sequence and allows progression across each year group from EYFS-Y2. Following this, we use the National Curriculum guidance. The discrete teaching of our handwriting sessions, involves explanation, demonstration and practise of the skill of handwriting. This skill can then be applied or used in contexts across the curriculum. Letters are taught in groups and are regularly linked to phonics and weekly spellings. Dictation exercises will also be used to allow children to focus on how they are forming their letters without having to think about what they want to say. This will be demonstrated in literacy books and reinforced across wider curriculum subjects. 

 Key Documents

Writing Long Term PlanWriting Progression Document

 

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