Literacy
We acknowledge the importance of English as a medium for thought, learning and expression across the curriculum. The children develop skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing to enable them to express themselves creatively, imaginatively and to communicate with others.
Reading
We aim to teach the children not only to read but to enjoy books and to recognise them as being an important part of their lives and that it is not only at school that they do 'reading'. We do this by providing a wide range of attractive, good quality materials from a variety of sources and we encourage the children to make their own choice whenever possible. We do not limit the material to one reading scheme where a child is seen to be 'climbing a ladder'. Instead we try to give each child a wide experience of different kinds of books at all levels of his or her development. This will include picture books, information books, poetry and plays plus core reading schemes to ensure progression and the learning of skills. We actively encourage the involvement of home in working with us, as the children develop their reading expertise. In Years 1 and 2 the children have the opportunity to choose a library book to take home as well. We ask those at home to ensure that the book wallet and books are in school every day. The school believes that the provision of quality books is a priority and budgets for them accordingly.
Writing
We encourage the children to become independent writers. As well as teaching handwriting, grammar and punctuation the children are taught spelling strategies. In reception the children are taught the correct formation and recognition of sounds using the Jolly Phonics programme. In Years 1 and 2 we teach the children a cursive handwriting style.
Spelling Patterns
During KS1 we ask parents/carers to help with the learning of spelling patterns, which are sent home on a regular basis.