English (Including Reading)

At our school, we follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, a validated, systematic phonics programme that ensures all children learn to read and write confidently and fluently. The programme is based on the latest reading research and provides a clear, consistent approach to phonics teaching across the school.

In Reception, children start Phases 2, 3 and 4. They learn new letter sound correspondences daily and are taught how to blend sounds to read words and segment sounds to spell. Lessons are taught every day and are short, engaging and carefully structured to allow children to practise, revisit and apply their learning. By the end of Reception, children are supported to read simple sentences and books with increasing accuracy and confidence.

In Year 1, children continue with Phase 5, where they learn alternative spellings and pronunciations of sounds. This phase focuses on building reading fluency, developing spelling knowledge and improving comprehension. The aim is for all children to become confident, fluent readers who can access the wider curriculum.

Reading Practice Sessions

Children take part in weekly reading practice sessions in small groups. During these sessions, children read fully decodable books that are closely matched to the phonics they are learning. Each book is read several times across the week, with a clear focus on:

• Decoding (reading the words accurately)
• Prosody (reading with expression and fluency)
• Comprehension (talking about what has been read)

This repeated reading approach helps children build confidence, accuracy and enjoyment in reading.

Rapid Catch Up and SEND Support

We are committed to ensuring that every child keeps up, not catches up. Children who are identified as needing additional support, including those in our Base access Little Wandle Rapid Catch Up or the SEND programme. This is a targeted, structured intervention programme that mirrors the main phonics lessons but is delivered at a pace and level appropriate to the child’s needs.

Rapid Catch Up sessions are short, frequent and focused on addressing specific gaps in phonics knowledge. Progress is closely monitored so that children can rejoin whole-class phonics teaching as quickly as possible. Adaptations and additional support are put in place where needed to ensure all children can succeed.

Supporting Reading at Home

Little Wandle provides clear guidance for families so that phonics and reading are supported consistently. You can find helpful videos, explanations of how phonics is taught, and guidance on supporting reading at home in the Little Wandle Parent Area:

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/

By using a consistent, evidence-based approach to phonics and reading, Little Wandle helps children develop the skills, confidence and love of reading they need for lifelong learning.

Learning to read is one of the most important things children will learn to do at school. At Usworth Colliery Primary School, we aim for every child to become a fluent, confident and enthusiastic reader who develops both the skills needed to read successfully and a lifelong enjoyment of books.

Reading at Home

We recognise the important role families play in developing confident readers. In the early stages of reading, children take home books that are carefully matched to their secure phonics knowledge, allowing them to practise reading successfully and develop fluency.

Children also have opportunities to choose books to share and enjoy with their families. These books are not expected to be fully decodable by the child; instead, they provide opportunities to enjoy stories, talk about books and encounter a wider range of language and vocabulary.

We encourage families to make reading a regular and enjoyable part of life at home by listening to their child read and sharing books together.

Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is an important part of our reading culture. Adults regularly read high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry to pupils, exposing them to language, vocabulary, authors and texts beyond those they may yet be able to read independently.

Through being read to, pupils experience the enjoyment of books, encounter new ideas and vocabulary and hear fluent, expressive reading modelled by adults.

Whole Class Reading

Whole Class Reading provides pupils with regular opportunities to engage with a wide range of high-quality texts and develop the fluency, vocabulary and comprehension needed to become confident, independent readers.

Through Whole Class Reading, pupils encounter a rich range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and real-world texts, enabling them to broaden their reading experiences and develop their knowledge of language and the wider world.

Our approach includes:

• Explicit teaching and modelling of reading fluency, including accuracy, automaticity and prosody.
• Direct teaching and exploration of vocabulary within meaningful contexts.
• Explicit teaching of comprehension, including retrieval, inference, prediction, explanation and summarising.
• Teacher modelling and think-aloud strategies to demonstrate how skilled readers make sense of texts.
• High-quality book talk and discussion, giving pupils opportunities to articulate, justify and develop their ideas.
• Opportunities to revisit and consolidate reading knowledge and strategies so that pupils can apply them increasingly independently.
• Carefully selected texts that provide appropriate challenge, variety and opportunities to build knowledge.
• Support and scaffolding to ensure all pupils can access and participate meaningfully in lessons.

Book Club forms part of our wider reading provision, giving pupils opportunities to explore books, discuss their reading and develop their identities as readers.

Reading for Pleasure

At Usworth Colliery Primary School, we want every child to develop a positive relationship with reading and to see themselves as a reader. We recognise that reading for pleasure supports pupils’ language, vocabulary, imagination and wider knowledge, while opening the door to a lifetime of enjoyment through books.

We aim to build a strong reading community where books are valued, discussed, recommended and enjoyed by pupils and adults.

Pupils have regular opportunities to:

• choose from a diverse and engaging range of books within their class libraries
• hear high-quality texts read aloud by adults
• talk informally about books, authors and their reading preferences
• recommend and share books with one another
• discover new authors, genres and types of text
• spend time reading independently for pleasure
• take part in Book Club, providing dedicated time to read, discuss and respond to books
• participate in wider reading opportunities and celebrations across the school.

The National Curriculum divides writing into two dimensions:

• Transcription – spelling and handwriting
• Composition – articulating, developing and structuring ideas in speech and writing

At Usworth Colliery Primary School, we recognise that both dimensions are essential in developing confident and successful writers. We teach transcription skills explicitly and systematically so that spelling and handwriting become increasingly fluent and automatic, allowing pupils to focus their attention on composing effective writing.

Composition is developed through rich spoken language, reading, vocabulary development and explicit sentence-level teaching. Pupils are taught to generate and rehearse ideas orally, make purposeful choices about vocabulary and grammar, and plan, draft, edit and improve their writing for a range of audiences and purposes.

Our Approach to Writing

At Usworth Colliery Primary School, we aim to develop confident, fluent and purposeful writers. Our writing curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils build secure transcription and composition skills over time.

We:

• teach spelling and handwriting explicitly and systematically, supporting pupils to develop increasing accuracy, fluency and automaticity
• teach sentence construction explicitly, developing pupils’ understanding of how vocabulary and grammar can be used to communicate meaning effectively
• provide regular opportunities for pupils to compose and rehearse sentences orally before writing
• use high-quality texts to develop pupils’ vocabulary, knowledge and understanding of how effective writing is constructed
• use teacher modelling, shared writing and guided practice to make the processes involved in writing visible to pupils
• teach grammar within meaningful contexts, enabling pupils to apply grammatical knowledge purposefully within their own writing
• provide appropriately scaffolded support so that all pupils can participate successfully, gradually reducing support as pupils become more independent
• teach pupils to consider audience, purpose and context when making choices about vocabulary, grammar, structure and form
• provide purposeful opportunities to plan, draft, edit, improve and proofread, with feedback given at appropriate points within the writing process
• explicitly teach handwriting through a progressive whole-school approach, developing correct formation, legibility, fluency and, when developmentally appropriate, joining
• identify barriers to writing and provide targeted support and reasonable adaptations for pupils who need them
• provide opportunities for pupils to apply their writing knowledge across the wider curriculum
• ensure learning is carefully sequenced and revisited, enabling pupils to build on prior knowledge from EYFS through to Year 6.

Vocabulary

The National Curriculum recognises that pupils’ acquisition and command of vocabulary are key to their learning and progress across the whole curriculum. Developing a rich vocabulary supports pupils to communicate effectively, comprehend increasingly complex texts and make purposeful choices within their own writing.

We develop vocabulary by:

• Explicitly teaching new vocabulary and building systematically on pupils’ existing knowledge.
• Making meaningful links between new and known words.
• Exploring word meanings, word families and shades of meaning.
• Providing rich opportunities for pupils to hear, discuss and use new vocabulary orally.
• Using high-quality texts to expose pupils to ambitious and varied vocabulary.
• Revisiting vocabulary so that pupils encounter and use new words in different contexts.
• Teaching pupils to select vocabulary purposefully to suit meaning, audience and purpose.
• Explicitly teaching subject-specific vocabulary across the curriculum.
• Modelling precise and ambitious vocabulary through high-quality classroom talk.
• Providing additional scaffolding and targeted support where pupils need it.

Spelling

Spelling is an important part of transcription and is taught explicitly and systematically across the school. Our approach builds on pupils’ phonics knowledge and develops their understanding of spelling patterns, rules and word structures.

In EYFS and Year 1, spelling is taught through our Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised phonics programme, alongside the relevant National Curriculum expectations.

In Year 2, spelling is taught alongside the continued development and consolidation of phonics. Teaching builds on pupils’ knowledge of the alphabetic code while developing their understanding of spelling patterns, conventions and word structures. Pupils who require additional support with phonics continue to receive targeted teaching alongside the Year 2 spelling curriculum.

In Key Stage 2, spelling is taught systematically in line with National Curriculum expectations, using Grammasaurus Spelling to support progression and consistency.

Our approach to spelling:

• Builds upon pupils’ secure phonics knowledge.
• Explicitly teaches spelling patterns, conventions and word structures.
• Revisits and practises previous learning to support long-term retention.
• Develops pupils’ understanding of morphology, including roots, prefixes and suffixes.
• Provides opportunities to apply spelling knowledge within sentences and independent writing.
• Teaches and revisits statutory words appropriate to each year group.
• Uses ongoing assessment to identify gaps and inform teaching.
• Provides additional practice and targeted support where required.
• Encourages pupils to proofread their writing and increasingly identify and correct spelling errors independently.

Handwriting

We recognise that fluent, legible handwriting is an important part of becoming a confident writer. When handwriting becomes increasingly automatic, pupils are better able to focus their attention on the ideas they want to communicate.

We follow Letter-Join from Reception to Year 6, providing a consistent and progressive approach to the teaching of handwriting across the school.

Our aims and provision:

• We develop the foundations for successful handwriting from EYFS, including pencil control, posture and correct letter formation.
• We explicitly teach and model correct letter formation, size and orientation.
• We provide regular opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their handwriting.
• We build fluency and automaticity so that handwriting supports, rather than hinders, the writing process.
• We introduce joining progressively, once pupils have secure letter formation and are ready to develop a fluent joined style.
• We encourage pupils to take pride in producing clear, legible and well-presented work across the curriculum.
• We provide additional support and appropriate adaptations for pupils who experience difficulties with handwriting or fine motor skills.
• As pupils progress through school, we support them to develop a fluent, legible and efficient personal style.