English

Reading Intent

Reading is at the heart of everything we do at Christ Church (Erith) CofE Primary School. We aim to uphold an ‘Every Child a Reader ‘ ethos, enabling children to enter secondary education and beyond equipped with the skills to succeed and reach their full potential. The aim is to ensure that all pupils can read fluently and confidently in any subject by the end of their primary education. Therefore, the teaching of reading is a central focus and a key driver within our English and broader curriculum. We intend to build a positive reading culture that produces enthusiastic readers with a genuine love of reading through the reading curriculum. Children who read for pleasure become better readers. Statistically, good readers have better educational outcomes, a better range of life chances, and better emotional and mental health than those who struggle with reading; teaching our pupils to learn to read well and enjoy reading matters and further develops the whole child. This aligns with our school ethos of ”God’s children, your children, our children creatively learning together”, and as a Rights Respecting school, we nurture pupils who have read a range of literature that reflects religion, diversity, local and global history and contemporary issues. This allows our pupils the confidence to communicate effectively in various situations, both now and in the future.

Implementation

Christ Church (Erith) CofE Primary School’s approach to teaching reading is outlined below. Our staff will demonstrate the positive, physical handling of books and other resources to teach reading and show enthusiasm when discussing books and reading. When reading aloud, adults at Christ Church will read in their ‘performance voice’, using intonation, expression, and pauses for effect, adapting their voice to reflect the author’s intent for the reader: bringing the text to life.

Summary Structure of our Holistic Approach

• Systematic Synthetic Phonics for Early Reading (EYFS and Key Stage1) is Read Write Inc (RWI)
• Provide pupils who need the most support with RWI and Fresh Start Intervention where a need has been identified with age-related expectations.
• Reading skills strategies are taught in Key Stage 2 (Years 3, 4, 5, and 6), and those pupils in Key Stage 1, who will have completed the RWI teaching cycle.
• Book Banded books provided for the Key Stage 2 with a fluency and comprehension focus (Collins Big Cat)
• Reading within English/Literacy lessons.
• Reading in the Wider Curriculum
• ‘Drop Everything and Read’ (DEAR) is used to promote pleasure in reading
• 1:1 Reading with adults
• Inviting Book Areas

Early Reading and RWI

• When children begin school (Reception), we conduct a baseline assessment as they enter EYFS.
• A homogenous phonics lesson occurs daily for Read Write Inc. sessions in EYFS and KS1.
• Throughout Early Years and Key Stage One, children are taught in small and focused groups to target their specific needs for phonics alongside children of the same ability.
• The groupings are based on Read Write Inc. assessments regularly on a per-needs basis and then continued half-termly.
• We ensure that pupils read books that match their increasing phonics knowledge to be successful and gain confidence. Children take home a book bag books, that matches their reading level.
• Key Stage 1 pupils who complete the RWI programme progressively look at short texts in Reading Skills in preparation for studying whole texts.

Reading Skills Sessions Overview

At Christ Church (Erith) Primary School, reading and writing texts are integrated to enhance engagement and immersion. Daily reading skills sessions foster oracy development, ensuring pupils gain a deeper understanding of language, positively influencing their comprehension and writing abilities. The teaching of reading skills is based on the explicit teaching of vocabulary and retrieval skills daily. Alongside teaching vocabulary and retrieval simultaneously, another reading skill is taught alongside these two.

Teaching reading across Key Stage 2 is designed to promote reading fluency, stamina, and comprehension, key components that contribute to a child’s overall literacy development. By fostering these skills, teachers enhance pupils’ ability to decode and understand texts and nurture a lasting love of reading. Through the exploration of rich literature, pupils are exposed to diverse themes. These themes focus on and encourage pupils to develop empathy, address grief, and promote an understanding of environmental issues and differences within our communities, including those associated with Special Educational Needs. For example, “The Journey” in Year 5 is about refugees. The London Eye Mystery in Year 6 is about a boy with autism. The Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom in Year 5 is about bullying. Beegu in Year 1 is about hope and kindness.

To further cultivate this love of reading, lessons incorporate carefully planned Book Talks and provide opportunities for pupils to hear an adult read aloud, which models fluent reading and ignites interest in various genres. Additionally, strategies such as independent reading, echo reading, and paired reading are actively promoted, enabling pupils to experience reading in diverse formats. These varied approaches develop essential reading skills and instil lifelong reading habits, enriching students’ knowledge and understanding of the wider world and inspiring them to become enthusiastic, confident readers.

Reading for pleasure

At Christ Church (Erith) CofE Primary School, reading for pleasure is actively fostered through author visits, engaging poetry sessions, and the provision of diverse themed texts, including works by Shakespeare. The school encourages parental engagement with in-school events like Drop Everything and Read (DEAR). At the same time, pupils are also motivated to select their leisure reading alongside a designated fluency text, enhancing their overall reading experience.

Reading Spine Books

Based on our school context, our book spine has been specifically selected to engage all children. The texts are updated to reflect diversity and extend cultural capital for our pupils. Children are taught to develop the following skills:

• To use phonics as the primary strategy for reading.
• To read a wide range of fiction, poetry and non-fiction material.
• To read aloud fluently and with expression.
• To read for meaning.
• To recognise vocabulary, grammar, and literary devices in texts that can be used effectively in writing.
• To read a text critically and know how to improve it.
• To read with comprehension, showing understanding of how texts make sense and communicate with the reader.
• To read with awareness of the author’s intentions and purpose.

• EYFS Reading Spine
• KS1 Reading Spine
• KS2 Reading Spine

Reading with the wider curriculum

Reading forms a crucial part of the broader curriculum, ensuring that pupils use reading skills as a core strategy for learning.

1:1 Reading

All pupils must read regularly to their class teacher. All pupils read their scheme book to their class teacher at least once a week, and our pupil premium children read with an adult twice a week. We spotlight our non-fluent readers and implement strategies to support them on their journey, enabling ‘every child as a reader’.

Home Reading Records

Reading Records (RR) are to be shared between home and school. RR are expected to come to school daily.

Parents and carers at home are expected to sign/comment in the RR regularly to show when they have listened to their child read or shared a book with them.

‘Drop Everything and Read’ and Storytime

Regular short sessions for pupils to read or independently undertake paired reading. During Storytime, pupils are read to by their teacher and listen to an expert reader using their ‘performance voice’. Once each month, parents are invited to come into school and read with pupils.

Class Book Areas, Library & Virtual Libraries

In addition to their reading scheme books, pupils are encouraged to use their class book area and our school library to take home a pleasure for reading books. This is to promote pupils’ more comprehensive reading. Pupils in KS1 also have access to Oxford’s virtual library, which provides them with a range of reading materials and an opportunity for pupil voice (recommended reads).

Pupils Who Need the Most Support

Any children in lower Key Stage 2 who cannot decode sounds or struggle to read fluently will be targeted for the appropriate phonics sessions based on the identified gaps in their grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC) knowledge.

• Children in Years 5 and 6 who need to improve their fluency will participate in Fresh Start sessions each day.
• Individual Records for pupils who need the most support will be completed, with tracked progress and notes on the next steps to address their individual knowledge gaps of the GPCs.

Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

• In the first instance, pupils with SEND needs will be taught using the RWI programme, and where necessary, adaptive teaching will be applied to suit the child’s specific needs.
• Consider each pupil’s strengths, challenges, knowledge, understanding, and needs profile.
• The learning will be carefully structured in small and cumulative steps.
• Use instructional routines that are familiar to SEND pupils
• Daily, with well-paced, well-planned lessons that are engaging and motivating
• Some pupils may need additional strategies and adaptive teaching to be employed, such as for those who have physical disabilities, pre- or non-verbal, or have both fine motor difficulties.

Impact

We would expect to observe our pupils:

• Observe our pupils, talking with interest and enthusiasm about their reading in English and across the curriculum.
• Pupils talk about how their teachers encourage and inspire them to become better readers.
• Sustained improvement in literal and more profound comprehension skills in their written responses to reading.
• Applying their reading skills across the broader curriculum as a tool for learning.
• Showing interest and knowledge of how different writers impact their readers, drawing on these as models for their writing.
• Reading attainment that is in line with and above national expectations by the end of KS2.
• Using the same texts for reading and writing has strengthened the mental models and comprehension of texts for pupils.
• Opportunities for our children to keep up, not catch up – fast-track tutoring, reading interventions and additional 1:1 reading
• Pupils can access a range of texts for pleasure and enjoyment and use their reading skills to unlock learning and all areas of the curriculum.
• Relevant literature and reading experiences for pupils to their own lives, developing a reflection.
• Parents and carers will understand how they can support reading at home, building on the knowledge our pupils have acquired in school.

• Reading Workshop for Parents 2024/2025
• Reading Prompts for Fluent Readers
• Questions to Ask when Reading at Home

Intent

At Christ Church, we intend for our pupils to leave as confident, capable and independent writers, who not only understand the purpose and importance of writing but also enjoy the writing process.  Our intent is to ensure quality first teaching of writing. We provide opportunities for pupils to use their writing skills across the curriculum and believe in delivering an inclusive, ambitious and diverse curriculum that recognises each child as a ‘unique child of God’.

Reading and writing is at the heart of our curriculum, as it provides the skills that are essential for life-long learning. Using the EYFS curriculum, the National Curriculum, and the Power of Reading Approach (CLPE). At Christ Church Primary School, we believe that quality writing is a process. As our basis, we have built a writing curriculum based on the 5 stages of writing.  he ‘5 Stages of Writing’, include: Immersion, Planning, Drafting, Editing, and Publishing.  We ensure our pupils have an understanding that writing has a real purpose and that vocabulary choice and style can bring about change and enjoyment, which is celebrated through the ‘publishing’ of their work. We have planned and sequenced the writing curriculum using a holistic approach, so that learners can build on previous teaching and learning and develop the new knowledge and skills they need, allowing them ‘to know more, remember more, do more’.

We believe that a quality English curriculum will foster a love of reading and writing in all children, and this will support pupils in accessing all areas of the curriculum. At Christ Church Primary School, every child will experience a wide range of quality texts that stimulate children to write in lessons. The texts have been carefully selected; they are inclusive to all; they are representative of our diverse school; they expose the children to a wide range of genres and authors; and they help to embed cultural capital, ensuring we expose our pupils to a breadth of experiences through our broad and balanced curriculum.

We recognise the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum. For children to become fluent, creative and confident individuals, they are encouraged to express their ideas through speaking and listening opportunities. Pupils are encouraged to take part in class and group discussions during the immersion stage, where they are given a range of opportunities to take part in role play and drama activities, debates and discussions and group activities that are used as stimuli for their writing.

Our intention is:

• To celebrate writing across the curriculum and ensure our pupils understand that writing takes place in all areas, not just within our English lessons.
• To provide exciting writing opportunities and experiences that engage and enhance all pupils.
• To ensure pupils understand how to write clearly, accurately, and coherently, adapting their language and style to a range of contexts, purposes, and audiences.
• To teach pupils to acquire a wide vocabulary and to be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn throughout their time in primary school.
• To ensure pupils have a solid understanding of grammar and apply it effectively to their writing.
• To encourage pupils to take pride in the presentation of their writing, by developing a legible, cursive, individual handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school

Implementation

How we teach writing

English lessons take place daily across the school. At Christ Church Primary School, writing is taught in all English lessons through the use of high-quality texts (mostly from The Power of Reading). We passionately believe that reading and writing are inextricably linked therefore studying the text in both reading skills and writing sessions encourages children to make links and become empathetic and ambitious writers.

EYFS: Early writing is taught through early mark making and when the children begin Read Write Inc phonics, they are taught letter formations. This begins with writing (whether with a writing tool or in the air) cvc words, moving onto short sentences using the sounds they have been taught. They have daily English lessons  and work is evidenced within their English book. They have a class text, selected from The Power of Reading Scheme and are encouraged to write independently  during continuous provision, which immerses the children in writing through a particular theme, linked to the class text. 

KS1: In Year 1 and 2, our English planning follows the structure of the 5 stages of Writing. In KS1 they focus particularly on immersion, planning, and drafting. Once the children have been fully immersed into their writing, teachers will model how to plan, with the introduction to text types, audience and discussions around the purpose of their writing. Through the use of high quality modelling and a shared writing approach, children will begin the drafting stage. They write over the course of a few days, allowing them time to focus on grammatical features and basic sentence structures. Children are encouraged to start the editing process from Year 1, where children learn the importance of reading their work out loud in order to check if the writing makes sense. In Year 2, children are introduced to a green editing pen. The teachers will highlight basic areas for improvement and the children start to identify their punctuation and spelling errors.

KS2: All KS2 classes  follow the structure of the 5 stages of writing that includes: Immersion, planning, drafting, editing and publishing. Pupils are taught quality writing is a process. They are given opportunities to write from a range of genres with different audiences and purposes. Pupils are provided with age appropriate vocabulary and writing aids to support them in their writing. As pupils progress through the school, they are encouraged to draw on their reading and writing experience to develop their own writers’ voice.

Spelling

Teaching and learning of spelling in the EYFS and Key Stage 1 is underpinned by the use of a high quality phonics programme (RWI), alongside the National Curriculum requirements for spelling in Years 1 and 2.

From Year 1 to Year 6, we follow the PiXL Spelling approach, where children explore spelling patterns and rules.

Pupils are also taught to:

• Spell accurately and identify reasons for mis-spellings
• Proof-read their spellings
• Recognise and use word origins, families and roots to build their skills
• Use dictionaries and thesauruses.  

Handwriting

Formal teaching of handwriting is carried out regularly and systematically to ensure Key Stage targets are met. We use Letter Join Handwriting scheme form EYFS- Year 6. In EYFS and Year 1 pupils focus on basic letter formation and they begin to learn a pre-cursive style. From Year 2-Year 6, pupils continue to build on producing fluent, consistent and legible cursive handwriting, applying size-appropriate handwriting to all areas of the curriculum in order to improve their quality, speed and stamina for writing.

Wider Opportunities

Our English curriculum is designed to engage and enthuse our pupils with wider opportunities. We hold special events and competitions to help inspire and instil a love of reading and writing in all children. World Book Day, Poetry Week, Shakespeare Day, Black History Month and writing competitions, are just some of the core events that help enrich the children’s wider learning which encourages a love of reading, writing and performing literature.

Impact

At Christ Church, through high-quality teaching, we aspire for all children to be challenged and supported to achieve their best possible results by the end of EYFS, KS1 and KS2. As they progress through school, pupils will develop as able, confident and enthusiastic writers who leave Christ Church proud of their writing achievements.

Each term, teachers moderate across year groups, cross-phases and cross-Trust to develop their understanding of the assessment of writing. Teachers use progression statements, linked to the National Curriculum to monitor progress and assess the children’s writing.

The Impact:

• Pupils become more confident writers and have the ability to plan, draft, edit and publish their own work
• Pupils can write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences
• Writing is taught in a systematic and progressive way across the school
• Pupils enjoy talking about their writing – about its construction, purpose and effect on the reader.
• By the end of key stage 2, children have developed a writer’s craft, they enjoy sustained writing and can manipulate language, grammar and punctuation to create effect.

• Writing Skills Progression
• Writing Workshop for Parents

We provide a range of cross-curricular writing opportunities inline with our curriculum that allow the children to have a purpose for their writing and to develop not only their written skills but to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of key learning concepts in other subjects.