Hambrough Primary and Nursery School

At Hambrough Primary school we strive for children to be ‘Primary Literate Pupils’.

By the age of 11 we aim for a child to be able to:

• Listen and communicate effectively and competently.
• Read confidently, accurately and fluently, using a range of reading cues (phonic, graphic, syntactic, contextual) to read and be able to correct their own mistakes. Phonics is our prime approach when learning to read.
• Enjoy and engage with and understand a range of text types and genres.
• Express opinions, articulate feelings and formulate responses to a range of texts both fiction and non-fiction using appropriate technical vocabulary.
• Understand and respond to what they read using inference and deduction where appropriate.
• Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• Develop independent strategies to self-monitor and correct reading and writing.
• Foster an interest in words and their meanings, and to develop a growing vocabulary in both spoken and written form.
• Seek information and learn from the written word. 

At Hambrough Primary School we plan from the National Curriculum in KS1&2 and the EYFS statutory framework in EYFS. Our medium and long term planning is informed by these documents which map out the English curriculum for each year group. Where possible, the teaching of English is delivered in a creative, cross-curricular way and English lessons are based around quality core texts, many from the CLPE Power of Reading project. We use Power of Reading teaching approaches and visible learning tools when planning our teaching sequences.

Click here for a copy of our English long term overview for each year group.

Our aim at Hambrough Primary is to enable our pupils to be able to listen and communicate confidently and effectively. The majority of our pupils speak English as an additional language and therefore, we see speaking and listening as an integral element of a child’s language experience and an essential foundation for creative thinking and effective learning.
Opportunities to develop our pupils’ competence in spoken language are interwoven into our whole curriculum; (both National and wider curriculum) as well as opportunities to listen and to be listened to.
We aim for our pupils to learn the conventions of language and its vocabulary for a variety of contexts e.g. discussion, debate, explanation, expressing opinion and responding. By doing so, we aim to enable our pupils to be able to fully participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding from this common human currency.  

The Importance of Reading 

Reading is a significant life skill and the development of reading strategies will enable our children to read and write confidently throughout their school career and on into adult life. Evidence suggests, that children who read for enjoyment every day, not only perform better in reading tests than those that don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. 

In fact, there’s evidence to suggest that reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background. At Hambrough Primary School, we passionately encourage and require our children to read every day and aim to nurture a love of reading through carefully selected Core Texts, which inspire and motivate pupils to become life-long readers.  

*questions to ask when reading with your child*  

How Reading is taught at Hambrough Primary School 

At Hambrough Primary School we plan from the National Curriculum in KS1&2 and the EYFS statutory framework in EYFS. Our medium and long term planning is informed by these documents which map out the English curriculum for each year group.  

Pupils develop skills in reading through the understanding of core texts. Our teaching sequences are tailored to meet the needs of our pupils and have been designed in collaboration with the CLPE. In essence, pupils study a book, related to their half-termly topic, which are more challenging than those they might be able to read independently. They will use this book as the basis for reading, writing, oracy tasks and links to foundation subjects. Year groups also have link texts to support their understanding of key themes and explore vocabulary further.  

Pupils are encouraged to read widely, through our use of differing class texts, recommended reads, library books, Oxford Owl books, high-quality texts and home reading practice books. Our classrooms and school aim to reflect a literature-rich environment and we ensure reading takes place throughout the curriculum.   

Pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure and develop a life-long love of reading through practices such as: Independent Reading once a week and working through Whole Class Reading in their year groups. In EYFS and KS1, we also have story time every day.  

In Early Years and Key Stage One, pupils learn to read accurately and fluently through daily phonics. Our EYFS and KS1, follow the programme, Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS). ELS is a synthetic Phonics scheme and is a way of teaching children to read. It teaches children how sounds are represented by written letters. Children are taught to read words by blending these sounds together to make words. For example, they will be taught that the letters ‘m-a-t’ blend together to make ‘mat’. With ELS, there is a daily phonics lesson where the teacher teaches a new sound, or reviews sounds learned earlier in the week. Children learn the letters that represent the sounds. They are then asked to read words and sentences with the new sounds in. Children will also practise writing the letters that represent the sounds 

New sounds are taught every day, with some review weeks to help children practice what they have learnt. Here is the order in which your child will learn with ELS:  

*Phase 2 sounds* 

*phase 3 sounds* 

*phase 5 sounds* 

* ELS videos* 

From years 1- 2, children read as a whole class every day during English lessons. They learn a VIPERS skills per week. Please see the VIPERS poster below for more information. From years 3 -6, children read as a whole class every day during Whole Class Reading lessons. They progress to learning a VIPERS skill per day. Please see VIPERS poster below for more information. Reading and writing are both taught using teaching sequences which involve choral reading as well as opportunities for the teacher to read aloud modelling expressive reading and for individual children to read aloud to develop their oracy skills and confidence.  

Pupils’ comprehension skills are formally assessed each term and statutory assessments take place in Reception and year 6. Any pupil who is not meeting age related expectations is support through additional sessions, 1:1 reading or phonics, small group reading/phonics and tuition before school. Throughout English lessons, pupils have many opportunities to learn and develop their reading skills and these are practiced and applied in other areas of the curriculum too.   

*KS1 VIPERS poster* 

*KS2 VIPERS poster* 

By the time your child leaves Hambrough, we want them to…  

We aim for all of our pupils to leave as free, confident readers with a love of reading. Your child will be using their reading for learning across all subjects as well as for pleasure, and they will be developing their own reading tastes. 

The emphasis is now on your child reading and responding to what they read accurately and quickly. They will be using accurate grammar and punctuation, as well as adventurous ideas, words, sentences, and paragraphs, to improve their writing as they draw on their wider reading experience. Your child should also be able to read and spell unfamiliar words using their knowledge of phonics and word structure. They will develop their spoken language through public speaking, performance, and debate. 

We want the children to have a secure understanding of the different reading skills and know how to apply the reading strategies confidently. 

How to support your child at home 

Read to your child 
Reading daily to young children, starting in infancy, can help with language acquisition and literacy skills. This is because reading to your children in the earliest months stimulates the part of the brain that allows them to understand the meaning of language and helps build key language, literacy and social skills. 

Sign up to your local library 
Get your child a library card. They’ll be able to get their hands on hundreds of fantastic books. Let them choose what they want to read to help them develop their own interests 

Have them tell you a story 
One great way to introduce kids to literacy is to take their dictation. Have them recount an experience or make up a story. 

Teach phonetic awareness 
Young children don’t hear the sounds within words. Thus, they hear “dog,” but not the “duh”-“aw”- “guh.” To become readers, they have to learn to hear these sounds (or phonemes). Play language games with your child. For instance, say a word, perhaps her name, and then change it by one phoneme: Jen-Pen, Jen-Hen, Jen-Men. Or, just break a word apart: chair… ch-ch-ch-air. 

Listen to your child read 
When your child starts bringing books home from school, have them read to you. If it doesn’t sound good (mistakes, choppy reading), have them read it again. Or read it to them and then have them try to read it themselves. Studies show that this kind of repeated oral reading makes students better readers, even when it is done at home. 

Sign up for audio books 
Audio books are a fantastic way to for children to listen to stories. It allows children to listen to complicated topics and listen to better-quality books than your child might find at their own level. That exposure strengthens comprehension skills, particularly for children who have reading difficulties. 

Ask questions 
When your child reads, get them to retell the story or information. If it’s a story, ask who it was about and what happened. If it’s an informational text, have your child explain what it was about and how it worked, or what its parts were. Reading involves not just sounding out words, but thinking about and remembering ideas and events 

All reading is good – Don’t rule out non-fiction, comics, graphic novels, magazines or leaflets. Reading is reading and it’s all worthwhile 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-songs-index/zhwdgwx 

https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/ 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/making-time-for-books-at-home 

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ 

https://www.storylineonline.net/ 

https://www.storynory.com/ 

Our aim at Hambrough Primary is that through the teaching of effective composition, our pupils will be able to find their own authorial voice. We aim to tool our pupils with the skills, knowledge and understanding that will enable them to use spelling, punctuation and grammar accurately, appropriately and purposefully in a wide range of genres.

Our curriculum allows pupils to develop the following disciplinary skills within the domain of Writing:

• Activating prior knowledge
• Write for a purpose
• Organisation writing
• Word choice
• Impact/effect
• Recognition of sentence structures and effect/impact
• Conscious manipulation sentence structure for effect/impact

The following categories of knowledge are used to support pupil retention of information by fostering the development of schemas:

Composition

• writing purpose
• use of language (vocab) and sentence structures
• writing organisation

Transcription

• handwriting
• spelling
• punctuation

Analysis and presenting

• analyse writing
• present/publish writing