English

Communication and Language

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, communication and language form the foundations of successful learning. Children develop their listening, attention, understanding and speaking skills through stories, rhymes, songs, role play, conversations and purposeful interactions.

We encourage children to develop their vocabulary, ask questions, share experiences and communicate their ideas confidently.

Literacy

Children begin their journey towards becoming readers and writers through enjoyable, purposeful experiences with books, stories, sounds, letters and words.

Early reading skills are developed through systematic phonics teaching, storytelling and opportunities to explore a wide range of books. Children learn to recognise letters and sounds, blend sounds to read words and begin to understand what they read.

Early writing develops through mark-making, fine motor activities, letter formation and opportunities to communicate meaning through words and sentences. Children are supported to develop the physical skills, confidence and knowledge needed for writing.

In Practice

Our Reception children experience a language-rich learning environment where reading, writing, speaking and listening are woven throughout adult-led activities and continuous provision.

High-quality stories provide opportunities for discussion, imaginative play, vocabulary development and early writing. Ready Steady Write and Ready Steady Handwrite support the development of writing skills, while regular phonics teaching builds the foundations for early reading and spelling.

Through meaningful and engaging experiences, children develop the confidence and enthusiasm needed for their continuing English journey.

In Key Stage 1, children continue to develop the essential foundations of reading, writing and spoken language.

Reading focuses on securing phonics knowledge, accurate word reading, increasing fluency and developing comprehension. Children learn to discuss stories, retrieve information, make simple inferences and explain their understanding of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

Through Ready Steady Write, children explore high-quality texts and develop their ability to compose sentences and create increasingly detailed pieces of writing. They learn to organise ideas, use appropriate vocabulary and apply taught grammar and punctuation accurately.

Spelling develops from children's phonics knowledge, with Ready Steady Spell introduced in Year 2 to support the understanding and application of spelling patterns and rules.

Through Ready Steady Handwrite, pupils develop correct letter formation, consistent sizing and spacing, and the foundations of fluent handwriting.

By the end of Key Stage 1, our aim is for children to read with increasing confidence, write simple texts independently and communicate their ideas clearly.

In lower Key Stage 2, pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This ensures that pupils develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers.

Pupils develop their ability to solve a range of problems, including those involving simple fractions and decimal place value. Teaching also ensures that pupils draw with increasing accuracy and develop mathematical reasoning, so they can analyse shapes and their properties and confidently describe the relationships between them. It ensures they can use measuring instruments with accuracy and make connections between measures and number.

By the end of Year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 times table, and should show precision and fluency in their work.

Pupils are immersed in mathematical vocabulary, which they should be able to spell correctly and confidently, using their growing word knowledge and their knowledge of spelling.

In Upper Key Stage 2, children develop the advanced reading, writing and communication skills needed for a successful transition to secondary education.

Through Ready Steady Read, pupils explore increasingly complex and challenging texts. They develop their ability to make detailed inferences, evaluate information, compare texts, identify themes and analyse the effect of language, structure and authorial choices. Children are encouraged to express their opinions confidently and support their interpretations with evidence.

Ready Steady Write enables children to produce increasingly sophisticated writing across a wide range of genres, purposes and audiences. Pupils learn to select precise vocabulary, control sentence structures, organise ideas cohesively and use grammar and punctuation for clarity and effect. Greater emphasis is placed on planning, drafting, editing and improving writing independently.

Ready Steady Spell continues to develop secure spelling knowledge through the exploration of complex patterns, word origins and morphology. Children apply spelling strategies independently and develop accuracy across the curriculum.

Through Ready Steady Handwrite, pupils refine their handwriting to ensure that it is fluent, legible and efficient, enabling them to write confidently and at an appropriate pace.

By the end of Year 6, we aim for every child to be an enthusiastic, capable reader, a confident and purposeful writer, and an articulate communicator who is prepared for the opportunities and challenges of the next stage of education.

At Weeton St Michael's C of E Primary School, our vision is to provide our children with a high-quality, inclusive education inspired by Christian values. Excellent teaching and learning form the basis of all our work, delivered through a caring, creative ethos.

Our children are encouraged to have a positive attitude, develop resilience in their approach to learning, become confident in their own ability, and be independent and motivated to achieve their full potential.

We believe it is our duty to make learning fun, engaging, memorable, accessible and ambitious for all children, instilling in them a love of learning.

We take seriously our duty to teach children about the fundamental British values of mutual respect and tolerance, democracy, the rule of law and individual liberty. These values are woven through our curriculum so that our learners leave us prepared for life in modern Britain.