English
English intent statement
At St Chad's RC Primary School, we aim to ensure that English lessons develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary. We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied English literature heritage and a habit of reading widely and often. We ensure that reading is at the heart of everything we do and we promote reading for pleasure within the school day in all classes. We create a varied and rich English curriculum that inspires and nurtures a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately across a range of genres and recognise their own potential when doing so.
At St Chad's we use the Read, Write Inc. programme for teaching phonics and reading in EYFS and KS1 as well as for some older children who have gaps in their phonic knowledge. RWI teaches children letter sounds that enable them to decode words to both read and spell. In RWI sessions, children will practice both reading and writing as we believe that ‘practice makes permanent!’. The ability to read and write effectively and understand these skills has a direct impact upon progress and attainment in all areas of the curriculum and upon a child’s self-esteem, well-being and motivation to learn. Therefore, we recognise that children need to develop a secure knowledge of the skills in English, which follows a clear path of progression as they develop through the school.
Reading
At St Chad's we are passionate about reading because we believe that it is the foundation of success. We aim for all of our children to develop a life long love of reading.
The teacher will read to the children several times a week. Every child from Nursery to Year 6 is given a reading book that they will bring home every night. At St Chad's, we use a wide range of books that are phonetically matched to your child’s reading ability alongside Read Write Inc phonics books. Please share this book with them as often as you can, preferably a few pages every night, and write a comment in their reading record. Reading books need to be in school every day.
Your child will then read with their class teacher or another adult (either once, twice or three times a week depending on their ability) to check their ability to read accurately and fluently, and their understanding of the book. In addition to this, your child will also have daily guided reading sessions within ReadWriteInc lessons or RAMP sessions in Key Stage 2. They also have an opportunity to use our lovely library area. They can borrow an extra book from the library or their classroom library.
Links to support reading at home: