Download the Progression Document as a pdf by clicking here.
Download the Progression Document as a pdf by clicking here.
Download the Progression Document as a pdf by clicking here.
Download the Progression Document as a pdf by clicking here.
Here at Kenton Primary School, we believe that literacy and communication are key life skills. One of our aims is to help children develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate effectively and creatively with the world at large, through spoken and written language. We promote our love of reading and strive to help children to enjoy and appreciate literature and its rich variety.
Our school learning is planned in a cross curricular way and we routinely use books as our starting point for a topic. Using a high-quality text as a basis for learning really engages the children and helps to develop quality writing as well as stimulating learning in other areas of the curriculum.
‘The more that you read, the more things you will know, the more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.’ Dr. Seuss
At Kenton Primary School reading is a top priority. Our intent is that every child will become a reader in our school. The teaching and learning of reading is at the heart of everything the children do. Whether reading for pleasure or across the curriculum, children learn to decode, comprehend, summarise, infer and predict texts, giving them access to the world of information around them. Reading will enable learning in all other areas of our curriculum, and vice versa. All children will leave our school with a love of reading, and the necessary skills to help them to flourish in their secondary education and in life. We work to develop confident, fluent readers who enjoy a variety of literature and who can critically evaluate a range of texts, both fiction and non-fiction as they prepare for transition into Key Stage 3.
Reading is a fundamental element of our curriculum and we want children to leave our school as confident, fluent and enthusiastic readers.
In EYFS and KS1:
In Key Stage 2:
When a child is ready (often Year 2 Spring term), pupils follow the Accelerated Reading Programme with the aim of ensuring children have books that are matched to their reading level and maturity, ensuring challenge, interest and progress. In addition, children are taught reading skills in whole class sessions and guided reading groups which require them to summarise, infer and predict as well as understand the meaning of new vocabulary.
In other areas of the curriculum: reading comprehension; vocabulary knowledge and understanding; communication skills and understanding different text types are all taught within the context of the curriculum theme that children are learning and key texts are used as a springboard for other curriculum areas. This contextual learning allows for deeper understanding and greater application skills. Furthermore, whole school and cross curricular theme weeks based around high quality texts encourage the love of reading and the opportunity to immerse the children in reading a text alongside exploring art, drama and other curriculum areas.
Everyone a reader.
Children who need additional support to learn phonics and reading skills receive extra help in class through differentiated lessons or in interventions which take place outside of the classroom. These can be individual or in small groups and are led by teachers or teaching assistants.
We further aim to enrich reading across the school by participating in a variety of opportunities including national events such as World Book Day and National Poetry Day; writing directly to authors that the children have read in class to give their writing a purpose; immersing children in online poetry performances and readings of high quality texts from authors as well as inviting parents into school to read with their children. In Key Stage 1, book boats, cosy nook reading areas and puppet theatres enable the youngest children to embrace their imagination and retell stories in an explorative manner. Alongside this, we create an ethos of excitement about reading across the school by utilising reading ambassadors in Key Stage 2 which involves older children reading with younger children and sharing their love and enjoyment of reading.
Reading At Home
We know that support from parents with their child’s reading plays a vital role in his or her progress. Our expectation is that children read or share books daily with an adult at home. Upper Key Stage Two children, who are reading independently, are expected to read daily to themselves and to an adult at least once a week. Children are rewarded in a variety of ways for regular home reading. In all reading diaries an insert in the front cover gives suggestions to parents on how to help your child make progress.
By the time children leave Kenton Primary School, our aim is for all children to be competent readers who can recommend books to their peers, have a thirst for reading a range of genres including poetry, and participate in discussions about books, including evaluating an author’s use of language and the impact this can have on the reader. Throughout the teaching of Phonics, we are able to measure attainment using the Key Stage One and Key Stage Two national assessments, along with the information provided by the Phonics Screening check for Year One. However, we believe that reading is the key to all learning and so the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond and is embedded across the entire curriculum for our children.
“The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium.” – Norbet Platt
At Kenton Primary School we place a strong emphasis on fostering a love for writing, enabling students to become confident and proficient writers across a range of genres. The intent is to provide a rich and stimulating learning environment that inspires children to develop their creativity, express themselves articulately, and communicate effectively through the written word. The school aims to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to become successful writers, enabling them to thrive academically and in their future careers. We carefully craft cross-curricular writing opportunities to ensure that children have every opportunity to write for a variety of audiences and purposes. Our curriculum offers a rigorous and progressive teaching of Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar for each Year group so the that children have the skills they need to become fluent and able writers. Our children take pride in their presentation and are discreetly taught a legible cursive handwriting style as they move through the school.
Literacy is taught through high quality texts that link where possible to our topics, using cross- curricular links. We follow the Read Write Inc phonics programme in EYFS and KS1 and then use the Westover Green for whole class spelling from Year 2 – Year 6. Writing is linked to topic. We aim to link all subjects to our thematic approach where possible. At times this can be through the development of vocabulary in other areas of the curriculum i.e., mathematical language, from our sports coach in PE, or scientific or Design Technology skills in Forest School.
We adapt the curriculum, the support provided and the challenge of skill application to a range of situations for children with SEND and for the most able. We take care to note that the abilities of children may differ across subjects and according to the skill being taught, so ensure that we fine tune what is provided according to individual need.
The development of oracy and debate across the curriculum enables children to understand how others use language and how they can use it to the best effect themselves. This enables them to be effective and confident communicators and prepares them for their adult lives.
We use writing Teaching Sequences that focus on a key text from EYFS to Y6, as the vehicle for teaching writing. This is to ensure a consistent and systematic approach to teaching the skills of writing across all cohorts.
Drama is used as a tool to inspire and improve creative writing skills, enrich language development, build comprehension skills, and extend vocabulary.
Early writing is taught through early mark making, then when the children begin phonics, they are taught the 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. The children also learn to remember and write stories using the Talk for Writing approach. They are encouraged to write independently in continuous provision.
This process continues into Year 1, where children are encouraged to use the sounds, they have been taught. They have access to sound mats, when they are writing, whether this is with the teacher, or independently.
Writing from year 1 to year 6. Teachers use the cold task before they begin the text. They use this to assess the areas that their children will need to be specifically taught, even if this means tracking back to objectives from previous years, in grammar and punctuation.
After the teaching of a unit, teachers assess the hot write (independent writing) at the end of the unit and compare this to the cold task. Interventions on specific areas of weakness happen during feedback in lessons.
Teachers use the Babcock and or the SLN moderation materials to assess writing. It is expected that teachers will moderate across year groups and federation teams in time for data drops during the year.
The teaching of vocabulary is a priority. This ensures that all children are regularly read to in class and high-quality texts are used.
Spelling
Grammar is taught through the model text, but also through discrete lessons. We use Westover Green and Spelling Shed to provide teachers with usable resources that explain the terminology; this also supports teachers’ subject knowledge in this area.
Subject leaders play an important part in the success of the curriculum by leading a termly programme of monitoring, evaluation, and review, embedded in our School Improvement Plan, and the celebration of good practice contributes to the ongoing commitment to evolve and improve further. All subject leaders are given training and the opportunity to keep developing their own subject knowledge, skills and understanding, so they can support curriculum development and their colleagues throughout the school.
Training for teachers across all subjects forms a fundamental part of this, based on annual staff competency audits. The focus of this is to ensure that children experience high quality learning in all aspects of the curriculum.
Through the intent and implementation described above, Kenton Primary School achieves significant impact in writing education:
1. Students consistently demonstrate high levels of engagement, enjoyment, and motivation in their writing. They show improved confidence, independence, and a positive attitude towards self-expression through writing.
2. Attainment and progress in writing is ambitious for all pupils.
3. Students develop a thorough understanding of different writing genres and are able to apply appropriate language, structure, and features in their writing. Their work demonstrates creativity, originality, and clarity, and reflects a wide vocabulary and a sophisticated grasp of grammar.
4. Students exhibit a strong sense of ownership and pride in their writing, regularly undertaking revisions and editing to refine their work. They are able to reflect on their writing journey, set targets for improvement, and take responsibility for their own progress.
5. Assessment practices, including formative and summative assessment, are robust and effectively identify individual and whole-school strengths and areas for development in writing. Feedback and marking are used strategically to drive improvements and promote ongoing learning. Moderation of teaching and learning is evaluated by learning walks, drop ins, pupil conferencing and work scrutinies. Summative assessment occurs using the Devon assessment materials (Evidence gathering Grids) and moderating across year groups. The analysis of this used to identify areas of development and any children who are not making expected progress.
6. A significant number of students demonstrate a keen interest in creative writing beyond the curriculum, participating in writing competitions, showcases, and community engagement activities.
7. We use Pupil voice to ensure that children can feedback on their experience of writing teaching.
Pupil progress meetings are conducted by senior leaders with interventions put in place for children who need them.
Ks1 and KS2 outcomes have been moderated by external moderators: KS1 2019 and KS2 2022.
Learning to write is an important part of what a child will learn at primary school. Children use their writing in almost all of the subjects of the curriculum. Good writing also gives children a voice to share their ideas with the world. Learning to write can be a tricky business, because writing involves handwriting, spelling, grammar and punctuation not to mention what we want to write and who we are writing for.
EYFS
In reception, children will start to learn how to form letters correctly. They will be encouraged to use their knowledge of phonics to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. By the end of the year, they will begin to write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Pre-School children are encouraged to mark make in a variety of different ways.
Key Stage 1
In year 1, children will be taught to write sentences by saying out loud what they are going to write about, put several sentences together and re-read their writing to check it makes sense. They will also be expected to discuss what they have written and to read it aloud.
In year 2, children learn to write for a range of purposes, including stories, information texts and poetry. Children are encouraged to plan what they are going to write and to read through their writing to make corrections and improvements.
Key stage 2
In years 3 and 4, children are encouraged to draft and write by talking about their writing. They will learn how to organise their writing using paragraphs, headings and when they are writing stories, they will learn to use settings, characters and plots. They will be expected to use what they know about grammar in their writing and to read through what they have written, to find ways to improve it.
In years 5 and 6, children will continue to develop their skills in planning, drafting and reviewing what they have written. They learn to identify the audience for and purpose of their writing. They will be expected to use grammar appropriately. In non-fiction writing, children will use headings, bullet points and other ways to organise their writing. They will be expected to describe settings and characters, create atmosphere and to use correctly punctuated dialogue in their stories to advance the action.
1. Reading with your child
No matter their age, reading regularly to your child, often books that they can’t yet read independently, is a great way of supporting their writing. Listening to books being read aloud introduces them to different ideas that they can borrow and adapt for their own writing, as well as hearing different ways of using language that are often not from the types of sentences that we use when we speak.
Try to make sure your child gets to hear a range of different types of books, including fiction and non-fiction. This is useful for their writing, as it allows them to encounter a wide variety of different types of language and different purposes for writing.
2. Giving your child opportunities to write
Writing for a real-life purpose can be a great way of practising writing. Writing cards, shopping lists, or letters and emails to relatives can all be motivating real life reasons for writing. Children might also keep a diary or be encouraged to write short stories based on books they have read or toys they enjoy playing with.
3. Helping your child with spelling
While there’s obviously much more to good writing than correct spelling, if children are worrying about spelling a particular word or having to stop frequently to think about spelling, it can prevent them from concentrating on the other aspects of writing, including communicating their ideas. Please see the attached spelling mats to use at home with your children.
4. Helping your child with handwriting
Different children develop control over their handwriting at different points, and learning to form letters correctly at the start of school can be very useful for later on as it is much harder to unlearn habits once they have been formed. Fluent, neat handwriting is useful to ensure that a reader can understand what a child is trying to communicate in their writing, as well as helping a child to feel confident about their writing.
Read Write Inc developed by Ruth Miskin, is a systematic approach to teaching literacy. This programme has been specially developed to teach your child how to read and write as well as develop their speaking and listening, comprehension and spelling skills.
Children access daily RWI sessions every day. In the lesson, children are taught 40+ graphemes (sounds) and the skills to be able to confidently decode and blend the sounds within words independently.
Children will work with their talk partner to read red words (words that cannot be phonetically sounded out) green words and a simple story. Teachers will engage in role-play and freeze frames to bring these stories to life during lessons. There are a range of comprehension questions within the sessions that will help to support children with their confidence and fluency when reading.
Willow class have been visited by story teller Steve Manning. He has told the children a variety of different stories about animals. The children then drew. pictures of some one the characters from the stories they heard. A great afternoon had by all. www.stevemanningstorytelling.co.uk
The children have enjoyed a visit from local author Clare Helen Walsh. www.clarehelenwelsh.com Clare shared her stories with us in an assembly and then each class enjoyed a wonderful shadow puppet workshop based on her book Scissorella. They all had a wonderful time.
The Parcel by Theatre Alibi. A giant parcel arrives at your school. And, as if that isn’t strange enough, it soon becomes clear that there are two people living inside it! They tell the children that this is their way of life – they simply put their finger on a map, choose an address and…
The children in year 1 have been working hard to become independent writers. The children use word mats to support this. Here is a recent example of some beautiful writing.
For the past few weeks, Oak class have been looking at the book ‘Five Bears’ by Catherine Rayner. We created a class story map to help us to retell the story orally and with actions. We then had a go at creating our own story maps too. We looked at the different skills we might…
Theatre Alibi visited Kenton Primary. We loved listening to the story telling and enjoyed the beautiful songs and dancing. Willow children commented on how they loved to see beautiful colours and material appear from underneath the actors’ clothes.