Reading at St Peter’s Bratton Primary Academy
At St. Peter’s Bratton we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading and confidence as lifelong readers. We recognise that reading well is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.
Reading at St Peter's Bratton Primary Academy
Phonics at St Peter's Bratton Primary Academy
At St Peter's phonics teaching is a high priority throughout key stage 1. We follow the 'Essential Letters and Sounds' programme which leads to us teaching phonics in a systematic way. We use a variety of resources to make phonic sessions fun and interactive for the children. In both Reception and Year 1 classes phonics is taught, on a daily basis, for at least 20 minutes. We aim for our children to reach at least the end of phase 5 by the end of year 1. Every child has an individual Phonic Record book which is regularly updated to monitor the child's progress. At the end of year 1 our children take the Phonics Screening test and we have a very successful pass rate.
From year 2 onwards children move towards the National Curriculum program when they are on phase 6. However, if your child has not reached this phase they will be given further support in an intervention group.
Our reading policy celebrates the abilities of our children to apply phonetic strategies and become successful readers. Each classroom has a reading area containing a variety of reading scheme books including : Rising Stars, Oxford Reading Tree, Big Cat Phonics, Dandelion Readers, Sunshine Spirals and Rigby Rocket. These are colour coded along with other 'real' books which your child will be selecting from. Every child has their reading skills assessed regularly which will be shared with you via the 'Home School Diary'.
Phonics at home
Parents are by far the most important people in helping children learn to read. Here you will find lots of information for parents about phonics including: what exactly phonics is, how it is taught in schools and suggestions for helping children prepare for learning phonics. You will also find lots of games and ideas to explore with children at home.
https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/resources
Reading for pleasure
If you can encourage your child to read for pleasure, they will really reap the benefits. It might not seem like a particularly important task, but actually, research shows that reading for pleasure can be directly linked to children’s success throughout their time at school and even into adulthood. Use the link to help discover more helpful ways to develop and encourage reading at home.
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-for-pleasure
Essential Letters and Sound Information
Essential Letters and Sounds Phonics Policy
Essential Letters and Sounds Y1/Primary2
Essential Letters and Sounds YR/Primary1
The Phonics leader is Bethany McKim who can be contacted at stpetersbratton@taw.org.uk if you have any queries.
Essential Letters and Sounds information for parents
Reading Spines
The reading spines are a starting point for teachers when selecting texts and authors for reading/writing units, choosing a class reader, stocking their class library or directing children towards reading books . It is intended to:
- Ensure quality texts are chosen and pitched appropriately;
- Encourage a range of classic and contemporary fiction and poetry;
- Include a variety of formats, i.e. verse novels, graphic novels.
- Encourage diversity in chosen texts
Some authors and poets are repeated across the year groups to provide opportunities for children to discuss and analyse writing style and make comparisons between texts. For example, children will be introduced to the poet, Grace Nichols and the author, Oliver Jeffers in KS1 before reading more of their work in KS2.
Texts that link to curriculum areas have also been indicated.
Reciprocal Reading at KS2
At KS2, children are introduced to Reciprocal Reading. This is a structured method of guided reading where children are gradually taught to take on group roles to explore and find meaning in texts. Reciprocal Reading emphasises teamwork and supports independent comprehension skills.
Writing at St Peter's Bratton Primary Academy
Writing is a crucial part of our curriculum at St Peter’s Bratton. Throughout their time in school, we want our children to develop a love of writing and to be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively through the written word. Our aim is to encourage children to be independent writers who can write confidently in different forms for a range of audiences and purposes.
Writing at St Peter's Bratton Primary Academy
Handwriting
In school, we follow the Teach Handwriting scheme which takes a holistic view of teaching handwriting, developing both a child’s Key Strengths (Gross & Fine Motor Skills) and Key Abilities (Knowledge) from Year 1 through to the end of Key Stage 2. It’s systematic, differentiated and progressive approach supports children of all ability levels.
Please follow the link below for more information, animations showing letter formation, games and activities which will be useful to help children practise at home. Please choose ‘cursive’ style when given that option on the animations.
Spelling at St Peter's Bratton Primary Academy
Spelling and word knowledge are key components in the process of learning to read and write. Learning to spell well is extremely useful if we want our children to become confident writers. If they are constantly stopping to think about how words are spelt while they write, it can interrupt the flow of their thoughts, taking them away from what we want them to be thinking about: their choice of words and how they construct those words into sentences that communicate exactly what they want to say.
Please see the files and links below for more information about ‘No Nonsense Spelling’. Also see statutory word lists for Years 2-6, and information about the strategies we are use to help children learn spellings.
Common Exception Words for Years 1/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N0s_eTRheM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8U5BqhwYWE
Spelling at St Peter's Bratton Primary Academy
Statutory Word List for Years 3/4
Statutory Word List for Years 5/6
Strategies for learning NO Nonsense Spellings