English Curriculum
At Fairfield Infant and Nursery School we believe that literacy and communication are key skills and aim for all our pupils to leave our school with a love of reading and writing and equip with the skills to become successful life-long learners. We aim to make learning purposeful and engaging by embedding reading, writing, speaking and listening in all areas of the curriculum.
We intend for all pupils to be able to read fluently and be able to express their preferences and opinions about the texts that they have read. We want our pupils to read for pleasure, having being exposed to a wide range of text types, genres and authors throughout the curriculum. We want to produce children who write with confidence and accuracy for a variety of purposes and audiences whilst developing their own individual style. We want our children to write with grammatical accuracy and be able to apply spelling patterns correctly using a neat handwriting style. A wider range of vocabulary is consistently and continually taught to children so that they can decipher new words and then use them when speaking and within their writing. Our overall aim is then for our children to apply all the English skills taught to all areas of the curriculum.
We have high expectations for all our pupils, regardless of their needs or starting point and promote positive attitudes towards reading and writing in everyday life.
This is delivered through:
Phonics Children receive daily Jolly Phonics sessions in Reception and Year 1 and No-nonsense Spelling sessions in Year 2. |
Reading Practise Children participate in 2 group Reading Practise (Guided Reading) sessions per week. They read books that are well matched to their phonic ability. |
Reading for Pleasure Children and families can borrow books from our EYFS Lending Libraries. KS1 children visit our school library to borrow a ‘love of reading’ book each week. We host a Scholastic Book Fair each year which gives all children the opportunity to buy a quality text for home. All Reception new starters receive a pack of learning resources which includes a Bedtime Story to encourage reading for pleasure at home. |
Writing We ensure our writing lessons are purposeful and engaging. Our writing lessons include lots of opportunities for discussion to build ideas and vocabulary. We often use Talk for Writing strategies within our writing lessons. Teachers model the writing process regularly and provide opportunities for children to complete both shared and independent writing. |
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar We follow Jolly Grammar and No-nonsense Spelling. We embed SPAG activities throughout our English lessons. We aim to make these lessons active and engaging and encourage children to apply their SPAG knowledge throughout their learning. |
Handwriting Handwriting is taught as part of our Jolly Phonics lessons and within discrete handwriting lessons. Children are taught to form letters following Jolly Phonics formation, however as handwriting is a key barrier to writing we also follow Twinkl’s Progression Map / planning to ensure consistency across school. |
Fine Motor We develop fine motor skills during whole class sessions and group interventions. These include: Nursery – Dough Disco, Squiggle Wiggle. Reception – Jungle Journey and Drawing Club KS1 – Fine Motor Tool Kit activities. |
Vocabulary Year groups create a Knowledge Organiser for each topic. This includes key vocabulary, or ‘Fridge Words’ and key texts and is shared with parents/carers. Reception children take part in Drawing Club every day, which introduces lots of new, adventurous vocabulary. |
Whole School Events We arrange whole school events which celebrate Literacy, such as: * World Book Day * Local Poet / Author Visits * Scholastic Book Fair |
Rhyme Challenge Children in Nursery and Reception learn many rhymes throughout the year. |
Cross Curricular Reading and writing throughout many areas of the curriculum to ensure learning is meaningful and fun. We encourage children to apply literacy skills throughout their learning. |
SEND/Lowest 20% All teachers plan and deliver lessons that are adapted to support and challenge all children. However, we provide targeted support for anyone working below age related expectations, such as extra reading practise, 1:1 reading session, Precision Teach, Jolly Phonics Extra, Read Write A-Z. |
Parental Engagement Children who read at least 3 times per week receive a raffle ticket and are entered into our Family Reading Reward where they can win a Family Movie Night! Each year group create a Knowledge Organiser which is shared with parents, so they know what the children are learning about and can support their learning at home. Families are encouraged to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge during the summer holidays. |
Catch up Children who have been identified as needing further support to meet the expected standard will receive support through one of the following interventions: ECAT Read write A-Z Keep Up Phonics sessions Jolly Phonics Extra Dough Disco/Squiggle Wiggle Drawing Club Fine Motor Skills Toolkit Pre-teach sessions |
