“Reading is a vital skill for children, as it is the cornerstone of their literacy skills and facilitates effective communication in all aspects of life.”

English is at the heart of all children’s learning. Literacy enables children both to communicate with others effectively for a variety of purposes and to examine their own and others’ experiences, feelings and ideas, giving these order and meaning. Literacy is central to children’s intellectual, emotional and social development as it has an essential role across the curriculum and helps pupils’ learning to be coherent and progressive.

It is our intent at Edenbridge Primary School to provide pupils with a high-quality education in English – which is inclusive, creative and challenging – that will teach pupils to speak, read and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others effectively.

We strive for every child to be a ‘Primary Literate Pupil’ by the time they leave primary school. We aim to develop pupils’ skills within an integrated programme of speaking and listening, reading and writing, and then extended through all areas of the curriculum. We prepare the children to become confident, competent writers by equipping them with the spelling, punctuation and grammar skills they need. Through structured Phonics lessons, Guided Reading and daily English lesson we aim to give all children the skills they need to decode and understand a range of reading material.

We are passionate about reading at Edenbridge Primary School. We believe that it unlocks a wonderful world of creativity and learning for our children.  Our first step in this journey is in the early years, building on this throughout the time the children spend at Edenbridge Primary. By developing the love of reading early on, pupils will have the foundations to access the rest of the curriculum which results in not just a love of reading, but also a love of learning.

We intend to encourage all pupils to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, to gain knowledge across the curriculum and develop their comprehension skills. It is our intention to ensure that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and confidently, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.

Children at Edenbridge Primary are creative and imaginative writers.  They will have many opportunities throughout the week to write, edit and improve. With links to IPC and the rest of the curriculum we will give children opportunities to engage in cross-curricular writing where the skills that children are taught in Literacy underpin all other subjects. Our enriched curriculum will give children real life experiences to inspire writing.

At Edenbridge Primary School, we use CUSP to deliver the national curriculum objectives in reading & writing. We have chosen CUSP because it is aspirational and allows our learners to be exposed to high quality texts in every year group.

Reading

The skills that children are taught in Literacy underpin all other subjects.  They enable pupils to communicate and express themselves in all areas of their work. 

EYFS and Key Stage 1 classes enjoy and participate in whole class story time sessions daily. In key stage 2 children are read to everyday at the end of the day. Each class has a welcoming book corner which is regularly updated to suit the interests of the children and includes accessible books for all children to enjoy and read for pleasure. As part of the home/school agreement children are expected to read at home at least three times a week. We strongly encourage parents/carers to hear their child read unless they are at a level where the pupils can assess their own reading. Feedback on home reading is made by parents/carers or pupils within the Home Reading Records. In EYFS and KS1, Guided Reading is linked to Little Wandle Letters and Sounds. This consists of three guided reading sessions at school using a book matched with the child’s current phonics level. Little Wandle books are then sent home for the children to continue practising with books at their level.

KS1 deliver the Cusp reading and writing lessons throughout the week.

In KS2 guided reading sessions take place for 30 minutes each day using CUSP. These sessions are delivered as a whole class guided reading sessions and are taught five times a week. High quality texts are used which engage students and help them to explore a range of genres. Each year group has a set of core texts that cover a wide range of genres, authors, themes and experiences to ensure that all children have exposed a breadth of diverse literature throughout their school journey. We vary resources where necessary, to ensure all pupils can access the quality texts.

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

A good spelling programme gradually builds pupils’ spelling vocabulary therefore, when children enter Key Stage 2, they will have discreet ‘Support for Spelling’ lessons three times a week. During these lessons children begin to understand the principles underpinning word construction, recognise how to apply these principles in their writing and develop the skills for proof reading. In Year 6 children are required to take a ‘Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar’ test. We endeavour to prepare children for this test as early as possible and therefore make spelling and grammar a key priority in all curriculum areas.

Writing

In EYFS texts are carefully selected to ensure that children are exposed to a variety of genres and authors. Texts are linked to provision throughout the EYFS environment to ensure that children are immersed in the books and have opportunities to rehearse and use the language – both through speaking and listening and through writing. Reading for pleasure is promoted through regular whole class story times and appropriate texts are linked and available for children in the different areas of the classroom.

In Key Stage 1 and 2, English is taught five times a week using CUSP. Lessons are taught in a sequence with an emphasis on oracy and vocabulary acquisition and retention. Each unit leads to an independent write and also allows additional time for additional content to address the needs of the class.

Reading

By the end of EYFS, children will listen to and engage in story times, recalling events from the story in detail and know a range of poems and rhymes. Children in reception will be able to read individual letters and groups of letters and blend these into short words. They will also be able to read some common exception words which do not follow the taught grapheme-phoneme patterns.

By the end of Key Stage 1, children will be able to accurately and speedily decode words, including many ‘tricky words’ so that they are able to read fluently without noticeable sounding. They will be able to read words of two or more syllables and recognise some common suffixes, understanding how these change the words. They check that what they are reading makes sense and self-correct inaccuracies, are able to make simple inferences and predictions as well as ask and answer questions about what they have read. Children will use new vocabulary they have learned and link new meanings to known vocabulary.

By the end of Key Stage 2, children will have developed their word reading skills, knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes sufficiently so that they can read aloud clearly, fluently and with intonation to make the meaning clear. They are able to make more complex inferences and predictions, justifying these with evidence from the text, summarising the main ideas from a text and asking and answering questions. They use their morphological and etymological knowledge to understand the meaning of new words that they meet. They show their love of books and reading by engaging in discussions, sharing what they have read, their likes and dislikes and by making comparisons and recommendations.

Writing

By the end of Early Years, children should be able to write a clear sentence with support. This will include finger spaces, capital letters and full stops. Some writers will also be using conjunctions to create compound sentences and beginning to show signs of descriptive. Letters will be formed clearly and mostly accurately. Spelling will be phonetically plausible.

By the end of Key Stage 1, children will be able to produce accurate simple sentences. They will be accurate spellers of most of the words they use. They will use punctuation accurately as and when needed. Their letters will be formed correctly, with capitals bigger than lower case letters and will always be neat and clear. Pupils will produce a range of text types that include the key ingredients, including lists, invites, instructions and stories. There will be signs that they are becoming creative writers and that they have accurately written for a specific audience.

By the end of Key Stage 2, children will have a secure and detailed understanding of all grammar terminology taught at primary school. They will be able to use these within their writing and show evidence of effective choices being made to influence the reader. They will have produced a wide range of accurate text types, e.g. balanced arguments, biographies, myths, plays etc – each including the specific features they need. As writers, they will know and use formal and informal language as and when appropriate, and their texts will be designed to meet the expectations of their chosen audience. They will write with creativity regularly, making conscious decisions about specific words and phrases. They will enjoy writing and speak positively about pieces they have produced.