Curriculum – English

Phonics and Reading:

We use the DFE validated Read, Write Inc programme in daily lessons across Reception and Year 1. The practical, fun approach really motivates the children and they soon begin to blend and segment their letters – it’s such a delight to see our little ones begin to read and a whole world of literature open up to them. As they progress through school, our vast range of Oxford Reading Tree books offers our children a rich and varied world of books covering all genres and styles of writing. This is further expanded by our investment in the online Reading Buddy system which children can access at home. Parents are encouraged to support their children in the comfort of their own homes and to share their love of reading together.

Storytime is a special time in our day across school. A dedicated time where teachers share books with their children – a time to listen, join in and immerse themselves in stories, books and rhymes to develop their knowledge of the wonderful world of literature. Our older children in KS2 enjoy studying their class novel, experiencing a breadth of genres across a range of authors.

Ultimately, our main aim is for our children to develop a real love of reading. Our fabulous reading hub provides a space to do just this – a vibrant and comfortable space stocked with a range of books where children can relax and immerse themselves in a good book.

For more information about Reading at Cestria, please click on the link below.

Reading at Cestria

Cestria Primary School’s Approach to Reading

At Cestria Primary School, we believe reading is fundamental to children’s progress across the entire curriculum. Our ultimate aim in the teaching of reading is for every child, who possibly can, to be a fluent reader by the age of 7.

We value reading as a crucial life skill and by the time they leave Cestria, they read confidently for understanding and for pleasure. Our readers embark upon a journey that allows them to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary; allowing them to become independent learners through their reading ability.

We understand that some children who have more complex needs may follow a slightly different journey, we are equally committed to support these children on their own path to becoming a successful reader. All of our staff are trained in how to effectively hear a child read and have undertaken previous training related to this.

Early Reading

We understand the importance of the teaching of early reading. We teach early reading through the DFE validated ‘Read, Write Inc’ programme in daily lessons across Reception and Year 1. The practical, fun approach really motivates the children and they soon begin to blend and segment their letters – it’s such a delight to see our little ones begin to read and have a whole world of literature open up to them. As they progress through school, our vast range of Read Write Inc Oxford Reading Tree books offer our children a rich and varied world of books covering all genres and styles of writing. Through our bespoke home readers, parents are encouraged to support their children in the comfort of their own homes and to share their love of reading together. Half-termly assessments are used to align children to their correct Read Write Inc book banding which covers all the sounds they learn throughout the year – this includes ‘Red Words’. To keep a record and help to inform parents, ‘I can’ statements for each child’s year group are stuck into their Home Reader at the beginning of the year, with objectives being highlighted as they are met by each individual – this follows the children through every year group during their time at Cestria.

Reception

In Reception, phonics teaching starts in Autumn Term 1 to ensure that children have made a solid start to learning letter sounds. The children progress through the Read Write Inc. programme and participate in daily 30-minute engaging phonics lessons, these lessons are reviewed at the end of the week.  Reception also create opportunities for children to reflect on their own oracy as well as their peers. A mapping document is also created which maps out the books that the children will focus on across the year – this ensures coverage of a range of genres. Children are also allocated an Oxford Reading Tree/ RWI book to match their reading level, with one being sent home for the week and the other staying in their tray. The children are heard reading this once a week in school on top of their phonics provision.

 Year 1

Children in Year 1 continue on their phonics journey through Read Write Inc, progressing through the phases in preparation for the end of year phonics screening. The children take part in daily 20-minute engaging phonics lessons to continue to develop their fluency and accuracy. The children also work to learn their first 100 sight words ready for Purple Mash spelling in year 2.

The year 1 children also continue to work through the Oxford Reading Tree and RWI levels and are also heard reading with their book once a week in school in addition to their phonics work.

Year 2

In Year 2, the children are assessed using the Salford Reading Assessment at the beginning of the year and every term. In year 2, the children are introduced to the Purple Mash spelling scheme to build on their phonics knowledge. For the few children who were unable to pass the Year 1 phonics screening, catch-up lessons are incorporated during their spelling lessons with a focus on phonics and High Frequency Words. Year 2 also continue through their Oxford Reading Tree levels and are heard reading their books at school once per week.

Year 3 & 4

• In Years 3 and 4, the children are continued to be assessed at the beginning of each year using the Salford Reading Assessment.
• In Years 3 and 4, the few children who were unable to complete the Key Stage 1 phonics screening will take part in phonics and reading interventions such as ‘Action Words’ and the 10-minute literacy box 3 times per week in The Reading Hub with a designated member of staff.
• Group reading practice takes place once per week in line with our bespoke Hamilton Trust English curriculum. Every child that is on track will be heard reading during these sessions once every 6 weeks through guided reading time and the ‘I can statements’ in their Reading Record will be updated by their teacher.
• Reading comprehension is also taught through our adapted Hamilton Trust English lessons with a clear focus on decoding, expression and understanding.
• In Year 3, the children will also utilise the home reader system, allowing them to read at home 3 times a week using a levelled reading book. In Year 4, this changes to The Oxford Reading Buddy app which is used in line with their reading record.

Year 5 & 6

• In Years 5 and 6, the children are continued to be assessed at the beginning of each year using the Salford Reading Assessment.
• In Years 5 and 6, the few children who find reading difficult will work on interventions in The Reading Hub with a designated member of staff.
• Reading Plus is used as one of the reading interventions in year 5 and 6, to help develop the children’s ability to decode words, increase their understanding of a text and to improve their reading speed.
• Group reading practice continues to take place once per week in line with our bespoke Hamilton Trust English curriculum. Every child that is on track is heard reading during these sessions once every 6 weeks through guided reading time and the ‘I can statements’ in their Reading Record will be updated by their teacher.
• Reading comprehension is also taught through our adapted Hamilton Trust English lessons with a clear focus on decoding, expression and understanding.
• The children continue to utilise the home reader system through use of The Oxford Reading Buddy app and their reading record. #

Reading for Pleasure

We are extremely passionate about developing a love of books and developing a positive attitude towards reading. We have daily dedicated reading time where children are encouraged to read their favourite books, broaden their choices and read across different genres of both fiction and non-fiction books. At the end of every day, KS1 classes have planned ‘story time’ and often select vote for their preferred story of the day. KS2 read their class novels as a class 4 times per week. We also have a weekly book-based assembly linked to the personal development calendar, raising awareness of the world around us. KS1 classes also have 2 ‘Bedtime Bears’ that are sent home with different children each week. Their adventures are shared on Class Dojo and help build a love of reading stories before bedtime for pleasure.

Our reading environment is crucial to promote reading, we make sure that:

• Every classroom has their own appealing library of books.
• Children have access to our Reading Hub on the yard at breaks and lunchtimes which is stocked with books for all abilities.
• Books linked to personal development are readily available for all children to read.
• Tonie boxes are available to help children access certain texts.

We also organise a range of events that celebrate reading:

• Weekly book-based assemblies
• Library visits across both key stages.
• Author visits and theatre workshops
• World Book Day – this annual event is a great opportunity to come together and celebrate reading.
• Reading buddies – operate out of the Reading Hub at lunch times.
• Book swap sheds for both children and parents to utilise outside of school.
• Half-termly home reading challenges and competitions.

We hope that by creating this environment, children develop a love of books and value the literature that they read.

Plesae click on the link to view our Reading Record.

Reading Record

Please click on the links below to view which class novels each year group enjoy reading.

Reception Storytime

Year 1 Storytime

Class novels overview Year 2 to Year 6

Cestria Primary School’s Approach to English lessons:

We follow the Hamilton Trust blocks for teaching English across school. Hamilton offers a selection of units of study. As we want to engage and motivate our children, our teachers have carefully selected each unit to best meet the needs and interests of their classes. Each unit focuses on a particular text or group of related texts across all genres.

As the unit builds, the children record their work in their English books and culminates with a piece of writing which reflects their learning. Our children are very proud of their work – quite rightly so!

Cestria Primary School’s Approach to Writing

At Cestria, we encourage children to develop a love and flair for writing from a young age.  We believe that if we equip the children with the correct writing tools, they will be able to use them effectively across the curriculum and beyond. By promoting writing across different genres from an early age, our children are confident writing across a range of genres, topics and subjects. Using bespoke writing curriculum from the foundations of the Hamilton Trust, we ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum. Reception to Y6 demonstrate a clear progression through the writing objectives across fiction, non-fiction and poetry units.

Composition

Composition units, within the Hamilton Trust planning, give the children an opportunity to showcase their best independent writing at the end of a block. These blocks alternate between fiction, non-fiction and poetry to ensure exposure to writing across different genres. During a composition week, a series of sequential lessons build up to an extended piece of writing that is drafted, edited and improved over a series of lessons. This writing is assessed against the relevant writing objectives for each year group through a bespoke Exit ticket’ sticker at the beginning of their Hamilton Trust unit. Cestria children are always building on fundamental skills throughout their writing journey in school, revisiting prior knowledge, skills and techniques and consolidating it to long-term memory. This work is carried out in Composition books which showcase the writing the journey that our children undertake throughout their time at Cestria.

Writing across the Curriculum

 Our unique curriculum allows for extended pieces of writing in most topics and gives the children a platform to demonstrate their writing skills within a variety of contexts. From topic books in KS1 to our bespoke subject books in KS2, the children are able to become more independent writers and compose pieces for different audiences – transferring key composition knowledge between subjects. Our children will complete 2 extended pieces of writing for geography, science and history across the year, combining their learning from their composition lessons and foundation subjects. This cross-curricular writing allows children to apply skills that they have learned to other subjects and to ensure they are able to express their learning in relevant ways and write for different audiences and purposes.

Spelling

 From year 2, spelling is assessed daily through our 4 10-minute Purple Mash spelling lessons a week that have been adapted to ensure all statutory spellings and exception words are covered weekly; these lessons also have strong links to vocabulary.

Day 1 – Introduction to words and patterns/ vocabulary/ quiz

Day 2 – Dictation

Day 3 – Look Say Cover Write Check

Day 4 – Statutory Words 

Handwriting

At Cestria we believe that good handwriting is an essential skill in the quest to spell and write fluently, confidently and competently. A joined handwriting style links kinaesthetic ‘muscle memory’ with the relationship between the sounds of our speech and the letter shapes, letter groupings and whole written words.

Although we see the value in developing handwriting, we are aware that children need a range of physical development skills in order to complete handwriting. All children develop at different times and fine motor skills are one of the later physical skills to develop in children. We are committed to ensuring we develop every child’s physical development to ensure they are ready to start formal writing during their Reception year. We have developed a precise and strong long-term development plan that all children move through before we begin to teach formal handwriting. This includes facilitating the appropriate interventions.

As our children develop through their time at Cestria, our bespoke handwriting script becomes a natural part of their recording. By setting high standards for handwriting and presentation, our children leave school with beautiful penmanship and a handwriting style that we hope they will keep for life.