APPROACH TO ENGLISH
At Rawmarsh Sandhill Primary School, we teach our Literacy through the Success for All approach. Success for All (SFA) teaches children to become strategic readers and writers, starting from when they are in Foundation right up to Year 6. It also covers all aspects of literacy – reading, phonics, comprehension and fluency, and writing.
FOUNDATION
During their time in Foundation, children are exposed to a range of phonics activities which train the eye and hand so children learn how to read and write the letters that represent the sounds they have learned.
Once children have learned the basic sounds and can blend some words, they are ready to be introduced to the KinderRoots Shared Stories. These are short phonetically regular books that the children learn to read through a structured process. Foundation phonics is not the only way children are exposed to reading; we also read aloud a wide variety of children’s literature through the story tree time. Furthermore, we provide phonetical- awareness activities, especially through rhymes and songs which allow ample time for children to explore books of their choice and engage in creative writing.
KEY STAGE 1/KEY STAGE 2
Reading is a fundamental life skill and is at the heart of our curriculum. We aim to give children opportunities to become critical, thoughtful readers through using relevant and inspiring texts within our SFA sessions. We encourage our children to access a wide range of quality texts (fiction, non-fiction and poetry) both independently and as material related to the wider curriculum. We believe that a love of reading can open minds, inspire and encourage our pupils to dream big.
During SFA sessions, children will have the opportunity to delve into a range of high quality texts which match their reading ability. Children are exposed to ‘treasure hunts’ where they are developing their understanding of how to answer a range of comprehension questions. There will be plenty of opportunities for the children to discuss the texts with peers or as a group to further their understanding.
All children in school have an individual reading book which can be changed regularly and taken home. Partnership with parents is important; the reading diary helps us to maintain links and continuity between home and school. Reading books in school are organised through the ‘book banding’ system to enable children to choose books at an appropriate level of difficulty and to make progress through the bands.
Teachers’ assessments of reading are based on their professional judgments and evidence from SFA sessions, as well as standardised materials. We want the children to be avid, enthusiastic readers, so Reading for pleasure is promoted in school through events and activities such as Book Week, book fairs, displays, assemblies, author visits and competitions. We are committed to giving children time to read and be immersed in reading.