Reading - Hooked on Books

Reading opens the door to learning. A child who reads a lot will become a good reader. A good reader will be able to read more challenging material. A child who can read more challenging material is a child who will learn. The more a child learns, the more he or she will want to find out. We know that every child reading well by the end of Year 6 is essential for them to achieve highly at secondary school (DfE Reading Framework 2023). Therefore, we have adopted two rigorous and systematic approaches across the school.

In EYFS and Year 1, we use the Read Write Inc. systematic synthetic phonics programme - see below for more details. In Years 2-6, we teach reading using the Jane Considine ‘Hooked on Books’ approach. This ensures that all children have consistent and clear expectations. We are also working with LEAD on a ‘Fluency Project’ which improves fluency in those children who have graduated phonics but are still not fluent readers. Children in Years 2 and 3 are part of this program. 

Reading for pleasure is a vital part of our curriculum and children read their own reading books daily. The ‘Accelerated Reader’ scheme for children in Years 2-6 supports children to become more avid readers.

Phonics - Read Write Inc.

The Government strongly recommend the use of synthetic phonics when teaching early literacy skills to children. Synthetic phonics is simply the ability to convert a letter or letter group into sounds that are then blended together into a word.

Here at Belmont, we are using the DfE validated Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) programme, Read Write Inc. (RWI), which uses a whole school approach to teaching early reading and writing. The children are assessed regularly and grouped according to their ability. They will work with a RWI trained teacher or teaching assistant.

For further details, including how to help your child at home, please click on the page link below.

Writing - The Write Stuff

We use Jane Considine’s ‘The Write Stuff’ to inspire writers and equip them with the skills needed to succeed. We are passionate about using ‘experience days’ to engage and inspire children and give them a purpose for writing. Experience days often include drama activities, the school grounds, music or even tasting ice-cream. This is combined with high-quality grammar teaching that uses effective modelling. The grammar is taught in ‘chunks’ that are manageable for all children and help them to feel successful.

Spelling

In Year 2, spelling is taught via Read Write Inc. The Babcock 'No Nonsense' spelling programme and the online Spelling Shed is used in Years 3-6.

Details of the English curriculum including how it is taught can found in the document below.