Implementation: Reading

At St Walburga’s, we strive to instil a love for books. We take great pride in our library, where children from Years 1-6 have the opportunity to visit weekly and borrow books to take home and enjoy with their families. All classes at St Walburga’s have a list of books that are enjoyed throughout the year as class readers, where the teacher reads aloud to the children to develop their listening skills and deepen their enjoyment of a range of genres and authors. Every shared area (Years 1&2, Years 3&4 and Years 5&6) at St Walburga’s has a well stocked, easily accessible reading corner for the children to enjoy.  In our Foundation Stage and Year 1, books are fundamental to the continuous provision, giving children the opportunity to deepen their understanding of books enjoyed together as a class. 

 Teaching of Reading

At St Walburga’s, we use One Education’s Reading Gems to tailor our Reading curriculum to best suit the diversity of our learners. Different coloured gems represent the content domains of the National Curriculum. Children read regularly at school, and our books follow a banded progression through the years. In EYFS and Key Stage 1, reading books are closely matched to children’s phonic knowledge. As the children move through into Key Stage 2, children work through banded books, and eventually progress to ‘free reading’.

• In Key Stage 1 and 2, children engage in weekly whole class and carousel guided reading lessons. 
• Specific skills are broken down for the children with ‘ladders’. They follow these steps to success to help them answer questions based on the different content domains. 
• Children revisit and review the varying gems regularly over the course of an academic year. 
• Gems are introduced progressively from Years 1-6. We make use of paired work where the children grow in their ability to support each other, and use small group sessions where the activities areadapted to best support, stretch and challenge our children.

Implementation: Phonics

At St Walburga’s, we use Super Sonic Phonic Friends (SSPF) to deliver a tailored Systematic Synthetic Phonics Programme. Alongside this, children read regularly at school and at home. Our EYFS and Key Stage One reading books are closely linked to the stages of SSPF and the phonic knowledge of each child. 

 Teaching of Phonics

• Phonics lessons are led by a variety of enchanting characters including Listening Len, See it Sam and Tricky Tess. The characters lead the children through a process of hearing new sounds, segmenting and blending, building words and reading with speed. Children have the opportunity to practise their new learning in Super Sonic Phonics Jobs. 
• Our Systematic Synthetic Programme follows a government approved progression of sounds and alternative spellings. 
• Children continuously revisit their previously learnt sounds and alternative spellings in fun and engaging ways to embed their knowledge. 
• At St Walburga’s, we provide daily phonics lessons and ensure children who would benefit from extra phonics practice receive daily intervention sessions. 

Implementation: Writing

Writing at St Walburga’s builds on a love of books. We use exciting and engaging texts to provide inspiration for our bespoke curriculum that reflects the diversity of our learners. As children move through school, they are introduced to an increasing number of genres which build on their skill and stamina for writing. Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar are taught alongside our units and are linked to the text and genre to further engage the children. In addition to this, discrete spelling is taught through Super Sonic Phonics Friends in Key Stage 1, and No Nonsense Spelling in Key Stage 2. 

Teaching of Writing

• Writing units follow a learning journey, which leads to an end piece of writing. Children engage with the text, learn the features of the genre, practise the use of new SPaG skills and finish a unit with a written piece. 
• Planning for key writing skills comes from a bespoke writing grid, tailored to each year group and derived from the National Curriculum. 
• Genres of writing are built upon and revisited throughout the curriculum. More complex genres are introduced in higher year groups. 
• All our learners access the writing curriculum, engaging in activities that are tailored and personalised to their needs. Children are stretched and challenged with further independent writing and editing opportunities, as teachers revisit genres within an academic year to further progress writing skill and flair. 
• At St Walburga’s, the children have rich opportunities to embed their skills in cross curricular subjects, such as writing a balanced argument in Geography on the topic of deforestation, or a diary entry as a historical figure.