English (phonics, reading, writing, speaking and listening)

At Puttenham CofE Infant school we understand the importance of reading as the key to effective learning and progress. We know through educational research that children will increase and improve their vocabulary through extensive reading and this in turn supports their writing. We have developed a reading culture so that children appreciate and love books. The skills they learn will help to prepare them for learning in every area of the curriculum.

Reading is taught in a daily, discrete phonics lesson using the Read, Write Inc. systematic phonics programme. This is a well-structured programme which teaches children to read accurately, fluently and with good comprehension. They will read with a reading partner during their phonics sessions and with an adult on a one to one basis each week. We also encourage children to read at home with a combination of decodable eBooks, shared reading books and library books. The children will also have the opportunities to listen to stories.

We have a dedicated story at the end of the day. Every class has their ‘favourite five’ books, which they read repeatedly during the half term. These books become very familiar to the children and encourage language acquisition, discussion and questioning. 

We encourage reading by having a book area in each class where children can enjoy reading books of their choice, a well-stocked library and reading shed in the playground.

The children are given the opportunity to watch and join in with Bible storytelling each week in our 'Open the Book' assemblies.
More information about reading including our Read, Write, Inc parents' meeting powerpoint and resources can be found by clicking 'How we teach reading' in the curriculum section of the website.

Reading progression

Read, Write Inc phonics progression

Our writing skills are developed through the introduction of quality texts and genres. We chose our text types to ensure the children gain rich vocabulary and understand the features of the text. The children will begin to make connections with other books they have read, themes and authors. They will identify new vocabulary and ‘magpie’ this in their own work. The children understand the idea of building up the skills needed to be able to plan, write, evaluate and improve their writing.

We provide many opportunities for our children to write in all subjects. They will continue to build their writing stamina to write at length and for a variety of audiences and purposes. The children will assess their learning using the metacognition learning line approach and begin to edit, revise and improve their work.

The children’s work is celebrated in a number of ways including Headteacher’s celebration assembly, shared in class or to the school, uploaded to our learning platforms, placed on our website or displayed around the school.

Writing progression

Writing genres skills

Overview genre skills for EYFS and KS1 2021

The ability to communicate effectively is vital to children's development in all areas of the curriculum.  The quality  of the language that pupils hear and speak are key to developing their vocabulary and grammar. At Puttenham, we understand the importance of this from the Early Years. The teaching and the learning environment will allow children to build on their language through play. In KS1 children will further develop their language skills through quality texts, discussions, drama, questioning and responding to what they see and hear.

At the end of Year 2, the children are given an opportunity to apply their learning and demonstrate they have mastered the speaking and listening skills by participating in the Puttenham Speaking and Listening Award. The children will learn a short exerpt from a book, a poem and give a short presentation on a topic of their interest to an audience. They will show excellent speaking and listening skills by asking and answering questions. We are very proud of the children's learning and the award is a celebration of their achievements over the three years they have been at our school.