English at Eastcroft Park

At Eastcroft Park we use the Literacy Counts 'Ready Steady Write' programme, which uses a vehicle and model/example text to drive each unit of work. Each class from focuses on a vehicular text each half-term which provides a written outcome based on either a narrative or non-narrative genre of writing. Each unit is broken down into lessons which all serve to give children the tools they need to complete a piece of writing as independently as possible. These lessons include SPAG learning and smaller, shorter writing outcomes, or ‘incidental writes’ which are all geared towards producing the cumulative written outcome. EYFS also use RSW to deliver their writing lessons.

These pieces of writing are then written into the children’s ‘Perfectly Polished’ writing books, which show their drafting and editing process. It also shows each individual child’s progress within their writing capabilities and handwriting style. We aim for two pieces of writing in our Perfectly Polished books each half-term, one which teaches us the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in that written outcome, and an assessment piece which will be the same genre of writing but with a different context. This gives us a chance to show off what we have learned. Teachers use this second piece of writing to make their judgements on writing.

The RSW scheme incorporates all components of English, including SPAG and some aspects of comprehension. However, we believe that the skills required for these lessons need to be discretely taught to enable children to access these activities within the context of the vehicular text and beyond.

Each class from Year 1 onwards takes part in weekly SPAG activities, which contain a taught SPAG session, weekly SPAG check and spelling rule activities. Each RSW lesson begins with sentence accuracy (or sentence snake in EYFS/Y1), in which pupils practice the specific SPAG objectives for their year group, which will help them to become successful writers.

In Years 2-6, each class takes part in 3x weekly ‘Reading’ sessions. During these sessions, children practice key reading skills such as clarifying, inference and summarising and also engage in speaking and listening skills. We also engage in partner, choral and echo reading to practice fluency. We use Literacy Shed+ resources or extracts from other high quality texts to give our pupils exposure to a range of different genres of writing and contexts. Vocabulary and opportunities for partner discussion is built into every lesson and each child completes one question based on the daily skill in their reading book. Children then come together with their teacher to mark and assess their learning following models and scaffolds. During this time, groups of target children may receive their RWI Phonics input, particularly in KS2.

Spelling is delivered using the Grammarsaurus/Spelling League scheme. Children focus on a weekly spelling rule and are given a weekly list of 7 (KS1) or 10 words (KS2) to learn and practice. We also focus on practicing Common Exception Words and Statutory Spellings each morning for at least 20 minutes. We use and advocate the Read Write Inc programme to deliver phonics in Reception, KS1 and beyond. This is integrated into KS1 reading lessons and spelling work. Oracy and the ability to articulate is woven into every lesson. Teachers will expose children to high level vocabulary (including technical language across the curriculum) and provide opportunities for both exploratory and presentational talk. All teaching staff demonstrate high quality spoken and written English, and serve as role models for pupils.

We advocate and encourage Reading for Pleasure through the use of quality texts in class libraries (rotated termly) and by providing attractive and comfy reading areas designed to entice children. We also hold reading competitions, invite the book fair into school twice a year, regularly engage with book talk and have daily timetabled reading sessions, such as ‘ERIC’ (Everybody Reading In Class) and Class Reader. We also broaden our children’s literature knowledge by allocating each class an author to focus on each term. We have carefully selected our authors to ensure they reflect the modern world and are accessible to our pupils, whilst also including some classic authors and novels. 

Inclusion

Tasks and activities in English lessons at Eastcroft Park are designed to be accessible while still containing challenging components. For advanced learners, the written outcome and expectation is higher. For SEND children, writing frames, scaffolds, use of technology and if needed, scribes are used to enable all children to create an outcome which meets the lesson/unit objectives.

Shared reading/writing and guided writing are used for all abilities to enable teachers and TAs to model the skills needed to read & write successfully. Additional phonic interventions are put in place from Y1-Y6 dependent on cohort needs. In EYFS, teachers have interventions for SALT (Welcomm tool for example). 

EYFS

In EYFS, pupils at Eastcroft Park explore the components of English through the 7 areas of learning; specifically the Prime area of Communication & Language, and the Specific area of Literacy. Each week they have 3 teaching inputs per day and a daily story. Teachers also provide continuous provision activities linked to their RSW vehicle book. Learning is child-initiated but in all areas, activities are enhanced through exploratory talk.