English

Early Reading

At St. George’s we are determined that every pupil will learn to read. As such, we recognise the importance of secure phonic knowledge and understanding and its direct impact on standards in writing, reading and spelling.  We start teaching Phonics in Reception and use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised for the systematic teaching of synthetic phonics, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At St. George’s, we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

We use the Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised texts to match children’s phonic knowledge to a reading practice book. These books are fully decodable and do not have challenge words. These texts are matched to your child’s current phonic knowledge. They only include words and tricky words that your child has been taught and the child is familiar with.

This approach ensures that children are successful when they apply existing phonic knowledge to a text. They do not have to resort to guessing or using other inefficient clues. At St. George’s we aim for 90% fluency in reading sessions and by the time children take home their reading book fluency is 95%.

Reading

We teach the skills of reading and the enjoyment of reading through whole-class reading lessons. The purpose of these lessons are to teach the skills involved in being a good reader. High-quality texts, such as Ghost Boys, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and The Boy at the Back of the Class.

Reading for Pleasure

We understand that reading feeds pupil’s imagination and allows our children to wonder and be curious. Reading for pleasure is built into the daily life of the school so children establish and appreciate a love of reading, and gain knowledge across the curriculum. This exposes children to an increasing range of vocabulary. 

Writing

Talk-for-Writing is used as the framework to teach writing across school. Based on the principles of how children learn, children analyse and play with language that they will need for writing. Pupils develop their competencies in transcription and composition so they can plan, revise and evaluate their writing. We teach our children to write as a reader by forming, articulating and communicating their ideas as if they were a reader.

Spelling

Writing down ideas fluently requires the ability to spell quickly.  The progression of spelling is aligned to the National Curriculum. This focusses on the teaching of spelling, embracing knowledge of spelling conventions, patterns, rules and common exceptions so the children of St. George’s are able to spell quickly.

Handwriting

At St. George’s, we teach children how to write legibly, fluently and at a reasonable speed. To do this, we use Nelson Handwriting. Nelson Handwriting provides a clear structure on the technical aspects of writing and are taught in purposeful and curriculum-relevant contexts, principally in the areas of phonics, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary.