Gilbert Colvin Primary School
English
At Gilbert Colvin Primary School, English is a core skill. Our ambition is for our children to leave Gilbert Colvin equipped with highly proficient speaking and listening, writing and reading skills, so that they are ready for the next chapter in life.
Reading
Intent
Reading is a vital part of a great education. Being able to read effectively unlocks a whole world of learning and enjoyment. At Gilbert Colvin, we make sure our curriculum gives children the skills that they need to read fluently and confidently. We also take every opportunity to give pupils time and opportunities to develop a real love for reading. We aim to ensure that pupils at Gilbert Colvin develop into confident readers, with a lifelong love for reading.
Implementation
Phonics
Children begin their reading journey in the EYFS using the Read Write Inc phonics scheme. This enables them to move through the knowledge and skills of recognising individual letter sounds, learning to blend the sounds into words, developing some fluency and beginning to comprehend. Children in these classes also have a high quality class text to share. Key Stage 1 pupils take home two RWI books. One that they have been reading in class and a new one linked to the phonics knowledge they are learning. These books are changed weekly. Weekly phonics QR codes are sent home to empower parents to share and review current phonics knowledge and skills with their children to support children’s progress.
Children in Key Stage 2 who are identified as needing additional support with phonics have a daily RWI phonics intervention.
Developing Readers
Once pupils are confident in their phonetic skills, they progress to a range of reading opportunities within school.
Guided Reading Sessions
Whole class guided reading sessions are taught using the VIPERS approach. Pupils develop their fluency when reading texts as a whole class. They use choral, echo and paired reading to develop this, as well as hearing the teacher model reading to a high standard. Guided reading sessions also develop comprehension skills. Pupils focus on developing reading skills to enable them to confidently understand a text.
Reading in English Lessons
Our ambitious English curriculum is built upon well-chosen, exciting, high-quality texts. During the reading focus part of English lessons, pupils are taught the skills to fully understand a text through critical reading. Questions are specifically designed to allow pupils to develop a deep understanding of the text and the author’s motivations for using certain vocabulary, punctuation and organisational devices. Through understanding and immersing themselves in these texts, children develop the skills of inference, deduction and a love of language.
Developing a love for reading
All pupils have the opportunity to hear an adult read out loud to them every day. We believe that this time is integral for pupils to develop a love of stories.
Pupils also have the opportunity to visit the local library 3 times a year, as a class. Here they are able to choose books to bring back to school, read and enjoy.
Pupils in KS2 read for pleasure daily. Our school library and class book corners have been arranged to empower children to independently choose books. The range of texts is vast and ensures that everyone can find a text that they enjoy.
Reading at Home
Parents are an integral part of their child’s reading journey. We encourage and expect parents to read with their child, discuss books and talk about new vocabulary. Parents sign their child’s reading journal as regularly as possible.
Impact
Children at Gilbert Colvin show increasing confidence, resilience and independence in their reading skills. They develop a love of reading, can express their opinions about texts and authors, based on evidence. Children understand what they read and what is read to them, answer questions and make inferences about texts. Every child makes progress from their starting point and achieves well in reading.
Writing
Intent
At Gilbert Colvin, we strive to ensure that our children become confident, capable and independent writers, who view themselves as authors. Pupils at Gilbert Colvin understand the purpose and importance of writing and also enjoy the writing process. We ensure that our children draw upon a rich exposure to quality literature so that throughout the writing process, they can write as a reader and read as a writer.
Implementation
At Gilbert Colvin, classes learn about writing during their designated English sessions. High quality texts drive teaching and learning in these sessions and children are regularly provided with opportunities to write. In these lessons, pupils learn a range of literary features that, after quality talk, can be applied to writing. A variety of text types and high quality models of writing are used to drive sessions, allowing the children to see how the literary skills learnt in lessons are used effectively in a broad range of genres. Writing, at Gilbert Colvin, always has a purpose and an audience; and, where possible, children are given opportunities to share and present their writing to others in the school or through the wider community. Writing follows a five-stage process where pupils need to: plan, draft, edit, revisit and publish their writing. This process helps children to think of themselves as authors, really considering how they are able to impact the mind of the reader and develop an 'author’s voice'.
Alongside this, children are taught about spelling and handwriting, grammar and punctuation, which they can then apply as they write.
Impact
The impact of our writing curriculum is that pupils at Gilbert Colvin have the knowledge and the skills to be able to write successfully for a range of purposes and audiences. Children are becoming more confident writers and have the ability to plan, draft and edit their own work. Children can manipulate language, grammar and punctuation for effect and can transfer the skills learnt in English lessons to writing across the curriculum.
What our Pupils think about English at Gilbert Colvin Primary School
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