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Literacy provision @ OLSK

 

Literacy Provision at OLSK

 

‘Bringing out the best in everyone,

for the benefit of all, in the Spirit of Christ.’

 

Intent

 

At OLSK we strive to deliver an exciting, innovative Literacy curriculum which enables and empowers children's written and oral communication and creativity.

 

As a Catholic school, our Literacy Curriculum is rooted in our Gospel Values.  We believe that every child is unique and made in the image and likeness of God.  Therefore, we strive to develop the whole child, celebrating their talents and successes as well as offering support in areas which they find more challenging.

 

Through speaking and listening, reading and writing children learn to express themselves creatively and imaginatively and communicate with others effectively.

 

We ensure that Literacy lessons develop a range of pupils’ skills including spoken language, reading, writing and grammar and vocabulary.

 

Literacy is taught in a cross-curricular way, linking up with other areas of the curriculum in particular RE and Enquiry Based Learning and fosters a culture for the love of reading.

 

Children who read for pleasure gain a richer vocabulary, more knowledge, and critical thinking skills and become independent learners.  

 

Children work in focused partners and groups to develop their reading skills and their understanding of texts. We provide children with rich reading experiences within the Literacy lessons and encourage them to appreciate the author’s use of language and writing techniques in order to develop their own writing skills. 

 

Our children take their reading books home daily to share with their families. From the moment the children start at OLSK in Early Years, they are trained to change their books and given responsibility for making their own reading choices from the excellent resources we have in school.

 

We believe that the study of Literacy should enable pupils:

 

  • To appreciate how speaking and listening, reading and writing are integrated.
  • To develop their ability to communicate orally for a range of purposes and audiences.
  • To become confident, thoughtful and enthusiastic readers who read for pleasure.
  • To use a wide variety of writing styles and genres, so communicating effectively in written forms.
  • To practise their handwriting and other presentational skills.

 

Implementation

 

Through reading, pupils are introduced to new vocabulary that can then be used in their own writing and speech. We foster our love of reading through providing a rich environment which stimulates and encourages children’s reading, providing engaging reading books that encourages all children to read.

 

We believe in engaging all pupils and have a variety of resources in each class including puppets, story sacks, role play resources and books to develop different interests of the children. From the Foundation Stage and into Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils will enjoy a range of texts allowing them to build up knowledge of rhythm, rhyme and pattern in language.

 

Through independent reading, reading skills lessons, shared reading in literacy lessons and cross-curricular sessions, guided reading groups and reading for pleasure, reading in Key Stage 2 develops and extends the skills acquired in Key Stage 1. 

 

Children explore a wide variety of genre, both fiction and non-fiction which allows them to access, input ideas and understand what they are reading.  They are given opportunities to speculate on the tone and purpose of texts they explore as well as consider both the texts’ themes and audience.

 

In EYFS, we use talk for writing to encourage pupils to express their ideas, exchange ideas and to develop more sophisticated vocabulary. We provide opportunities for writing for purpose and we encourage pupils to see themselves as authors.

 

We also use a range of multisensory strategies particularly in EYFS and Y1, to enthuse and engage the children, including the use of interactive whiteboards, magnetic letters, speaking and listening, songs, rhymes and practical games and activities. 

 

At OLSK we use the Read, Write Inc Programme for teaching phonics and reading in EYFS and KS1 as well as for some older children who have gaps in their phonic knowledge. RWI teaches children letter sounds that enable them to decode words to both read and spell.

 

In RWI sessions, children develop both reading and writing skills through repetition of activities such as Hold a Sentence, Build a Sentence and Get Writing.  This repetition of activities enables the children to develop and build on existing skills in a safe, secure and nurturing environment.

 

In Y2 and KS2 we move into RWI Literacy and Language which explores longer texts and gives children more opportunities to write at length. We focus on quality of writing and this includes the use of self-editing and peer editing to make improvements to written work. Writing often has a link to our Catholic Social Teaching focus for the ½ term. Y6 use Read into Writing where they focus on a whole text developing their Literacy work and master writing in various genres linked to this text.

 

Across KS2, we use Pearson’s Bug club for guided reading sessions beginning with whole class teaching of skills to ensure high quality work if produced from every child when they are working independently.

 

Children work with pace and are encouraged to apply their knowledge across the curriculum with any reading or writing activities. The children also learn a variety of other key words by sight. 

 

Across the school, children read individually, in small groups and as a whole class.  A variety of different genres are chosen at an appropriate level of ability for each group of children.  As well as being able to read the text, children are encouraged to discuss the content of the book and their opinions about people, places and events are sought. 

 

We develop writing skills so that our pupils have the stamina and ability to write at the age expected standard and beyond. To support children in moving towards independent writing we provide a wide range of activities including use of film and imagery, modelled, shared and guided writing, peer editing and discussion.

 

Class teachers ensure that the writing process is clearly evident on working walls, with modelled examples being available to all pupils as the sequence of lessons develops. Within the wider curriculum, school displays of pupils' work include tier 2 and 3 vocabulary. 

 

Tier 1 – high frequency in spoken language (table, slowly, write, horrible) 

Tier 2 – high frequency in written texts (gregarious, beneficial, required, maintain) 

Tier 3 – subject specific, academic language (osmosis, trigonometry, onomatopoeia)

 

Through displaying in class and regular exposure to, pupils begin to use this vocabulary in their everyday discussions and therefore broaden the range of academic vocabulary in their repertoire. 

 

At OLSK we believe that handwriting is a skill which must be practised regularly or the skill will be lost. Through Read, Write, Inc, children are taught the rhymes for correct letter formation and teachers aim to ensure that handwriting is accurate.  In KS2, handwriting sessions are incorporated into the Literacy lessons or complete as Gap Tasks.

 

A range of extra activities are used to promote literacy within the school including an annual focus week, World Book Day and author visits.

 

Impact

 

The impact on our children is clear: progress, sustained learning and transferrable skills.  With the implementation of the writing journey being well established and taught thoroughly in all key stages, children become more confident writers and by the time they are in upper Key Stage 2, most genres of writing are familiar to them and the teaching can focus on creativity, writer’s craft, sustained writing and manipulation of grammar and punctuation skills.

 

We regularly measure the impact of the Literacy curriculum using a variety of methods such as Salford Reading tests, SONAR, regularly hearing children read independently and through RWI assessments. These show that most children at Our Lady and St Kenelm are achieving in Literacy at age-related expectations.  Each year we have children achieving at a greater depth in reading and writing at the end of KS1 and work hard to emulate that at the end of KS2.

 

As all aspects of Literacy are an integral part of the curriculum, cross curricular writing standards have also improved and skills taught in the Literacy lesson are transferred into other subjects; this shows consolidation of skills and a deeper understanding of how and when to use specific grammar, punctuation and grammar objectives. 

 

At OLSK we believe that through an ambitious Literacy curriculum and carefully chosen literature the children have the opportunity to leave Year 6 with a love of Literacy, especially reading, as well as the skills needed for the next stage of their education. We hope that as children move on from our school to further their education and learning, that their creativity, passion for Literacy and high aspirations travel with them and continue to grow and develop as they do.


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