English | King Richard III Infant and Nursery School

English

English at King Richard III Infant and Nursery School

At King Richard III Infant and Nursery School, we want every child to enjoy and succeed in reading, writing, and speaking. Our English lessons are planned so that all children can learn and feel included.

We give children exciting topics and activities to help them enjoy learning. They practise their reading and writing in different subjects, not just English. We want children to use their English skills in all their learning.

Reading

Reading helps children understand the world, learn new things, and enjoy stories. We use a phonics programme called Little Wandle for Letters and Sounds to teach reading. Children learn how letters make sounds (phonemes) and how to understand what they have read.

We help children practise reading aloud, understanding stories, and reading with expression. We want all children to enjoy reading and develop a love for books. Every day, teachers read high-quality books to the children. This helps them learn new words and enjoy language.

Writing

Writing is also a very important part of our lessons. We help children write for different reasons – like telling stories, giving information, or writing letters. We prepare them well for moving on to Key Stage 2 (KS2).

We link new writing lessons with what children already know. This helps them remember and enjoy learning.

Speaking and Vocabulary

We want children to speak clearly and confidently. We encourage them to share their ideas, use their imagination, and try new words. We help them build a strong vocabulary (word knowledge) and use good grammar.

We also teach spelling, showing children how to understand word patterns and use different ways to help them spell correctly.

Policy documents and English plans

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds.

At KRIII we use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds as our synthetic phonics scheme.

We chose this scheme because it provides:

Excellent training for all staff to ensure consistency,
Every aspect of phonics and reading included in a detailed, thorough a systematic approach,
Engaging resources without distracting from the learning,
A comprehensive system for identifying and supporting children requiring extra help and useful support for parents.

The children have at least one daily, short session of phonics in EYFS and Year 1. We progress through the sounds or GPC's outlined by Little Wandle. Please see the programme overviews above to see the order.

Spelling in Year 2.

We are now using Little Wandles new Spelling programme for 2023/4 for our Year 2 spelling curriculum. It has been designed as a seamless link from the core Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme to teaching spelling in Year 2.

It includes:

Phase 5 review – Reviewing and securing Phase 5 phonics

Bridge to spelling – Teaching the foundational skills for spelling

Spelling – Creating confident spellers by ensuring coverage of the Year 2 spelling requirements

Please see Little Wandle planning documents in the above attachments for an overview of the progression during Phase 5 Review and Bride to Spelling.

Everybody Read!

At KRIII we want all of our children to develop a love of reading. All of the children have access to reading for pleasure books which they can change as often as they like. These books may be too tricky for your child, or they may be too easy. Please share this book with them and discuss it. Ask them some questions like:

What made you chose this book?
What is the title of the book?
Who is the author?
What can you see in the pictures?
What do you think is going to happen next?
What happened at the beginning of the book?
How did the book end?

Here are some documents which you may find useful in supporting your child at home.