English
At Scargill Junior School we aim to develop children’s skills in English to help pupils unlock their potential across the curriculum and to develop a love of reading, writing and oracy. We have a well organised English curriculum that provides purposeful opportunities to achieve this.
Reading
Phonics
In line with the DFE and recognised best practice, we use a systematic synthetic phonics programmes (SSP). We have chosen to use Read, Write, Inc. (RWI). Any pupil identified as not yet being able to fully decode on entry to school, will be assessed and assigned to a RWI group.
Reading Comprehension
We teach comprehension as a whole class. Whole class reading enables teachers to take pupils beyond the 'cosy read' to the point of real challenge. The lessons are taught using a layered read approach.
Reading Independently
There is a time slot every day dedicated to independent reading. Each class has their own library and librarians where they can choose both a book at their reading level and a book of their own choice. Teachers listen to pupils read during this time. Pupils are also invited to write reviews of the books they have read.
Class Text
All teachers read to their class at least 4 times per week. This session is purely for enjoyment.
Book Club
The fifth session of the week is 'Book Club'. During this time, both the teacher and the pupils share recommendations of top reads. They will also sometimes get the opportunity to watch Mrs Graham's Book Club reviews on our school Youtube Channel.
Writing
At Scargill Junior School, our curriculum is structured around a selection of high quality, age-appropriate texts, enabling our pupils to develop and appreciate a rich and varied vocabulary from a range of authors. We use each text to create opportunities to develop links between reading and writing.
Teaching sequences allow children to explore different purposes for writing, key elements of genres and to explore good quality examples to scaffold their own written work. The pupils learn to evaluate the effectiveness of their writing by editing, redrafting and sharing their thoughts and opinions, fully supported by adults and their peers.
Overviews
