English

For our children to be confident, fluent, lifelong readers 

At Dunston Hill, we are firmly committed to providing an ambitious and exciting English Reading Curriculum which inspires all of our children to become life-long readers. We aspire to have high expectations for all of our learners and encourage them to adopt positive mind-sets and show resilience on their reading journey.  The teaching of Reading is underpinned by our school’s curriculum drivers: excitement, resilience and inspiration. From our first Nursery intake through to our Year 6 children who are preparing for the next stage of the educational journey, we aim for all children to be fluent and ready to use and apply their reading knowledge in everyday situations and across the wider curriculum. We aim to inspire children to be explorative and adventurous; confident and independent and always aiming to dream big through the medium of reading.  

Teaching of Reading in our Early Years Foundation Stage is embedded within the curriculum, in line with the Birth to Five documentation. In Reception the teaching and learning focus is on the specific area of Literacy whereas in Nursery we focus on the prime area of Communication and Language. Both of these strands are embedded into all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. For those children who are ready we begin our Read Write Inc. Phonics programme in the Summer Term of Nursery and this is continued by all pupils when they enter Reception. To supplement the teaching and learning in class every child accesses a home-reader linked to their ‘learnt sound’. We believe in the importance of parental involvement in their child’s learning and parents are encouraged to read regularly and record this in our ‘Reading Diaries’. 

In Key Stages 1 and 2 our teaching and learning of reading builds on the input of the Early Years Foundation stage in line with the National Curriculum Statutory Guidance with a particular focus on fluency word reading and comprehension (both listening and reading). 

Word Reading: At Dunston Hill we believe, that skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Through our Read Write Inc. teaching in KS1 we ensure children have the underpinned understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. 

Comprehension: We believe, that good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and grammar) and on knowledge of the world. Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with teachers and teaching assistance, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction which are children access through our Guided Reading Sessions, Home Readers and in KS2 use of our Reading Plus Programme and Literacy and Language Scheme.  All pupils are encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world they live in, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. We maintain that reading widely and often from rich texts increases pupils’ vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure house of wonder and joy for curious young minds. In light of this, all pupils read with a member of staff each week and parents / carers are encouraged to read three times per week using our ‘Reading Diaries’ as a point of home – school communication.  When they are ready children from Year 2 upwards access our Accelerated Reader programme to complete comprehension tasks linked to their home reader book. 

It is essential that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence and hence be ready for their secondary education. This is evidenced through a range of sources: statutory assessments in terms of Phonics Screening Check and end of KS1 and KS2 assessments; work in books, photographs and discussions with children, staff and parents. As a school, we place the highest value on children applying their learning within and beyond the curriculum and thus seeing a recognisable impact on our children in 21st Century society. 

At Dunston Hill, we are firmly committed to providing an ambitious and exciting English Writing Curriculum which inspires all of our children to become life-long writers. We aspire to have high expectations for all of our learners and encourage them to adopt positive mind-sets and show resilience on their writing journey.  The teaching of Writing is underpinned by our school’s curriculum drivers: excitement, resilience and inspiration. 

From our first Nursery intake through to our Year 6 children who are preparing for the next stage of the educational journey, we aim for all children to be equipped with the basic Writing skills needed for learning and an ability to use and apply their Writing knowledge in everyday situations and across the wider curriculum. We aim to inspire children to be explorative and adventurous; confident and independent and always aiming to dream big through the medium of Writing.  

Teaching of Writing in our Early Years Foundation Stage is embedded within the curriculum, in line with the Birth to Matters documentation. In Reception the teaching and learning focus is on the specific area of Literacy whereas in Nursery we focus on the prime area of Moving and Handling. Both of these strands are embedded into all appropriate areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. We aim for all children to leave our children to leave our Reception setting achieving the Early Learning Goal of writing words and starting to write simple sentences which can be read by themselves which are phonetically plausible / spelt correctly (see Early Learning Goals). 

In Key Stages 1 and 2 our teaching and learning of writing builds on the input of the Early Years Foundation stage in line with the National Curriculum Statutory Guidance with a particular focus on: transcription (spelling and handwriting); composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing alongside planning, editing and evaluating their own writing) and SPaG. (spelling, punctuation and grammar.) 

We believe that teaching pupils to develop their competency in the above areas is fundamental to each child becoming fluent in writing so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others.  At Dunston Hill, each year group follows the statutory programme of study as outlined by the DfE to promote progression, cohesion in learning and ultimately a growing attainment. Using the Ruth Miskin – Literacy and Language Programme the children are able to access the relevant elements of the curriculum in an engaging and age-appropriate manner.  The use of Literacy Shed / Literacy Shed plus is used in UKS2 and to supplement the teaching and learning throughout the school setting. 

Nelson Handwriting Programme 

Spelling Programme  

It is essential that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study. This is evidenced through a range of sources: end of KS1 and KS2 assessments including SPaG and Writing Teacher assessment; work in books, photographs and discussions with children, staff and parents. As a school, we place the highest value on children applying their learning within and beyond the curriculum and thus seeing a recognisable impact on our children in 21st Century society.