Purpose of Study

English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised (National Curriculum 2014).

School Vision

At Burnt Tree Primary School, we believe that the ability to read and write is fundamental to our pupils succeeding; enabling them to access the next stage of their education and beyond. Our daily phonics programme in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 ensures that children are equipped with decoding skills that enable them to become fluent readers. We use a range of exciting, high quality and ambitious texts that serve to nurture a love of reading and foster children’s reading pleasure.  We encourage an ever-widening vocabulary to be sought where children’s spoken and written language is enriched through the texts they use.  Our high quality, captivating and engaging text-driven English curriculum has been designed to ensure that pupils develop a love of reading and writing.  We ensure there are plentiful opportunities for children to write with enthusiasm for a range of audiences and purposes, achieving their full potential.  Our children are fantastic orators.  We enable opportunities for them to express their opinions, articulate their feelings and listen to and respond appropriately in a range of situations.  Our children participate with different groups of children to present ideas with confidence whilst valuing the views of others.  They are also encouraged to speak audibly and confidently before an audience (for example when presenting work or ideas in class or when performing in school plays or class assemblies).

We teach our pupils to:

• become fluent readers through daily phonics sessions.
• understand the deeper meaning of texts read through age-appropriate books that stimulate their thinking.
• enjoy reading and listening to texts both in school and at home.
• use texts as a stimulus for writing.
• develop language and sentence construction alongside high-quality texts.
• write for a purpose and across the curriculum.
• develop written vocabulary.
• understand and apply grammar rules for impact.
• learn and apply age-appropriate spelling rules to their writing.
• edit and improve their written work.
• form letters accurately.
• understand and use new words (subject specific and higher level) in their talk.
• orally rehearse their ideas for writing.
• use drama to explore ideas.
• present ideas or work in front of an audience. 

To help us achieve this we:

• use a combination of oral and written feedback based on assessment for learning during lessons. 

• adapt lessons to suit the needs of the children and ensure children make good progress.  

• design interventions or ‘catch up’ sessions to ensure gaps in learning are filled.

• make strong links between reading and writing.

• create a safe and encouraging environment, where children develop into confident communicators who illuminate the goodness in each other by listening, speaking with kindness and empathy and explaining with clarity and confidence.

Useful Websites

Spelling Shed

Spelling Shed is a spelling programme that takes all the worry out of learning spelling rules, whilst having a great time! It has a proven track record of boosting children’s spelling through engaging games that can be played both in school and at home.

Children will each be able to log in and play Spelling Shed through Wonde. If your child has lost their login, please talk to their class teacher to get their password reset.