LITERACY POLICY. This policy was adopted/updated: November This policy will be reviewed: November Statutory policy? : No.

Transcription

1 LITERACY POLICY This policy was adopted/updated: November 2012 This policy will be reviewed: November 2014 Statutory policy? : No Source: School

2 HAMPTON WICK INFANT AND NURSERY SCHOOL LITERACY POLICY Introduction Reading and writing equips children with a uniquely powerful set of tools to understand and change the world. These tools include reasoning, handwriting and the ability to think in abstract ways. Reading and writing is an important and integral part of everyday life. Effective speaking and listening (communication) is essential for learning. Literacy learning and teaching at Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery School encompasses the following areas: Reading including the teaching of synthetic phonics Writing including the teaching of handwriting and spelling Speaking and Listening Aims We endeavour to ensure that children develop a healthy and enthusiastic attitude towards reading and writing that will stay with them throughout their lives. Our children develop their knowledge, skills and understanding of a variety of literacy concepts including letter, speaking, time, listening, space and data handling. We deliver literacy activities through hands-on practical activities, handwriting opportunities and games. We set high expectations for what can be achieved by all staff and children. The Literacy subject leader develops and implements their expertise and knowledge to monitor and support learning and teaching in Literacy in order to improve practice and standards. Speaking and listening skills are developed to facilitate effective communication. We have the common desire to achieve high standards through high quality learning and teaching. Literacy Policy Page 1 of 10 November 2012

3 We set clear, realistic targets for raising standards linked to regular evaluation of the school s progress. We keep parents and carers fully informed of their children s progress and advice on how best to support their child. Implementation At Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery School we follow the National Primary Framework for Literacy which provides detailed guidance for the implementation of the National Curriculum for reading, writing, speaking and listening. In the Early Years Foundation Stage the Practice Guidance for the EYFS is used to meet the requirements of the EYFS framework and to support children s learning, development and welfare. Phonics is explicitly taught throughout the school using the Letters and Sounds guidance provided by the DfE. Factors which promote a high standard of literacy Effective Leadership Rich Curriculum Clear Assessment procedures High quality learning and teaching with explicit, challenging teaching leading to all children participating and making best possible progress Thorough monitoring and tracking of achievement and attainment leading to curriculum changes where necessary to make further improvements Positive partnerships with parents and carers Effective use of high-quality resources and learning environments to promote children s independence in applying their literacy skills to tasks Curriculum and assessment Staff share a common understanding of the goals of the curriculum. The teaching is based on identified learning objectives and is thoroughly planned to ensure differentiation and progression throughout the school. Literacy Policy Page 2 of 10 November 2012

4 Children are encouraged to explore and consolidate their learning through practical handwriting activities. The foundations of mental spelling and recall of letter facts are established fully before standard written methods are introduced. Assessments come in a variety of formats, formal and informal, statutory and non-statutory. Assessments are used to inform future planning, set targets for the children and ensure all children make progress. Teaching Teachers and teaching assistants will structure literacy lessons appropriately and maintaining good pace and ensuring that all pupils can participate and make progress Teachers and teaching assistants will demonstrate, explain and illustrate literacy ideas using a variety of VAK methods Teachers and teaching assistants will provide access to a variety of resources to aid the children s learning, pupils are able to access these resources independently Children are questioned effectively to empower learning, check understanding and to learn from the contributions of peers Children are given varied and meaningful opportunities in which to communicate their ideas, participate in conversations and perform for a range of audiences Learning is centred on a common theme with the majority of the class working within the same context where appropriate Phonics is taught in a systematic, explicit manner Pupils are given daily opportunities to practise their reading within a range of environments and contexts, including but not limited to, reading to an adult, shared reading with a peer, independently reading for pleasure and selecting their own books from the school library or classroom reading areas Phonics Reception and KS1 pupils have a daily phonics session of 20 minutes. In the Foundation Stage these lessons are taught within whole class settings, with additional small group work for pupils receiving additional extra support where Literacy Policy Page 3 of 10 November 2012

5 needed. In Key Stage 1 pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 are set into ability groups for phonics four times a week. Learning objectives and opportunities are planned for using the Letters and Sounds documentation, beginning with Phase 1 in Nursery and ending with the introduction of Phase 6 in Year 2. Phase 6 teaching and learning is continued in Year 3 at St John the Baptist Junior School, our link school. In addition, staff in the Foundation Stage and Year 1 may also use the actions associated with each sound in the Jolly Phonics resources in order to enable learners to apply their phonics to independent reading or writing activities. Pupils in need of extra provision at any stage may also participate in additional focus groups in order to allow them to secure objectives from previous phases. Class teachers are responsible for the planning and assessment of children s progress in phonics in whole class sessions and focus groups. The Literacy Subject Leader has overall responsibility for monitoring the progress of pupils phonic skills. Spelling Spelling is taught throughout the school primarily through the use and application of phonics. Learning objectives and opportunities are planned for using the Letters and Sounds documentation, beginning with Phase 2 in Reception through to the introduction of Phase 6 in Year 2. Year 2 also use Support for Spelling alongside Letters and Sounds. In addition to class based learning, children from Reception to Year 2 take home a list of words each week to learn to read and write. In Reception children are introduced to high frequency and tricky words for writing in their daily phonics sessions. These high frequency and tricky words follow Letters and Sounds starting with Phase 2. By the end of Reception children will have covered all high frequency and tricky words for Phase 3 and Phase 4. In Key Stage 1 children are given a weekly list of words to take home and learn. These words are then tested in class the following week to assess how Literacy Policy Page 4 of 10 November 2012

6 well children have learned them. Year 1 and Year 2 children are taught in ability sets across their year group. The number of words a child is given varies according to the set they are placed in. Children will have between 5 and 15 words each week to learn. Key Stage 1 spelling words are either tricky words that children cannot segment and blend phonetically, such as /the/ or /was/, or are linked by a common digraph or trigraph such /ay/ or /igh/. In addition children in Year 2 will go on to learn common prefixes and suffixes such as /un/ /tion/ and how to change the tense of a word. Spelling in KS1 is taught through a variety of strategies including the use of the Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check method, mnemonics and rhymes. Children are encouraged to look closely at the word in order to spot any recurring phonic patterns and try and remember these patterns. They then say the word, cover it and write the word in order to aid their ability to remember the word. They are then encouraged to apply the word by writing it in a sentence in order to further consolidate their learning. Class teachers are responsible for the planning and assessment of children s spelling progress in whole class sessions and focus groups. The Literacy Subject Leader has overall responsibility for monitoring the progress of pupils spelling skills. Special Needs The educational needs of all children regardless of SEN and EAL status are met within the class situation at Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery School. All children have access to the Literacy curriculum and learning opportunities are provided to enable all pupils to make progress. Pupils who are not achieving as well as expected may receive support within small focus groups, through individualised targets and home activities. Equal opportunities All children are encouraged to fulfill their potential and have equal entitlement to the Literacy curriculum. Review and evaluation The policy is reviewed and monitored by the Literacy subject leader annually. Literacy Policy Page 5 of 10 November 2012

7 Appendix 1: EYFS Handwriting formation sheet Literacy Policy Page 6 of 10 November 2012

8 Appendix 2: KS1 cursive handwriting formation sheet Literacy Policy Page 7 of 10 November 2012

9 Appendix 3: Letters and Sounds Phase Overview Phase 1: (Nursery, but continues alongside Phase 2 in YR) Aspect 1: General sound discrimination environmental sounds Aspect 2: General sound discrimination instrumental sounds Aspect 3: General sound discrimination body percussion Aspect 4: Rhythm and rhyme Aspect 5: Alliteration Aspect 6: Voice sounds Aspect 7: Oral blending and segmenting Each aspect has 3 strands: Tuning into sounds (auditory discrimination) Listening and remembering sounds (auditory memory and sequencing) Talking about sounds (developing vocabulary and language comprehension) Phase 2: (YR up to 6 weeks) Learning GPCs: Set 1: s a t p Set 2: i n m d Set 3: g o c k Set 4: ck e u r Set 5: h b f,ff l,ll ss (give simplified explanation about using double letters at the ends of words) Blending and reading VC and CVC words Segmenting and spelling VC and CVC words Reading 2 syllable words Reading and writing captions Reading HF tricky words: the, to, go, no, I Spelling HF tricky words: to, the Phase 3: (YR up to 12 weeks) Learning GPCs: Set 6: j v w x Set 7: y z,zz qu ch sh th ng (Learn Vowel Rap; distinguish between long and short vowel sounds; give more precise explanation about using ll, ss, ff, zz, ck at the ends of words after a short vowel and single l, s, f, k after a consonant or vowel digraph)) ai ee igh oa oo oo ar or ur ow oi ear air ure er Blending and reading VC, CV and CVC words Segmenting and spelling VC, CV and CVC words Reading and spelling 2 syllable words Reading and writing captions and sentences Reading HF tricky words: he, she, we, me, be, was, my, you, they, her, all, are Spelling HF tricky words: the, to, go, no, I Letter names Literacy Policy Page 8 of 10 November 2012

10 Phase 4: (YR weeks) Blending and reading VCC, CCV, CCVC and CVCC words Segmenting and spelling VCC, CCV, CCVC and CVCC words Reading and spelling polysyllabic words Reading and writing sentences Reading HF tricky words: said, so, have, like, some, come, were, there, little, one, do, when, out, what Spelling HF tricky words: he, she, we, me, be, was, you, they, all, are, my, her Phase 5 (Y1) a) Weeks 1-4 New graphemes for reading: ay ou ie ea oy ir ue aw wh ph ew oe au ey a-e e-e i-e o-e u-e New phoneme /zh/ Blending and reading words Segmenting and spelling words Reading and spelling polysyllabic words Reading and writing sentences Reading HF tricky words: oh, their, people, Mr, Mrs, looked, called, asked Spelling HF tricky words: said, so, have, like, some, come, were, there b) Weeks 5-7 Alternative pronunciations of graphemes for reading: a (4) e (2) i (2) o (2) u (3) ow (2) ie (2) ea (2) er (2) ou (3) y (4) ch (3) c (2) g (2) ey (2) Blending and reading words Segmenting and spelling words Reading and spelling polysyllabic words Reading and writing sentences Reading HF tricky words: water, where, who, again, thought, through, work, mouse, many, laughed, because, different, any, eyes, friends, once, please Spelling HF tricky words: little, one, do, when, out, what c) Weeks 8-30 Alternative spellings of phonemes for spelling /ch/ /j/ /m/ /n/ /r/ /s/ /z/ /u/ /i/ /ear/ /ar/ /air/ /or/ /ur/ /oo/ /ai/ /ee/ /igh/ /oa/ y/oo/ /oo/ /sh/ /zh/ Blending and reading words Segmenting and spelling words Reading and spelling polysyllabic words Reading and writing sentences Spelling HF tricky words: oh, their, people, Mr, Mrs, looked, called, asked Phase 6: (Y2) Learn rarer GPCs and use in reading Spelling: investigating and learning how to add suffixes: s, es, ed, ing, ful, er, est, ly, ment, ness, y, en Literacy Policy Page 9 of 10 November 2012

11 Appendix 4: Spelling Strategies Spelling Strategies Break it into sounds (d-i-a-r-y) Break it into syllables (re-mem-ber) Break it into affixes (dis + satisfy) Use a mnemonic (necessary one collar, two sleeves) Refer to word in the same family (muscle muscular) Say it as it sounds (Wed-nes-day) Words within words (Parliament I AM parliament) Refer to etymology (bi + cycle = two + wheels) Use analogy (bright, light, night, etc) Use a key word (horrible/drinkable for -able & -ible) Apply spelling rules (writing, written) Learn by sight (look-say-cover-write-check) Visual memory (look-say-cover-write-check) Literacy Policy Page 10 of 10 November 2012