St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

At St Joseph’s we recognise that the development of the children’s spoken language underpins all other areas of their learning and development (DfE, Development Matters 2021). In Early Years, therefore, we nurture the crucial language-rich environment required to build the children’s language skills effectively.

In addition, we work hard to develop the children’s self-regulation skills and their executive function, building their ability to hold information in their minds, focus and concentrate their thinking, be flexible and resilient, all vital skills needed in order to learn to read and write confidently and fluently.

Language guides children’s actions and self-regulation and we provide plenty of opportunity for pretend play, supporting focus, persistence and planning skills.

Complimenting this, pupils start learning the skills needed to read and write from the very beginning of Year R. Our DfE approved systematic, synthetic phonics programme, Anima Phonics, is taught daily, with all 46 phonemes taught in the Autumn term.

Wordless picture books are given to pupils to develop vocabulary and narrative skills. Single word ‘read and see’ books (by Anima Phonics), which exactly match the phonics programme, are their next step.  The reading scheme continues to mirror the phonics programme, with books developing in complexity and content.

Children are prepared for handwriting through a wide variety of fine motor skills activities, mostly play-based including construction toys, threading and colouring. We start teaching our handwriting scheme early, allowing plenty of time for the children to master the techniques ready for Year One.

Nurturing a love of reading is a priority for the whole school and starts in our Early Years classrooms with reading corners well-stocked with all types of books for the children to enjoy. Our daily story time is a well-loved time of day, with the children soon joining in with the rhymes and refrains from our ‘class books’. Particular interests and topics are followed up with relevant non-fiction books, sparking interest and curiosity in young minds.

Rhymes of all sorts are great favourites: nursery, counting, shape and action. Children often sing their favourite to the class, with the other children joining in with gusto! Poems are shared often, not least within our daily phonics lessons, where there is a poem for each phoneme.

In English, pupils learn to speak confidently and listen to what others have to say. They begin to read and write independently and with enthusiasm. They use language to explore their own experiences and imaginary worlds.

• Reading
  • The pupils’ interest and pleasure in reading is developed as they learn to read confidently and independently. They focus on words and sentences and how they fit into whole texts. They work out the meaning of straightforward texts and say why they like them or do not like them. The importance of reading and the impact it has on overall learning is paramount. As a school we ask that you practise reading and comprehension with your child daily to support them in this vast learning area.

• Writing:
  • The pupils start to enjoy writing and see the value of it. They learn to communicate meaning in narrative and non-fiction texts, while developing secure skills in the use of precise grammar, punctuation and spelling. The school has a dedicated cursive handwriting policy which is used throughout the school.

The structure of the English curriculum supports the belief that all children can achieve through repetition, modelling and scaffolding of learning. As a basis, pupils are encouraged to recall pre-knowledge and skills on which to build further learning. We are ambitious for all children in the school and challenge all to achieve. The English curriculum is organised in a sequence that develops progressively – deepening pupils’ understanding and skill levels within the English language, while ensuring that key concepts become embedded in the long-term memory. We prioritise reading in all year groups and promote a love a reading (see below).

The Curriculum encourages teachers to use a variety of approaches to teach English. Pupils enjoy regular, dedicated English lessons that support practice and enrichment in the required literacy skills, while supporting learning in other curriculum areas. The curriculum encourages teachers to put a greater emphasis on using ‘phonics’ (teaching your child to recognise the sounds of parts of words), spelling and grammar. Our scheme of work incorporates all the national curriculum areas of learning that takes into account our particular school and the rich diversity of the community we serve. As a school, we have a deep focus on the importance of reading for both enjoyment and purpose; pupils are given ample opportunities to develop competence through a balance of variety and repetition. Progress in reading is very high. St Joseph's has been in the top 2% of schools according to most recent published data. 

The pupils learn to change the way they speak and write to suit different situations, purposes and audiences. They read a range of texts and respond to different layers of meaning, while exploring the use of language in literary and non-literary texts to understand how language works.

• Reading:
  • The pupils read a range of materials and use their knowledge of words, sentences and texts to understand and respond to the meaning. Reading is about comprehension with the emphasis on understanding what is being read. Pupils gradually increase their ability to read challenging and lengthy texts independently, while maintaining high levels of engagement and comprehension. Once pupils have mastered these skills, they are able to reflect on the meaning of texts, analysing and discussing them with others.

• Writing:
  • Pupils are taught within a culture where writing is seen as essential to both thinking and learning, while being enjoyable in its own right. They learn the main rules and conventions of written English and start to explore how the English language can be used to express meaning in different ways. Pupils use the planning, drafting and editing process to improve their work and produce quality fiction and non-fiction writing. We encourage this - not only in the English lessons, but would expect pupils to routinely use these skills across all areas of the curriculum. As a school, the focus is to broaden both the spoken and written vocabulary of all pupils so that they are able to express themselves articulately within the wider world.

In addition, we recognise the value of memorable experiences in nurturing love and knowledge with regards to the English language. As such, activities such as Book Week, poetry recitals and story-telling workshops are an integral part of our school programme. In summary, we aspire to deliver a rich and varied curriculum that enables pupils to develop into confident, literate and articulate members of the community who have a positive impact on the world around them.