Mr Webb is our English subject Leader. This is what he says about his subject.

English was always one of my favourite subjects when I was at school - especially the reading aspect of it. My dad is a children's author and I have happy childhood memories of sitting on the couch with him each night as he read his new stories to me and my sister to get our feedback. 

My love of reading continued as I worked my way through school and I still remember the excitement I felt when being introduced to magical worlds such as Narnia or Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory by my primary school teachers. 

Now that I am a teacher, I love the fact that I can introduce so many children to a wide-range of wonderful authors and poets that will hopefully help to provide them with the key to unlock a life-long love of reading.

This is what the children say about English. {Coming Soon}

Reading

What are our aims?

We aim to develop children into fluent and confident readers. We strive for our pupils to develop a love of reading and for them to be able to use their skills to independently discover new facts about things they are interested in.

How is Reading taught?

There are two elements to the teaching of reading in school:

1. Decoding - the ability to apply knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words.
2. Comprehension – the understanding of what has been read.

• As children are developing their decoding skills in Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1 they will complete lots of 1:1 reading activities.
• As children become more confident in their reading they will complete guided reading activities in groups of various sizes during which they will work on a range of comprehension activities that will develop their understanding of texts.
• Reading skills are developed further in literacy lessons as children study longer novels in more detail as well as using the texts as a stimulus to produce their own pieces of writing.
• The application of reading skills is also intrinsically linked to our Learning Challenge Curriculum topics as children are encouraged to carry out independent research tasks to find out information.

How is Reading assessed?

Reading is assessed in 2 ways at All Saints.

1. Ongoing Teacher Assessment

Your child’s teacher is constantly assessing their progress in reading within the classroom by listening to them read and by marking their responses to texts. From these observations the teacher is able to offer the support required to your child to improve their reading and ensure that they are being provided with books that are matched to their current attainment.

To support teachers with these judgements, pupils will usually complete a reading test on a termly basis.

2. Statutory End of Key Stage Assessment

• End of Early Years

Children in the Early Years are assessed in their reading development against the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. This will provide on entry data which the teacher will use to plan an appropriate curriculum that: caters for the needs of each child, takes account of skills/ concepts already mastered, refers to the Early Learning Goals and prepares the child for their entry to the National Curriculum.

• End of Key Stage 1

Towards the end of Year 2, pupils sit 2 statutory reading tests. The results of these test are then used to help to inform judgements as to whether each child is working towards national expectations, working at national expectations or working at greater depth in reading at the end of Key Stage 1.

• End of Key Stage 2

Towards the end of Year 6, pupils sit a statutory reading test. The results of these test are used to help to report as to whether each child is working towards national expectations, working at national expectations or working at greater depth in reading at the end of Key Stage 2.

Resources

• We have got a large selection of banded books to meet all of the children’s needs in relation to reading. We pick the best resources from a selection of publishers including The Oxford Reading Tree scheme and The Big Cats Books.
• Every year group teaches literature through the use of high quality novels during English lessons.
• We have a wide selection of non-fiction texts to support the teaching of each Learning Challenge Curriculum topic.
• Every child has their own Bug Club account that can be accessed at www.activelearnprimary.co.uk. A wide selection of online books can be found here.

How can you support your child at home?

Listening to your child read can take many forms:

• First and foremost, focus on developing an enjoyment and love of reading.
• Enjoy stories together – reading stories to your child is equally as important as listening to your child read.
• Read a little at a time but often rather than rarely but for long periods of time.
• Talk about the story before, during and afterwards – discuss the plot, the characters, their feelings and actions, how it makes you feel, predict what will happen and encourage your child to have their own opinions.
• Look up definitions of words together – you could use a dictionary, the internet or an app on a phone or tablet.
• All reading is valuable – it doesn’t just have to be stories. Reading can involve anything from fiction and non-fiction, poetry, newspapers, magazines, football programmes, TV guides.
• Visit the local library – it’s free!

Useful links:

Bug Club

Education City

BBC