READING

At Homelands we endeavour to create a reading culture where children are exposed to a range of high-quality texts in a variety of contexts and have opportunities to browse literature, as well as more structured reading activities.
We work hard to build preferences in reading and encourage children to choose to read for pleasure and we help children to recognise authors and styles of reading that they enjoy.
In all our reading related activities, we aim to engage in book discussions in a range of contexts, alongside both adults and their peers.
We also work hard to share and recommend a range of books, linking them to our learning journey themes where possible..

Early Reading and Phonics

At Homelands we teach phonics and reading through the Little Wandle Revised Letters and Sounds Programme.  This is a government validated programme and is followed from Nursery through to Key Stage 1. 

This is a teaching programme for synthetic phonics which concentrates on promoting speaking and listening, phonological awareness and oral blending and segmenting. 

This helps the children develop their reading and spelling skills.   

Reception and Year 1 parents will be invited to attend a phonics workshop and receive an induction pack which will contain information relating to phonic development and how you can support this at home.

We will soon be sending regular updates on where your class are on their phonics journey. 

Children will have daily phonics sessions which will incorporate listening, segmenting and synthesising words and the opportunity to practise read and writing both in words and sentences.    

Children are continuously assessed as to their progress in phonics and additional support may be deployed to support children’s development.  

Our reading scheme books have been organised to match the phonics that the children have learnt in class. 

We follow the spelling progression and you are given the opportunity to support this through their weekly homework.

The children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 read 3 times a week in school. 

Decoding on the first session, reading with Prosody (expression) in the second and developing comprehension skills on the third. 

Below is the link to log in the Collins E books to read with your child at home.   This is VITAL. 

Login details and passwords will be sent home at the beginning of the year. 

The purpose of all books and how we can learn from them  is shared with our children and story times also play a central role in fostering a child's love for books. 

We also use this time to build up opportunity to develop children's understanding of new vocabulary and discuss how characters may be feeling or why certain events have happened.   

Library books sent home are to share together NOT to sound out like the phonics books.   It is lovely to see the children grow as they see themselves as readers!

ACCELERATED READER

Here at Homelands we use the Accelerated Reader programme from Year 3 upwards. 

Accelerated Reader is a powerful tool that helps teachers to manage and monitor children's independent reading practice by using information generated by the software. 

The children picks a book at their own level and read it at their own pace, then when they have finished they take a short quiz on the computer - passing the quiz indicates that they have understood what they have read. 

AR helps develop lifelong readers and foster a passion for reading.

By signing up for Home Connect ( via the letter sent home with your child at the start of the year), you can be sent regular email updates on your child's quizzing and scores.

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Log in here, with the log in provided on your Home Connect letter, and sign up for email alerts.

Look for the section that says;

For Parents and Guardians 

Then put in your email details.

WRITING

Intent

At Homelands we believe that writing is a key skill for life both inside and out of education and that is why it features across all the subjects taught across our school.

Our aim is to provide children with key transferrable writing skills to build on year on year, that can be used throughout each phase of their education and prepare them for secondary school.

We also intend to create writers who can re-read, edit and improve their own writing, and enable pupils to be able to confidently use the essential skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Teaching children to write for a range of purposes and audiences can be very exciting, and we aim to provide the children with varied reasons for writing.

We believe that this not only produces higher quality writing, but allows our learners to apply their skills to a range of different contexts.

Our aim is for ALL learners to achieve their full potential in writing and we are committed to providing the scaffolds and challenge needed in order for our children to achieve this.

Implementation

Children receive English lessons daily and are exposed to age-related expectations for writing within a range of texts. Writing and reading are closely linked and we ensure that children are reading daily, in order to build on their knowledge of different genres of writing and develop their vocabulary.

Using the Babcock Texts that Teach, we follow a 3-part structure to our writing teaching; learning about the text (immersion), practising writing and finally independent writing, where we apply what we have learnt across a sequence.

We have a rigorous and well organised English curriculum and framework, that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion.

We use a wide variety of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children and teachers also ensure that these aims are embedded in our English lessons and the wider curriculum.

Impact

Pupils will make good progress from their own personal starting points.

By the end of Year Six, they will be able to write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.

Our pupils will acquire a wide vocabulary and have a strong command of the written word.

Most importantly, they will develop a love of writing and be well equipped for the rest of their education.