Literacy Policy Ratified by Governing Body November 2015 Next review date November 2017 Signed... Chair of Governors Date
Rationale At Greensted Junior School we believe that literacy and communication are fundamental life skills and that through the English curriculum we should help pupils develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate effectively and creatively with the world at large through spoken and written language. We also intend to help pupils gain an understanding of how language works by looking at its structures and origins. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES As a school we aim: To provide a rich and stimulating language environment, where speaking and listening, reading and writing are integrated. To provide an environment where pupils are encouraged to construct and convey meaning, both in speech and writing. To provide opportunities for pupils to become confident, competent and expressive users of the language with a developing knowledge of how it works. To provide opportunities for pupils to be reflective users of language who are able to analyse and evaluate its main features. To foster an enthusiasm for and love of reading for life. To encourage pupils to have fluent and legible handwriting. To enable pupils to use the English language effectively in all areas of the curriculum. We hope that pupils will: Be able to participate in a conversation, listening to others, responding appropriately and taking turns to speak. Develop the confidence and ability to speak appropriately and perform in front of varying sizes of audience. Be able to sustain concentration in a range of listening situations. Know, understand and be able to write in a range of genres and understand some of the ways in which narratives are structured through basic literary ideas of setting, character and plot. Know, understand and be able to write in a range of non-fiction genres and structure text in a style suited to its purpose. Use grammar and punctuation accurately. Have an interest in words and their meanings. Plan, draft, revise and edit their own writing. Understand the phonic system and spelling conventions and use them to read and spell accurately Be able to orchestrate a full range of reading cues (phonic, graphic, syntactic, contextual) to monitor their reading and correct their own mistakes. Have a suitable technical vocabulary through which to understand and discuss their reading and writing Express opinions, articulate feelings and formulate responses to a range of texts. Be interested in books, read for enjoyment and evaluate and justify their preferences. Be able to work confidently and increasingly independently in all areas. Time allocation The time allocated for English is in line with the recommendations for key stage two. All pupils have a daily literacy lesson, lasting approximately one hour. In addition, it is recognised that all other subject areas will contribute to pupils s learning in speaking and listening, reading and writing and opportunities are regularly planned for pupils to transfer their literacy skills into other curricular areas. Pupils are also given opportunities to develop reading skills through guided reading sessions which are planned and differentiated clearly to the group ability. Pupils are expected to take part in a weekly handwriting session each week as part of early morning work, linking learning of spellings to handwriting Grammar, punctuation and spelling sessions and guided reading sessions are timetabled for 45 minutes (4 times a week) to improve pupils use of grammatical structures in standard English and reading comprehension Pupils take part in Drop Everything And Read sessions every Friday afternoon. Teachers are also expected to read in order to model expectations and their joy of reading.
Speaking and Listening Pupils are given opportunities to speak in pairs, small groups, to the large group at assemblies and are encouraged to speak in front of their peers. They share their news, feed back information from reading and give opinions in class reflection time as well as across the curriculum. Through the same range of activities, pupils are encouraged to listen to others, respect turn taking within conversations and ask appropriate questions. Role play and drama activities may be used in literacy to encourage imagination and plot development. Pupils will be encouraged to use a range of dramatic forms to express feelings and ideas both verbally and non-verbally. Pupils will be encouraged to appreciate drama, both as participants and observers. Teachers will model appropriate syntax for children to use. All children are expected to speak/answer in complete sentences. Reading Pupils are encouraged to read for meaning and through context. Pupils are introduced to a full range of texts through shared reading in whole class groups. All pupils follow an individual independent reading programme monitored by class teachers and teaching assistants where they are given a coloured band book allowing them to read books levelled at their own ability. In guided reading, pupils of similar ability are encouraged to interpret and discuss text in more depth. This is in addition to the main daily literacy lesson. Reading skills are further developed across the curriculum. Pupils are expected to read regularly at home- all children have a reading journal and are encouraged to make a record of their daily reading. Children are exposed to a stimulating range of fiction/non-fiction poetry and play scripts. Core texts have been specifically selected to engage and enthuse learners in each year group. Writing Teachers model writing of all genres through shared writing activities in daily literacy lessons as well as other curricular areas. Writing skills are further developed in group guided writing sessions. Pupils practise writing through independent writing tasks. Pupils are given opportunities to plan, draft, revise and edit their own writing. Pupils use their writing skills to communicate across the curriculum. Attention is paid to the formal structures of English, grammatical detail, punctuation and spelling. Pupils are given frequent opportunities to write in different contexts across the curriculum using quality texts as models. Spelling All literacy lessons start with a spelling focus which allows pupils to investigate key spelling patterns and rules through direct teaching, investigations and dictation. All pupils receive weekly spelling homework and are tested every Friday. All pupils are encouraged to : Develop dictionary skills to support their spelling. Attempt words for themselves using a range of strategies. Write an increasingly wide range of words from memory. When redrafting/editing work, the children learn to self correct using polishing pens. Spelling corrections are identified by the teacher in all subjects- Children are then expected to correct using the LSCWC method three times in the margins of their books use a variety of resources to help with spelling e.g. dictionaries, word banks, classroom environment, computer spell-check etc. Marking supports self correction and learning of correct spelling across all subjects. The learning environment includes word banks, key vocabulary, dictionaries, thesauri and a range of learning aids to support pupils understanding of grammatical terms and sentence structures.
Grammar and punctuation Pupils are introduced to grammatical functions of different word classes and sentence types. GPS sessions are taught for 45 minutes a day in order to meet the expectations set out in the National Curriculum framework. Skills are consolidated through formative marking in line with the school s marking policy. Handwriting and Presentation Pupils are taught and encouraged to form lower and upper case letters correctly on entry into the junior school so they develop a fully cursive style. They are taught to use a comfortable and correct pencil/pen grip. Pupils are expected to complete work in pencil, however those who have developed a neat and fully cursive handwriting style are awarded their Pen Licence. Pupils are also given opportunities to present their work using ICT. Good presentation of written pieces is expected across the curriculum. All published work, including written pieces for the website, are expected to be grammatically accurate with correct spelling throughout. Planning Units of work have been adapted to meet the needs of all children. The units of work are structured to form a long term plan with an appropriate balance of fiction and non-fiction. Clear objectives are set for the lesson and shared with the pupils. Teachers differentiate according to the needs of the pupils and the success criteria is shared with the class to enable them to know what they need to do to succeed. ICT is used where it enhances, extends and complements literacy teaching and learning. Additional adults are used to support the teaching of Literacy. They work under the guidance of the teacher with small groups of pupils or individuals. Assessment, Recording and Reporting Marking is carried out in line with the school s policy. Pink and green marking is given at least once a week, enabling pupils to see what they have done well and what they need to do in order to improve. Pupils respond to the teacher s marking comments to ensure that they have read and understood the next steps. Termly formal assessments are carried out in line with the new National Curriculum which monitor ongoing progress and are also analysed to inform future planning. Teachers use assessment to ensure planning is based on prior attainment and that pupils know what to do to achieve the next step. Parents are invited to parent/ teacher consultation meetings twice a year and are sent an annual report showing their child s progress and targets for the following academic year. Analysis of assessment data is used to set curricular school targets. Class teachers annotate planning on a daily basis which allows them to plan flexible lessons relevant to the needs of the pupils. Expectations It is expected that pupils will attain 100 or more in their end of Key Stage 2 test, working at age expected or more and making at least 24steps progress across KS2. Inclusion All pupils receive quality literacy teaching on a daily basis and activities are differentiated accordingly. Where identified, pupils are considered to require targeted support, to enable them to work to age appropriate objectives, a variety of interventions are available. These include the use of EHC plan, LSA support, and intervention programmes in particularly Read Write Inc and Magic Literacy. Academically more able children are tracked throughout KS2 to ensure this group makes good progress. Pupil progress meetings identify appropriate provision to ensure that the child is being adequately challenged, so they remain motivated in their learning. Academically more able pupils are selected to be in the higher literacy set, where their literacy skills are extended. An experienced member of staff runs a school newspaper club for the academically more able in KS2.
Equal Opportunities It will be ensured that equal opportunities in English are addressed as follows: Pupils with special needs have equal access to the English curriculum through the use of differentiated learning strategies and tasks. These are based on individual needs. Specific teaching strategies are used to maximise access to the curriculum for pupils learning EAL. Respect for cultural and linguistic diversity is promoted through the use of resources on multi-cultural themes. An awareness of other dialects and standard English encouraged through a range of texts. Gender equality is promoted by ensuring that both boys and girls have access to all aspects of the English curriculum. Opportunities to address issues of gender, race etc. are provided through discussion, texts and resources. Parental / community involvement We value parent involvement in pupils s development of literacy and promote a home school partnership in the following ways; Sharing information newsletters, parents leaflets, reading diaries. Homework in line with our homework policy and home/school agreement We ask parents to encourage and monitor home reading and discuss books and preferences with their pupils. Parents and CRB checked community volunteers are welcomed into the school to support pupils in literacy. Professional Development Training needs are identified as a result of whole school monitoring and evaluation, performance management and needs of pupils. These will be reflected in the School Development Plan which includes the Literacy Action Plan. The Literacy subject leader will arrange for relevant advice and information, such as feedback from courses to be disseminated. Where necessary the literacy subject leader organises or leads school based training. Additional adults who are involved with intervention programmes will receive appropriate training which may be part of Local Authority or school based training. Resources Each class has easy access to basic resources for literacy such as dictionaries, thesauri and reading books. The school library contains a range of fiction and non-fiction books. Reading books are banded using the Book Bands colour banding system Sets of guided reading books are stored in classrooms along with other additional texts needed to support reading comprehension. The school subscribes to the Library Services and the Library Book Bus visits the school twice a year which allows teachers to change class reading books, enabling each class to have access to a range of new texts. A school book fair is organised in the Autumn term to coincide with Parents Evening. Enrichment events are organised including visiting storytellers, authors, visiting drama specialists and theatre groups. World Book Day is celebrated by the whole school. On the week in which it falls, all classes will complete a range of book based activities. Monitoring and evaluation Literacy is monitored by the head teacher, literacy subject leader and SLT. Having identified priorities, the literacy subject leader constructs an action plan which forms part of the School Development Plan. This then forms the basis for monitoring and will identify how this is to be implemented.