English
English is when we learn to speak, read and write using the correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.
At Birchfield, we teach English through high-quality, engaging texts that are embedded into our topics. We aim to create a love of both reading and writing, to inspire learning and motivate all of our children. Specific skills from our curriculum are taught, rehearsed and then applied independently to build a community of enthusiastic readers and dedicated writers.
Phonics
At Birchfield, we follow the Little Wandle scheme to teach phonics from Reception through to Year 2. The children are taught whole-class to learn their GPCs and how to use them to blend and segment words. They also taught to read tricky words. This all builds towards them being able to read words and sentences with appropriate fluency.
The children are assessed regularly so that we can fully understand their progress. This information is then used to plan and deliver interventions, called Keep Up. We aim to spot any child falling behind or at risk of falling behind and act promptly to ensure they keep up with their peers. We want all of our children to become fluent readers who can access their curriculum, engage with the world around them and love reading.
Once our children can read fluently with speed at the end of Phase 5, they begin Little Wandle's Fluency program. This is a program that allows them to build their stamina and access chapter books, using their phonic knowledge to build their reading skills. This generally begins in the spring term of Year 2. Alongside this, we begin our Little Wandle Spelling program. This uses their phonic knowledge to teach spelling rules and patterns, exposing the children to a range of different words and improving their spelling ability.
Some children need more support to become phonetically secure. Children who still need support with their phonics in Key Stage 2 access Little Wandle's Catch Up scheme. This assesses the gaps they may have, reteaches key knowledge and enables them to become successful readers. This is an important intervention; all of our children deserve to become fluent readers who are ready for life beyond primary school.
If you wish to access more information or support around Little Wandle as a parent, please click here. More information about phonics at Birchfield can be found in the 'Phonics - Little Wandle' tab.
Little Wandle Programme Overview
Writing
At Birchfield, we teach writing in a context, through high-quality, engaging texts that are embedded into our wider topics. Specific skills and knowledge from our curriculum are explicitly taught. They are modelled, rehearsed and then applied independently to build both knowledge and skill whilst developing a love of writing. We explore different purposes of writing and how we write for different audiences in a range of different genres. Through our disciplinary knowledge, we focus on the preparation stages of writing in the planning and skill rehearsal before drafting, editing and sharing our writing. Our substantive knowledge is split into key elements: handwriting, punctuation, grammar and spelling. Furthermore, we regularly assess our children's writing through independent application and thorough assessment procedures that allow us to clearly identify the children's strengths in writing, alongside areas for development. This is an area of our curriculum that we have recently developed to ensure progression and a writing curriculum that reflects the needs and interests of our children at Birchfield.
Birchfield Primary School Writing Curriculum and Progression Map
Birchfield Writing Curriculum - EYFS
Birchfield Writing Curriculum Years 1 - 6
Reading
At Birchfield, we believe that every child is a reader. We teach our children to read using a progressive, systematic phonic approach and learning key tricky words. Whilst the children work through our phonics system, they read decodable books that are directly linked to the sounds that they know. Once the children have become confident readers and are phonetically-secure, they join the Accelerated Reader scheme and are able to choose their own books from the library, within allocated colour bandings. Once they have finished a book, the children take an Accelerated Reader quiz and change their book.
The children are rewarded for the amount of times they read at home, or for how many quizzes they take or how many words they have read. This is monitored by our teachers. We encourage the children to read books of their own and to develop a love of reading. Our teachers are experts in their book knowledge too and are always on hand to direct children to their next, exciting text.
Recently, we have been working on developing our Reading Spine. This is a selection of carefully-selected texts that are guaranteed reads for our children whilst at Birchfield. We have chosen them based on what our children need whilst considering how we can ensure that all of our children hear and experience a range of high-quality texts. You can view our Reading Spine below.
Birchfield Primary School Reading Progression Map
Reading curriculum Year 1- Year 6
Speaking and Listening
At Birchfield, we understand that our children need to develop their ability to speak and listen as they progress through primary school. This will enable them to become effective communicators who can access their learning and interact with the world around them. Their ability to clearly and effectively articulate their ideas and thoughts (oracy) is of great importance to us. Additionally, their ability to listen to others opinions and key information is a skill we work hard to develop. It is a skill the unlocks many valuable parts of life for the children: the curriculum we have on offer; the ability to thrive in later life; and the opportunity to be social and express themselves.
We don’t plan and teach explicit speaking and listening lessons; the skills are embedded and taught across our curriculum in a meaningful way. Research and classroom experience suggest this is the most effective way to develop children’s communication skills. We continuously develop our children’s communication skills in every high-quality interaction we have with them.
Birchfield Primary School Speaking and Listening Curriculum and Progression
Birchfield Speaking and Listening Curriculum for KS1 and KS2
