Communication, Language and Literature

Reading 

High-quality texts and enthusiastic reading are at the heart of our reading curriculum. Children at Seymour Park Community Primary School will be exposed to a language rich and rigorous learning journey which will inspire them to develop their love of reading from an early age. 

Writing 

For our children to thrive in the 21st Century, they must be confident and fluent writers. At Seymour Park Community Primary School our curriculum is designed to engage, scaffold and inspire children to write. 

Spanish 

Learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multicultural society and provides a gateway to other cultures. At Seymour Park Community Primary School we aim to foster children's curiosity and deepen their understanding of their world by introducing them to the global language of Spanish in a way that is fun and engaging. 

National Curriculum English Core Aims 

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate

Our English Core Aims

• introduce children a wide range of writing that reflects their current and aspirational worlds 
• extend and develop children's language acquisition and application, with the explicit teaching of a rich vocabulary across all subjects 
• encourage the use of appropriate vocabulary so children are fully emersed in their learning 
• children develop as confident orators

NC Spanish Core Aims 

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

Our Spanish Core Aims 

• Build vocabulary and spark interest
• Make connections between their home languages and Spanish

Reading 

Right from their arrival until they leave Year 6, our children are immersed in literature, beginning with the reading and enjoyment of stories in Nursery, and progressing to deep questioning and study of texts in upper Key Stage 2.  Coupled with the rigorous daily teaching of phonics in EYFS and Key Stage one, we ensure that children have the best possible start to their reading experience.

Children study enjoyable, challenging texts, chosen to reflect their own experiences and to stimulate discussion and investigation, which change half-termly.  The Reading lessons are structured to include explicit teaching of vocabulary, the modelling of reading, discussion and structured questioning from Year 1-Year 6.  All children are readers at Seymour Park, and so we structure lessons where every pupil takes part in learning, which builds upon their prior knowledge, with support where this is required. We know that it is our responsibility to give all children equal opportunities and experiences, in order that all children see themselves as the readers that they can be. Therefore, all of our children complete the same learning in reading lessons, with the learning adapted to meet needs of our children.  Same day intervention and one to one reading or small group reading support takes place where needed.

Guided-Reading-Curric-Overview.pdfReception-curiculum-plan-2020-2021.pdf

Phonics  

At Seymour Park we use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised to teach phonics and early reading. This programme has a systematic progression which begins in Reception and continues until the end of Year 1. Some children will need to continue this into Year 2 and beyond in order to become fluent and confident readers.  An overview of the five phases is shown below. There is also a more detailed termly overview. 

More information and helpful guides for parents can be found on the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised website. Here is the link;

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/

Here is a video explaining the changes to the way we teach phonics and early reading at Seymour Park.

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Programme-Overview_Reception-and-Year-1-1.pdf

Writing

Each half term, at Seymour Park Community Primary School, children are immersed in a specific text and use this to stimulate their writing. We call this Books for Hooks.

In EYFS, children learn to write through carefully planned continuous provision, adult-led learning and daily phonics lessons, alonngside maximising the many incidental writing opportunities which appear through our EYFS classrooms.

KS1 and KS2, English writing lessons are taught daily, following a two week cycle of writing, whereby children develop specific skills for writing, and then use these, and other skills they have already acquired, to plan, draft, edit and present a piece of writing of a distinct genre.  The source for the writing is always the “Book for Hook”, leading to children becoming immersed in the text and the author and progressing their love for books.  Books for Hooks are carefully chosen to engage and inspire children, and the range of genres of writing are spread across the curriculum, and repeated throughout, in order to build on prior experience.  

Spelling lessons take place twice weekly, following a programme of spelling patterns and tricky words, and children are given the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in the weekly spelling test.

Reception-curiculum-plan-2020-2021.pdf