‘I only started reading at seventeen, and it completely changed my outlook and mentality. I just wish I was offered the opportunity to really engage with reading more as a child.’ Marcus Rashford

Intent - What are we trying to achieve? 

At Crane Park, we aim for our pupils to develop a love of reading as soon as they start their school journey. Phonics is a key strategy that supports the development of early reading skills. We combine quality phonics instruction, with exposure to a range of texts and the promotion of reading for pleasure to provide our children with the skills they need to have a successful start to their lives as readers.

We believe that developing reading skills early allows our children to learn and grow within our curriculum. Reading helps us to acquire new knowledge and understand the world. It is through reading that we access all other subjects which makes phonics vital.

Implementation - How is the curriculum being delivered? 

At Crane Park, we follow the ‘Read, Write, Inc.’ programme.

Read Write Inc. Phonics is a whole-school approach to teaching literacy for children aged 4 to 9 that creates fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. The lessons provide partner work, writing, grammar, spelling, exposure to lots of challenging vocabulary, handwriting and it integrates phonics with comprehension. Phonics is taught daily in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.

During the sessions we use pure sounds ('m' not 'muh', 's' not 'suh') so that our children will be able to blend the sounds into words with ease.  

Each session allows time to:

• Review previous learning
• Teach a new phonics skill
• Practise their new skill
• Apply this skill in reading and writing
• Assess progress made

Alongside phonics, children in the Early Years and Key Stage 1 have regular reading lessons, story time and opportunities for Speaking and Listening throughout the day. 

Where children need additional support to catch up with their peers, we have a range of strategies. These include one to one tutoring and additional, short, sharp phonics sessions in the afternoons. Children in years 3 to 6 who may have missed out in their phonics learning, have afternoon intervention sessions to support them.

Impact - What difference is the curriculum making? 

✓ Monitoring of staff lesson shows strong evidence of staff subject knowledge and teacher modelling of writing. 

✓ All learning is matched appropriately to the age group being taught. 

✓ All reading books are matched to the sounds being taught 

✓ Children are regularly assessed and put into an appropriate group to suit ability 

✓ Our pupils’ work in books consistently shows evidence of opportunities for applying skills in a range of purposes for writing. 

✓ Children are prepared year on year for the next step in their writing and reading education. 

✓ Implementation of whole class shared reading sessions have had a positive impact on progress and outcomes in KS2.

If you visited a Phonics lesson at Crane Park you would see: 

• Phonics Speed Sound charts to aid learning 

• Learners engaged in meaningful activities – speed sounds, speedy green words, story green words, red (tricky) words, hold a sentence, partner practise reading the books, spelling rules 

• Opportunities for learners to apply new skills through writing and reading time 

• Children answering comprehension questions using full sentences and evidence to support their answers

• A wide range of vocabulary being used 

Pupil Voice

‘I enjoy having fun learning to read with Fred the Frog. He helps us to spell words’ - Reception

‘My teacher makes our lessons so much fun and we learn to read really quickly’ - Year 1

‘We are so lucky to read lots of different books each week and we love answering tricky questions about what happened. We also meet different characters and talk about them’ - Year 2 

How do the pupils at Crane Park Primary School develop the school values through English? 

We have created a set of values that we feel are critical to becoming effective learners. We want to enable our children to be ‘lifelong learners’ by following our lifelong values:

Aspiration – In our school, the Read Write Inc scheme fosters aspiration by instilling a love for language and communication, nurturing empathy and understanding towards others. Furthermore, the structured and systematic approach of Read Write Inc promotes fantastic thinking, stimulating curiosity and problem-solving skills as children explore the intricate patterns and sounds of phonics.

Respect – learners are offered opportunities to discuss and debate ideas from the text. During each RWI lesson, learners take on the role of both listeners and readers within pairs, providing their partners with feedback.

Integrity – students are asked to reflect on their own work and that of others, correcting errors and editing work to improve it where necessary.

Responsibility – The resilience demonstrated by our teachers and staff in implementing the Read Write Inc approach empowers both educators and students to overcome challenges, fostering a growth mindset and a culture of perseverance in phonics learning.

Co-operation – We ensure that all learners, regardless of their abilities, feel valued and supported in their phonics learning, creating an inclusive environment where every child's progress is celebrated and recognised.

Kindness – The Read Write Inc scheme cultivates empathy among pupils as they learn to appreciate the diversity of language and communication styles, fostering a sense of community and respect for others' experiences and backgrounds.

'One child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world.'                   Malala Yousafzai