Writing at Longwick

Intent

We believe that all pupils should be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing.  At Longwick, we want pupils to acquire a wide vocabulary, a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn.  Through our writing curriculum, we will inspire them to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. All pupils will be encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their writing, in part by developing a good, joined, handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school.

​​​​​We know that all good writers refine and edit their writing over time, so we want children to develop independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvement in all pieces of writing, editing their work effectively during and after the writing process.

Reading at Longwick

Intent

At Longwick, we believe all pupils should have the opportunity to learn to read regardless of their background, needs or abilities.  Through our Reading Curriculum, we will endeavour to deliver a systematic, synthetic phonics programme which matches or exceeds the expectations of the English National Curriculum and Early Learning Goals.  We aim to build a curriculum which develops a love of reading to help pupils know more, remember more and understand more.  As part of our teaching, we will ensure that attainment of reading is rigorously assessed and monitored so that gaps may be addressed quickly and effectively for all pupils.

Reading Scheme

Oxford Reading Tree

At Longwick, we use the Oxford Reading Tree Scheme.  As the UK’s most successful reading scheme, Oxford Reading Tree is currently used in over 80% of primary schools and has helped millions of children from all over the world learn to read …... and love to read. Rooted in reading for pleasure and with systematic phonics at its heart, Oxford Reading Tree's well-loved characters, breadth (over 800 books!) and varied writing styles give children everything they need to become confident readers.

Oxford Reading Tree is the home of Biff, Chip and Kipper Stories, Songbirds, Traditional Tales, inFact, and much more.

What are Oxford Levels and Book Bands?

In UK schools, Book Bands are used across different reading schemes to indicate the reading level of each book. You will see our Oxford Levels alongside the Book Band colours on the back of each Oxford Reading Tree book.  The document below shows the full table of Oxford Levels and Book Bands used in primary schools.  From this table, you can find out which Level is best suited to your child, and how Levels 1–20 relate to Book Bands.  This information is intended as a guide only.

Phonics

Letters and Sounds

Letters and Sounds is a phonics resource published by the Department for Education and Skills in 2007. It aims to build children's speaking and listening skills in their own right as well as to prepare children for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. It sets out a detailed and systematic programme for teaching phonic skills for children starting by the age of five, with the aim of them becoming fluent readers by age seven.

Phonics

Phonics is the teaching of letters and sounds which makes up the decoding part of reading and spelling.

At Longwick we follow the six phases of the Department for Education's strategy for phonics: Letters and Sounds: Principles and Practice of High Quality Phonics. These are taught taught systematically through phases one to six throughout the Reception Year and in Years One and Two. The principles of phonics underpin all reading and spelling skills taught thereafter.

Teachers use assessment for learning and the Letters and Sounds end of phase assessments to track and review children’s progress. Children will progress through the six phases of Letters and Sounds, beginning with Phase one in Reception. By the end of the Summer Term, Reception children should be familiar up to the end of Phase Three. By the end of Year 2, children should be proficient in their phonics knowledge and have completed Phase Six of Letters and Sounds.

Children in Year 2 who did not meet the required standard for phonics and need more work on ‘decoding’ and ‘word reading’ skills, will have opportunities to practice this using daily phonics sessions. Children in Year 3 and older who need further phonic intervention work will do so through targeted interventions.

Aspirations For The Future

Pupils develop an understanding of how subjects and specific skills are linked to future jobs.

Here are some of the jobs you could aspire to do in the future as a Reader and Writer:

• Publicity Assistant
• Stage Director
• Song Writer
• Entertainment Manager
• Social Media Consultant
• Cartoonist