At St John’s Primary Academy, we believe that language is a vital building block in child development, and we aim to equip all of our children with the knowledge, skills and tools they will need.
We believe that developing a love of writing, alongside secure literacy skills, will open many doors to our children and help them flourish in other curriculum subjects.
We want our children to draw upon a rich exposure to quality literature so that throughout the writing process, they can write as a reader and read as a writer.
We want all children to have a solid understanding of grammar and apply it effectively to their writing.
We want all children to acquire a wide range of vocabulary and to spell new words by effectively using taught spelling patterns and rules.
We want our children to have the written skills and knowledge to be able to effectively communicate and express ideas, opinions and emotions.
We believe that developing a love of reading, writing and discussion, alongside secure literacy skills, will open many doors to our children and help them flourish in other curriculum subjects.
We are passionate about developing a love of reading and we immerse our pupils in quality texts that will enthuse and inspire them to learn, imagine and discover. Through carefully chosen texts, we want to build awareness of global issues such as conservation of the environment and people fleeing conflict, to help our pupils to have aspirations and to be tolerant and kind members of society.
Alongside our British values and our school values, we want our children to develop emotionally, culturally, socially and intellectually. We believe through reading, writing and spoken language, children can develop essential skills to communicate their thoughts, ideas and emotions fluently and accurately. These tools will enable our children to participate fully as a member of society, giving them a voice to share their ideas with the world.
In Phonics the children learn the Monster Phonics actions to support their learning/retention of grapheme sound correspondence. Phonics lessons happen daily in EYFS and KS1.
In EYFS and Year 1 children take home two reading books a week. These are:
1) An 'independent book' which is fully decodable and matched to the child's current phonics skill level. They are able to read this book independently without any support.
2) A 'reading for pleasure book'. This book is chosen by the child from a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books. This is a book parents/carers can read to and share with their child.
Year 2 children take home three reading books a week which include an 'independent book', a 'reading for pleasure book' and an additional 'sharing book'.
A 'sharing book'. This book comes from a book banded scheme (including Oxford Reading Tree, Floppy Phonics and Project X). These books are slightly more challenging and may contain a couple of words or sounds that the children may need support with.