English

The English Curriculum at Melling St Wilfrid Primary School underpins each and every subject, supporting our children's abilities to become knowledgable through reading widely, seeing themselves as 'real writers' and communicating confidently. We aim to inspire and challenge our children to speak and write fluently, enabling them to effectively communicate their ideas and emotions to others. 

Reading

We hope our pupils will foster a life-long love of reading, providing them with the opportunity to explore new ideas, visit new places and meet new characters. Through reading, pupils have the chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. The children are encouraged to read widely, exploring both fiction and non-fiction texts, which introduces them to new and exciting vocabulary.

For our strategies for early reading and phonics please see our phonics page.

Pupils are encouraged and supported to become confident, enthusiastic, critical and independent readers. They are given opportunities to experience print produced in a variety of forms and for a variety of purposes and to read for information, interest and enjoyment. 

We have a wealth of resources and books to support pupils in continuing their reading journey in Key Stage 2. Where appropriate, pupils have access to age appropriate banded books to support their next steps. Children who are free readers may also bring a book of their own choice from home with the agreement of their teacher.

At Key Stage 2 (and KS1 where appropriate)  Accelerated reader is used. Children take on online reading test and can then select their books to read individually from a wide band. When the book is finished they take an online quiz which assesses their understanding of the text. Children collect points for reading and earn rewards. 

Parents are asked to listen to their child read and ask questions about the book to check comprehension, making comments in the reading record book.

Writing

Writing is taught through transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing). In Key Stage 1, children are taught spelling through learning to segment in phonics sessions. From Year 2, the children learn and are encouraged to explore spelling rules. This continues through Key Stage 2, leading to their development as independent and accurate spellers, who are confident with adventurous vocabulary. 

The children are provided with varying stimulus such as drama and reading, to support their ideas for writing. We use Literacy Tree to base planning around quality vocabulary rich texts which provides  valuable writing opportunities. Each year group have mapped out writing opportunities which culminate in scaffolded and independent writing, rich with vocabulary and varying grammatical skills.

Handwriting

We teach handwriting from Reception all the way through to develop children's presentation skills and fine motor skills. Children are encouraged to take pride in their work and present it with thought and care.

Spelling

Our aim at Melling is to teach the children to develop a range of personal strategies for learning spellings, and for checking and proofreading spellings in their own writing.  Building on the phonics they begin to learn in Foundation, the children are taught how to write and spell words correctly. From Year 2,

In Key Stage 2, spelling activities will be sent home on a regular basis as an extension of the work completed in school, and will involve exploring a particular spelling rule or pattern. The children will complete regular spelling tests in school to assess their understanding.