READING:

"I love Library Club because we get to share books with children in other year groups and there’s so many great books to choose from in our library."

At Market Harborough CE Academy, reading is at the heart of our curriculum and it is therefore one of our core Golden Threads; ‘Confident Communicators, Passionate Readers’. 

In education, we know that reading is fundamental for our children’s future. Those children who read and keep reading have better academic outcomes at 16 and are more likely to be involved in their community, which is why we know that we play a vital role in developing the children’s love of reading, seeing how books open up a whole new world to investigate!  

Our aim is for all children to become fluent, competent, and expressive readers. To achieve this, the children are given daily opportunities independent reading, as well as sharing the enjoyment of a book with their class. The children are taught a number of skills, so they can fully explore the text, such as summarising, finding information and making predictions. These are known as our Reading Gems. 

Through the phonics scheme, which is introduced in EYFS at the start of the year, we provide the children with the necessary skills to develop their skills and fluency of reading, and continue to foster their love of Reading with a staged scheme right through to the end of Year 6. 

We also have a stunning library designed as an enchanted forest with a winding path leading through the bookshelves, reading buddies where our older children support our younger children with their reading, classroom reading corners and the challenge of completing each year group’s Top 20 book list. In addition to all of this, the children are provided with regular opportunities to read aloud in the classroom, in assembly, and to the wider community. 

Our Library & the 'Top 20 Books' for each year:

 

WRITING:

"First, we work together to study a book, poem or video and collect ambitious vocabulary. Next, we put our ideas down as a draft. Then, we revise our drafts by choosing different adjectives or checking it makes sense. Finally, we get to show off everything we’ve learnt in our Hot Write, which we do in our best handwriting. We make our writing even better when we use our purple polishing pens to edit for punctuation and check we’ve used the right spellings."

Using a range of genres and engaging, real-life stimuli, children across the school draft, revise and edit their writing to produce high quality outcomes; some of which are shared with the community through displays and recitals.

In addition, Foundation and Key Stage 1 follow Sounds-Write; a linguistic based phonics programme that teaches children to read, write and spell from the sounds they say and hear.

Key Stage 2 spelling sessions follow a Word Study approach to identify patterns within word lists and discuss their etymology.

Through modelling, children self and peer assess against their year group expectations for content, structure, and grammar from Learn-AT’s English Curriculum.

We use Schofield and Sims resources to structure our approach to the teaching of handwriting. Children progress from making patterns, to forming printed letters, and then to developing a joined handwriting style.

 

PHONICS

At Market Harborough Church of England Academy, we believe the teaching of phonics is a fundamental skill, which will form the basis of the children’s learning throughout their school journey. To ensure the children get off to the best start, we have a structured approach to the delivery of phonics using a programme called Sounds Write, and children in EYFS and Key Stage 1 have a daily session.

The programme begins by teaching an ‘Initial Code’. During this phase, the children learn that:

• sounds can be represented by spellings with one letter.
• that some spellings are written with a double consonant.
• some spellings are written with two different letters.

Once the children are confident with applying this understanding in their reading and spelling, they move onto the ‘Extended Code’ when they move into Year 1. During this phase, the children learn:

• a spelling can represent more than one sound.
• the most common sounds represented by the target spelling.
• how to manipulate alternative sounds in and out of words.

Our aim is to give the children the skills to read fluently, which in turn leads to the skill of comprehension and reading enjoyment. We are passionate in our belief that reading opens the door for children to explore a whole new world beyond the classroom.  We want our children to be passionate readers and confident communicators.

 

 

ORACY:

"I like to use new vocabulary that I have learnt as it makes me feel clever when I am talking!"

At Market Harborough Church of England Academy, we want our children to be confident communicators. We aim to provide oracy-rich classrooms where talk is valued. Good communication skills feed into all areas of the curriculum and prepare children for participation in the wider community.

In all areas of the curriculum, children are encouraged to answer questions thoroughly using rehearsed sentences, sentence stems and sentences that are modelled by the teacher. We ask them to speak in full sentences and extend their answers by prompting them and asking further questions.

In Foundation stage and Key Stage 1, oracy is developed through story time, role-play, modelled vocabulary and partner talk. In Key Stage 2, our children are encouraged to discuss topics and hold debates as well as perform in pairs, small groups and as a class.

Children across school are encouraged to listen attentively and respond accordingly. They have opportunities to discuss, explain and describe situations whilst considering the points of view of others. They learn to use language in imaginative ways and to express their ideas and feelings through drama and through sharing stories, they present in assemblies, perform in school productions, do readings in church services, share their work with the peers and perform poetry recitals to name but a few.