At Newdigate Primary and Nursery School, reading and writing skills are a fundamental part of our school’s curriculum. We recognise that books are a rich source of new words for your child and that developing their reading skills will enhance the quality and variety of language used within their writing. Therefore we encourage all children to develop a reading for pleasure to enable them to become life-long readers and we aspire for children to immerse themselves into the rich and varied literature offered, to encourage children to express their ideas, creating innovative and imaginative writing.

From a very early age, children develop their awareness of the different sounds through the spoken language. Reading and writing are integral parts of our EYFS curriculum. The children are given opportunities to read and understand simple sentences, while applying their phonics knowledge to read and spell words, on a daily basis.

In Key Stage 1 and Key stage 2, children continue extending and improving their reading and writing skills with high-quality and rich texts to support their learning. Children read every day and are encouraged to become independent readers, as they move through the school.

The children at Newdigate are given opportunities to immerse themselves in a range of book genres, where they can develop their writing skills in a variety of informal and formal styles. Children are given opportunities to enhance and build on their writing through discussions, group work and role-playing. We recognise that drama plays an integral role in the growth and enhancement of vocabulary, language and communication and therefore, children are given the chance to explore and express themselves through role-playing activities. By providing the children with a variety of tools and stimuli, they are able to build a clear sense of writing for purpose and are encouraged to think carefully about their intended audience. As stated in the 2014 National Curriculum, children follow the writing process of: plan, draft, edit, proof-read and present, where applicable.

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar.

The teaching of Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar are a life skill and therefore are incorporated into our English lessons. It is important that the children write and produce their thoughts in an effective way, which are well-articulated within their writing. The quality of writing is deepened and enriched by the integration of spelling, punctuation and grammar and allows children to present information in an effective way to suit its purpose.

In Reception and KS1, daily phonics is taught as it is fundamental to the children’s learning of spelling. In KS2, children are provided with weekly spelling tests, focusing on specific spelling rules. Children across the school are given the chance to practise these spellings on ‘Spelling Shed’ to support them on becoming successful spellers.

Handwriting

Our school follows the Nelson Handwriting Scheme for teaching handwriting. In Early Years, a preparation approach is taken with a range of activities linked to the Physical Development aspect of the curriculum and from Nursery onwards, correct pencil grip is to be developed.

Handwriting is taught each week, and is also an integral part of spelling, phonics, literacy and other subject areas.