Core Curriculum
Phonics - Read Write Inc programme
Read Write Inc. Phonics, Literacy & Language, Fresh Start and Spelling are highly successful literacy programmes for 4-13 year-olds created by Ruth Miskin and published by Oxford University Press. The training and support from Ruth Miskin Training, rated Outstanding by the Department for Education, ensure the programmes have the best chance of success in schools.
The four Read Write Inc. programmes are carefully matched to the new curriculum, giving your children the best chance of success in the national tests. They show teachers, teaching assistants and parents step-by-step how to teach all children to become fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers.
At St Peter's, we use Read Write Inc. Phonics for our children in Nursery to Year 2 and for our children in Years 3 and 4 who need to catch up.
Read Write Inc. Phonics is used by over a quarter of the UK’s primary schools. It is a comprehensive literacy programme, weaving decoding, comprehension, writing and spelling together seamlessly. Ruth Miskin developed the programme during her time as a headteacher in Tower Hamlets. She believes that in order for a school to be successful, every headteacher needs to adopt a consistent whole-school approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling. Fidelity to the teaching programme, rigorous assessment, tracking and one-to-one tutoring ensure that schools guarantee progress for every child.
The children start the RWI programme in the Early Years Unit and begin by learning speed sounds set one. Once children are confident with set one, they progress onto sets two and three. As part of their learning they practise reading and spelling green words (which are words that are decodable using the sounds they have been taught). They also learn red words (which are words that aren’t easily phonically decodable). Children will work through the RWI programme at different rates but they will generally be working on the RWI programme in the Early Years Unit and Key Stage One.
Reading opens the door to learning. A child who reads a lot will become a good reader. A good reader will be able to read more challenging material. A child who reads challenging material is a child who will learn. The more a child learns, the more he or she will want to find out.
Using RWI, the children learn to read effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read. It also allows them to spell effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into composing what they write.
When using RWI to read the children will:
- learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple picture prompts
- learn to read words using Fred Talk
- read lively stories featuring words they have learned to sound out
- show that they comprehend the stories by answering questions.
When using RWI to write the children will:
- learn to write the letters/letter groups which represent 44 sounds.
- learn to write words by saying the sounds in Fred Talk
- write simple sentences
- compose stories based on picture strips
- compose a range of stories based on writing frames.
For information and tutorials on how to support your child learning to read go to: http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents/
- Read Write Inc Green Words Set 1
- Read Write Inc Green Words Set 2
- Read Write Inc Green Words Set 3
- Read Write Inc Red Words
- Year 1 Phonics meeting Feb 2024
English
At St Peter's, it is our intent to inspire all children to write by delivering an engaging and exciting curriculum. Additionally, we aim to help all children develop into articulate and imaginative communicators, who are well-equipped with the skills they need to become life-long learners. We believe that English is an essential part of the curriculum; a subject that not only stands alone, but one that should be an integral part of all learning.
Our English curriculum has been developed to recognise the importance of English in every aspect of daily life and to develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to deliver daily English lessons that inspire children and recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children love to read, take pride in their writing and can clearly and accurately adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and to be able to use discussion to communicate and further their learning.
By the end of Year Six we intend our children to have developed a love of writing and to be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively through the written word. We also intend to develop writers who can re-read, edit and improve their own writing, and enable children to be able to confidently use the essential skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling.
long term plans for english.pdf
Reading
At St Peter's, reading lies at the heart of our curriculum. We believe that reading is an essential life skill and it is our intent to empower our children to become lifelong readers by fostering a love of reading through listening to and interacting with a variety of literature, genres and authors.
We aim for children to be absorbed in as many opportunities to enjoy and celebrate reading as this skill enables children to develop their learning across the wider curriculum. By enriching children’s experiences through imaginative stories and thought-provoking texts, we aspire to lay the foundations for academic success.
We recognise the importance of taking a consistent whole school approach to the teaching of reading in order to close any gaps and to target the highest possible number of children attaining the expected standard or higher.
Maths
Mathematics is a core National Curriculum subject that is essential for everyday life and understanding our world. It enables the development of children’s natural ability to think logically, solve puzzles and real life problems. At St Peter's we recognise that maths is essential in daily life, equipping children with the vital skills and attitudes they need to succeed in the world. We want our children to recognise the significance of this curriculum subject and feel confident when using maths outside of the maths lesson.
We see mathematical reasoning as the bridge between fluency and problem solving, this is why we teach maths using the Mastery Approach – focusing on breadth and depth within each year group’s objectives. All children have the same opportunities to learn and are helped to fully grasp concepts through carefully scaffolded support. No children are considered ‘low ability’ or allowed to feel like they ‘can’t do’ maths. Instead a positive ‘can do’ attitude is encouraged and children are taught to enjoy working with numbers. When children have shown an understanding of concepts within their year group, they are encouraged to show and understand ‘more’ rather than being moved onto new content, thus deepening their understanding.
mathematics curriculum nursery to year 6.pdf
Science
At St Peter's we believe science is a body of knowledge built up through experimental testing of ideas. It is also methodology, a practical way of finding reliable answers to questions we may ask about the world around us. Children are naturally fascinated by everything around them and science in our school is about developing ideas and ways of working to help their environment make sense through different enquiries (research, observing over time, pattern seeking, fair and comparative test and identifying and classifying), as well as using and applying process skills (asking scientific questions, planning & setting up an enquiry, observing closely, taking measurements, gathering & recording results, presenting results, interpreting results, drawing conclusions, making predictions and evaluation). We are proud to have an extensive outdoor are where we enjoy learning about our environment outside in our wonderful grounds. At St Peter's, in conjunction with the aims of the National Curriculum, our Science teaching offers opportunities for children to develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. We endeavour to ensure that the Science curriculum we provide will give children the confidence and motivation to continue to further develop their skills into the next stage of their education and life experiences.
Religious Education
Our curriculum design in Religious Education reflects our commitment to learning through faith. Using the Understanding Christianity scheme allows us to revisit concepts and themes in a cyclical pattern, enabling pupils to develop their knowledge and understanding in Religious Education. An integral part of our learning is drawn from learning about world faiths. Opportunities to learn about a range of world faiths are presented from Foundation Stage all the way through to the end of Key Stage Two to ensure all pupils develop their knowledge and appreciation of world faiths that they may encounter in their lives. All teaching units are conceptual in their base, engaging children by working to answer an overarching conceptual question through their learning. Through Religious Education, our pupils are helped to understand the meaning of personal faith and the ways in which this is reflected in the lives of believers. We believe that we enable pupils to understand the way in which religious faith shapes the lives of believers and their approach to personal morality and social responsibility (with links to our school values). We recognise that everyone’s personal experiences are valuable and aim to take pupils from their individual starting points.