English

Curriculum Intent

At St Clare's Catholic Primary School we aim to create an environment in which thinking, listening, speaking, reading and writing serve as the foundation for lifelong learning.

We want all pupils to read fluently, with good understanding and develop a love of reading.

We want all of our pupils to read widely and regularly both in school and outside for both pleasure and information.

To teach reading at St Clare's we use the Oxford Reading Tree Scheme along with the Phonic Bug scheme for readers in EYFS & KS1. Readers in KS2 can select from a range of books including Treetops reading scheme books as well as library books.

We strive to ensure that all children acquire a rich and varied vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and an awareness of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language.

We want our pupils to develop an appreciation of the breadth of literature written by English and multi-cultural authors so that they develop an appreciation of our rich literary heritage and that of many other cultures too.

We wish our pupils to write clearly and accurately across a range of genre for a variety of purposes and for different audiences.

Literacy at St. Clare's means not only to read, write, speak, and listen, but also to use language to learn, think, and communicate effectively.

You can help your child by:

• Be a good role model for your child – let them see you enjoying reading and writing as often as you can.
• Read with your child as often as you can and record their achievements in the yellow 'Reading Record' booklet – always praise their effort and make the time relaxed and positive.
• Find as many ‘real’ reasons to read and write i.e. A letter to Father Christmas, cards to relatives, party invitations, maybe even a letter to their favourite author.
• Come and join in some of our parents courses – it will help you understand phonics and the way we teach early reading.
• Make sure you and your child read for fun – borrow books from school, the library or access some of the learning materials on the internet.
• Immerse your child in as many different experiences as you can and talk with them – the more they experience and reflect upon those experiences, the more their language they will develop (e.g. visits to the museum or walks to the park).

World Book Day

A CELEBRATION OF READING

During March schools all over the world celebrate World Book Day.

Here at St. Clare's there is a great tradition and much anticipation about our annual celebration of reading, books, stories and characters. This year was no exception! So many children and staff participated in dressing up in a costume of a character from their favourite book or story. The creativity and ingenuity that some families have never fails to amaze us!

Our assembly was awash with interesting and amazing characters; some old, some new, some instantly recognisable others not so.

This stimulates a love of reading and a thirst to find out more about books and characters, which in turn fosters pleasure in reading, which is vital in today's technological world.

David Mason, an author and poet came to entertain the children with his stories and poems. He worked with some year groups to write and perform their own poems.

We even had a Roald Dahl themed menu, designed by the children in Year 6.

Volunteer Readers

We are delighted to have a willing group of volunteers who come to school each week to read with our children. These volunteers include: parents, retired staff members and ex-pupils. They are a valuable asset to the children as they provide one-to-one reading time and discussion about characters and themes. We are so grateful to them all for their time and dedication. If you have a spare morning or afternoon and would like to share your love of reading with our children, please approach Mrs Pilkington or speak to the office staff.