English

English at Fosse Mead is an engaging and exciting subject in which pupils are exposed to a range of high-quality texts both fiction and non-fiction which are all connected to our wider curriculum. Our English curriculum ensures that children are provided with the opportunity to read and write for a range of different purposes and audiences and ensures that they are developing rich and varied vocabulary.

Phonics

Phonics and RWI

At Fosse we follow the Ruth Miskin (RWI) programme for phonics and early reading. This starts our children’s journey to becoming a fluent reader. The programme begins by focusing on recognising letters and sounds and then taking this knowledge to decode and blend. The reading journey begins in EYFS where children are exposed to daily sessions leading up to 60 minutes in duration by the Summer Term. This continues into Key Stage One until the Phonics programme is complete. As the child’s understanding of how letters, sounds and words becomes more competent, our focus changes to comprehension and knowing what has been read.

All children who join Fosse Mead Primary Academy are assessed on the following flow chart to ensure they are receiving the correct teaching for their needs.

Fosse’s Reading Journey Flow Chart

Please follow the link to access free videos to support your child with phonics and reading.

Ruth Miskin School Portal

Writing

Our Writing curriculum is closely linked to our wider curriculum which provides children with the understanding and knowledge they need to be able to write for a range of purposes. This incorporates a range of strategies which allows our children to write for meaning and communication. Within English, children take part in daily handwriting, spelling and grammar sessions and are given the opportunity to write across a range of text types including narratives, discursive, reports, descriptions and explanations. Our writing curriculum constantly revisits prior grammatical skills and builds on these as the children progress through Fosse Mead allowing them to have an awareness of the reader and use grammar and vocabulary effectively to help them to convey meaning and write cohesively.

Within writing, children across Fosse Mead are taught the Alan Peat sentence types. The different sentence types taught in each year group can be found here: Alan Peat Sentence Progression

Reading

Alongside our Writing curriculum, Accelerated Reader is used to ensure our pupils are reading appropriate books that challenge and engage them. Teachers use Accelerated Reader to help select finely matched books for children who progress through their Zone of Proximal Development levels. Every term we hold an Accelerated Reader celebration assembly to celebrate the children’s successes. Children from Year 2 and beyond will be exposed to 3 x weekly Fluency or Whole Class Reading Sessions. This is in addition to their own personal reading journey. Fluency provides our children with the skills to become fluent readers whilst Whole Class Reading holds a focus on comprehension equips them with the skills and strategies to be able to understand a familiar text.

Where children are new to their journey of learning, they are assessed and the most appropriate teaching is put in place to enable progress.