Literacy Key Stage 1

Curriculum Co-ordinators: Jacqueline Hewitt & Karen Booth-Clibborn

We aim to help the children communicate well in all four areas of the Literacy curriculum: speaking and listening and reading and writing. Systematic and progressive phonic work ensures that children develop in all four areas of the language curriculum and that they are able both to speak and listen for a wide range of purposes and also to read and write, both on paper and on screen.

Children read everyday, either individually or in small guided reading groups, and shared reading is often a part of the Literacy lesson. Children experience a wide range of text types, both through direct teaching and more informally, while sharing a story is an important routine at the end of the day.

Writing should be enjoyable also. Handwriting is practised regularly each week and the children are given opportunities to write for pleasure, as well as within the Literacy lesson. We aim to make the children imaginative and inspired writers and by the end of Year Two, pupils will have written poems, simple play scripts and creative stories, as well as information texts, instructions and more. We celebrate the children’s work through our displays, class anthologies and storybooks.

Book Week, held in the Spring Term, is a celebration of all things literary. The children have the opportunity to create their own books, share their favourite stories, meet children’s authors, dress up in character and much more.

By the time they are ready to move on to the Prep School, we aim for the children to be able to share their views and listen well to others, as well as to be confident readers and enthusiastic writers.