At Locks Heath Junior School, we believe that at the basis of all learning is the ability to be able to communicate and this achieved through gaining mastery and fluency in both reading and writing.

Our vision

• English is at heart of the whole curriculum. Our children will leave the Primary Phase as skilled communicators with a passion for the spoken and written word having been exposed to a wide range of high-quality texts and speaking opportunities.
• Our ambitious and challenging curriculum is designed to meet the needs of all our children and will progressively build skills, knowledge and understanding in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and handwriting.
• Through exposure to a broad range of engaging texts, combined with the teaching of the necessary skills to decode and understand the texts they read, children will develop a life-long love of reading. They will leave the Primary Phase as enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers.
• Children will acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to master the craft of writing. Writing opportunities will be inspiring, enjoyable and with genuine purposes and outcomes.
• All children will leave the Primary Phase with a rich and varied vocabulary to apply in their written and spoken language which will give them the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life

Reading 

We aim for all children to develop a life-long love of reading during their time at Locks Heath Junior School. We achieve this by exposing children to a broad range of high-quality, engaging texts during dedicated guided reading lessons and through reading as a writer in our writing lessons. All children visit the library once a week where they are able to take out two books: a levelled book linked to the Accelerated Reader tests we carry out through the year and an additional book chosen for interest or for pleasure. 

Our experienced librarian can support children to select books. We aim to have events through the year which promote reading and encourage good reading habits in the children. There is also an expectation that parents will continue to share books with children at home as much as possible in order to continue to develop fluency and talk around reading.

Writing

In writing, we use a range of exciting, experiential hooks (such as exploring a dark, Egyptian Tomb or role-playing life in the Roman Army) and associated high-quality texts to inspire the children to write for a wide range of genuine purposes. We believe that it is important for children to realise the power of the communication of their writing first-hand.

There are three parts to our learning journeys

     1) text immersion 

     2) capture sift and sort - specific skills

     3) application - planning, editing, publishing 

Through our learning journeys we expose the children to rich vocabulary and focus on oracy skills through our dialogic talk approach. 

We teach grammar, punctuation and vocabulary through our class texts in order for children to be able to apply their new skills in context. Spelling is taught in three, discrete sessions across the week. Spellings are grouped in general rules or word families, and of course those from the statutory spelling lists for years 3&4 and years 5&6. Children are tested weekly. 

Below you will find the overview of the different year groups and their chosen texts each half term. You will see that we write for a range of purposes and audiences through the year to give children plenty of variety. 

Assessment

At Locks Heath Junior School we teach English according to the National Curriculum and assess Reading and Writing using the Hampshire Assessment Model.

Details of the aspects of reading and writing that are assessed during each teaching phase of the academic year can be found below for all year groups. 

If you have any questions or require any further information about how reading and writing is taught and assessed at Locks Heath Junior School, please contact Ms Dalgarno (English Leader) j.dalgarno@locksheath-jun.hants.sch.uk