English

Reading:

 At St Joseph’s, we use a wide range of books which are tailored for children’s needs. These are phonics based in Reception and Year 1 ensuring that they match the phonic knowledge of each child. As the children progress through school, they move onto books which are organised in bands and matched to the ability of individual readers.  

There is a wealth of other books around school, in the classrooms and library which help to further develop a love of reading.

Classrooms in EYFS and Year 1 have a book basket where books they have shared together are placed for children to keep re-reading - an important part of their reading journey, whilst every class has beautiful and inviting book corners for children to select from. 

Reading skills are woven through guided reading and whole class reading sessions in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 using a variety of texts and extracts to both excite and challenge.

Key Stage 1 reading domains:

Key Stage 2 reading domains:

In order to develop prosody, automaticity and fluency, teaching staff adopt an 'I Do, We do, You do' approach modelling how to read with expression, diction and pace suitable to the class.

This equips all learners to develop the reading skills required to read across the curriculum and to develop as a reader themselves. 

Writing:

The school teaches writing by ensuring that children have opportunities to write for different purposes and that they have been exposed to rich and beautiful texts. Throughout their writing, children will have unpicked how authors create a variety of effects through word choices and will be shown how to craft their own sentences.

Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling expectations:

Books and Biscuits is a weekly drop-in for parents to read with their children. This has proven really popular with children from the younger classes, but all are welcome!

More recently, our eager Reading Ambassadors have joined forces with our intrepid Eco-Councillors to run a book swap in school. Due to the success of this event, we are planning to run termly book swap sessions, so please do watch this space!