From an early age, pupils learn to love reading.Ofsted 2020
We aim for children to leave Cranbourne as fluent readers with a real love of books.
Our early reading is taught using "Little Wandle Letters and Sounds" (see phonics section below). Just as important is the time spent sharing books and stories.
Children in reception, year 1 and year 2 have dedicated phonics lessons, which build towards reading lessons. See phonics section below.
Key Stage 2 - Each class has at least 3 whole class reading lessons a week where reading skills are taught. Phonics and word building are an integral part of supporting children to become fluent treaders. Appropriate level books are sent home for the children to read with an adult and these are then discussed in a reading conference with the class teacher or a TA each week. In Upper KS2 the children have a greater level of choice of the books they read, and the number of pages to read each week is suggested.
As a school, we also want children to read for pleasure and there are lots of opportunities for this during the week especially though our Essential Writing scheme units. We have a well-stocked library and children are encouraged to take books home to read on a regular basis.
Cranbourne Reading SpineQuestions to support KS1 reading at home
Questions to suport KS2 reading at homeKey texts used at Cranbourne
100 books to read in Years 5 and 6 page 1
100 books to read in Years 5 and 6 page 2
100 books to read in Years 5 and 6 page 3
100 books to read in Years 5 and 6 page 4
100 books to read in Years 5 and 6 page 5
Children are taught early reading using "Little Wandle Letters and Sounds". Two useful links to their website are below. Most children have mastered their phonics by the time they leave year 2, but extra support is put into KS2 for those who need it, and we match reading books to assessments of their phonic/reading skills. All KS2 classes have a phonics mat on display and this is regularly referred to during lessons.
Little Wandle resources for parentsLittle Wandle reading for pleasure
Spelling is a key feature of achieving age related expectations in all year groups. At Cranbourne we have adpoted the HFL Education's ESSENTIAL SPELLING programme as the basis of our spelling curriculm. Through the ESSENTIAL WRITING scheme, the children are supported to apply this learning in context and build their spelling confidence. All the writing models reflect age-approrate spelling objectives and children are taught how to edit for accuracy of spelling.
The statutory spelling lists for years 3 and 4 and years 5 and 6 are referred to regularly and we ask parents to support their children in learning the words on these lists.
Spellings are not sent home weekly for children to learn for a test as research shows that this is not an effective way to learn spelling. However they will ask to practise the spelling conventions which are being taught in class.
When learning words, children are encouraged to think about the root word and how it can be extended by using prefixes and suffixes. Knowing the etymology of a word is also useful in helping children to define unknown words. For example, if a child recognises that "auto" means "by itself", this will help them to decode and spell words like autopilot and automatic. Similarly, if they understand that the root word "bio" is Greek for "life" and that "graph" is Greek for "written", they can use this knowledge to unpick the meaning of biography. If they combine all this knowledge, they should be able to grasp autobiography too.
Year 3 and 4 words alphabetically
Year 3 and 4 word list in spelling groups
Year 5 and 6 word list in spelling groups
Speaking and Listening
This is a very important part of the English curriculum and is the basis of a lot of the work that we do. If children cannot talk in sentences they cannot write in sentences. Our children are given lots of opportunities to talk within lessons and to rehearse what they may later write. Where possible, we have theatre groups visiting school so that the children see actors performing lines with expression and enthusiasm. These visits help the children when taking part in their own year groups plays each year.
Writing and Handwriting
At Cranbourne, we believe that every child is a writer. We are passionate about developing every child’s knowledge, motivation and confidence in their writing. Since September 2024, we have been following the HFL Education's ESSENTIAL WRITING as a basis of our writing curriculum for years 1 - 6. This is an ambitious and progressive writing scheme which provides our children with opportunities and tools to write for a range of specific purposes and authentic audiences. As a result, our children feel inspired and ready to write high-quality outcomes within the classroom but also have the knowledge, strategies and confidence to choose to write in their own lives.
Each year group has 13-16 teaching units, all of which use diverse and high-quality literature as good examples of writing craft and to help to motivate or inspire children to write and these texts form the basis of our reading spine too.
ESSENTIALWRITING is fully aligned with the National Curriculum for English including writing composition, vocabulary, grammar & punctuation for each year group. Each writing unit is progressively structured and centred around the different writing purposes: to entertain; to inform; to persuade and to discuss.
ssentialwriting_core_texts_y1_y6_overview.pdfssentialwriting_y1_long_term_overview.pdfssentialwriting_y1_long_term_overview.pdf
essentialwriting_y2_long_term_overview.pdf
essentialwriting_y3_long_term_overview.pdf
essentialwriting_y4_long_term_overview.pdf
essentialwriting_y5_long_term_overview.pdf
essentialwriting_y6_long_term_overview.pdfAt Cranbourne we encourage children to take a pride in their work and to develop a fluent, legible hand. We use the Nelson Handwriting scheme throughout the school to ensure that every child gains sufficient fluency for writing, with knowledge of accurate letter formation and how to join letters so that they can meet the National Curriculum expectations for each key stage. Children are taught to join from year 2 as this is an essential skill in order to obtain age related expectations at the end of KS2.
