Reading

Intention 

In Ditton C of E Junior School, we aim to develop the staff as reading experts to ensure that every child develops a love of reading. Children will learn to skilfully read and learn to decode and understand a range of genres as quickly as possible.  

The staff at Ditton C of E Junior School have a united understanding that reading is an essential skill for everyone. We use reading as a joy for learning and we strive to create a positive reading culture, where reading is at the heart of our curriculum.  

We intend to: 

• Allow opportunities for every child to be a reader. 
• Provide early readers the skills to be able to decode and segment words, so that they can read fluently. 
• Provide opportunities for children to respond and be inquisitive about what others and they have read. 
• Encourage enthusiasm and motivation in children’s reading for pleasure. 

• Support children in understanding what they have read.  
• Develop children’s confidence in reading a wide variety of genres. 
• Explore and expose children a wide range of authors and illustrators.  

Writing 

At Ditton C of E Junior School we believe that all children should be given the opportunity to confidently communicate their knowledge, express their ideas and understanding through their writing. As a team we want children to widen their vocabulary, and develop a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn throughout their time with us. We want to encourage them to write fluently, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. We believe that all children should strive to take pride in the presentation of their writing, developing a clear, joined, handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school. We know that all good writers refine and edit their writing over time, so we want children to develop independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvement in all pieces of writing, editing their work effectively during and after the writing process.

We as the teachers at Ditton C of E Junior School will achieve this by selecting a wide range of quality texts, including poetry, novels, plays and non-fiction. This may be linked to topics studied in class to enrich and enhance understanding and enjoyment. Teachers plan their writing activities with care, including specific skills sessions alongside spelling and creative writing tasks. Every aspect of the writing process, from planning, through writing, to editing, is modelled by the adults in the classroom to enable every learner to develop their skills in this area.

Grammar is taught both discretely and incidentally as a part of every writing session, developing the children’s understanding of terminology, correct use and the impact on a piece of writing, as well as being able to apply this in their writing. Teachers do not put any limitations on what children can achieve in writing and expect every child to be able to make progress, no matter what their starting point is.

You as parents and carers are hugely important in supporting your children to develop both their grammar, spelling and composition skills and encourage this through a home-school partnership to help parents and carers to understand how to enhance the skills being taught in school.