English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development.

Reading

At Rollesby Primary School with Nursery, we use the Power Of Reading program of resources, to help our pupils to develop their reading skills to the expected standard and beyond.

The Power of Reading is CLPE’s proven resource and training programme which uses quality children’s literature and creative teaching approaches to support schools to develop a high quality literacy curriculum and foster a whole school love of reading and writing.

Phonics

We use the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme to teach our children to read. Read Write Inc. is an Ofsted recommended and highly acclaimed phonics programme which teaches children the ‘Simple View of Reading’, how letters and sounds in English are related (the alphabetic code). The children rapidly learn sounds and the letter or groups of letters they need to represent those sounds. Using Read Write Inc., the children learn to read effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read.

Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils: 

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding 
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage 
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences 
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas 
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.