English
Phonics
At Edward Francis Primary School we use 'Animaphonics' to teach our youngest children to read. Within the first few full weeks of Reception, children will start taking part in daily, rigorous whole-class phonics lessons. These lessons usually last up to 20 minutes, and extend to 30 minutes per session in Year 1. Children will continue to consolidate their phonics skills daily at the start of Year 2, before moving on to spelling rules and patterns. During Phonics lessons, we will revisit previous sounds taught, teach a new sound or word, practise with games and activities, and then apply that sound by reading or writing it within words and sentences. Children who need a little more support will have regular extra practise in a small group with an adult.
Parents of children in EYFS will be updated on their child's learning via Tapestry and all children in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 will bring home Anima Phonics homework which relates directly to what is being taught in class.
In September. there will be a phonics meeting in which we will provide more detail about how we teach phonics and EFPS. Topics covered in the Phonics meeting include:
- What is phonics?
- How will my child be taught?
- How do I pronounce the phonic sounds?
- What will my child's books look like?
- How can I support my child at home?
Should you have any questions, or if you'd like additional phonics information, please contact fchapman@edwardfrancis.essex.sch.uk.
Animaphonics parents information booklet.pdf
Reading
Within all stages of reading development, we aim to develop comprehension and fluency whilst motivating children to read for pleasure. Through the teaching of reading we aim to develop confident readers who:
>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;
>appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage;
>develop a lifelong love of reading.
Across the school, comprehension skills are taught using the VIPERS mnemonic. Within reading lessons, children are taught to consider VIPERS:
V-Vocabulary
I- Inference
P- Prediction
E- Explain
R- Retrieval
S- Summarise/ Sequence skills
Parents and carers can support this development at home by asking deeper questions when reading with their child. Click here to view questions that link to each of the VIPERS skills that could be useful at home. Our reading curriculum can be found here.
Reading Books and Reading for Pleasure
At Edward Francis, we promote reading for pleasure. Once children are beyond their phonic journey, they can choose books from our reading scheme. The books within the scheme vary greatly in terms of content and book type, providing a great variety for children to choose from. Additionally, we have a wonderful library where the children can regularly select a book in addition to their school reading book.
Within day-to-day school life, children will enjoy a range of books read to them within class; read together within our reading curriculum; enjoyed as part of our writing curriculum and also within story assemblies. Additionally, each class will visit Rayleigh Library during the year to build that connection to books, ensuring every children has access to reading.
Writing
Through the teaching of writing we aim to develop independent writers who:
- Enjoy writing as a form of communication;
- Have an understanding of how authors use language to create mood and effect;
- Use languages effectively to communicate for a range of purposes to varying audiences;
- Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences;
- Write neatly and effectively in a way that is appropriate to purpose;
- Spell accurately and have an understanding of phonics principles
Across the school, we use a range of stimuli to base our writing upon. This includes stories, videos and non-fiction based texts. We have a purpose driven curriculum with children learning skills to be able to write to: entertain, persuade, discuss and inform.
Our writing curriculum can be found here (please note this document is a working document).
Spelling
At EFPS, we use Spelling Shed to support the teaching of spelling once the children have completed their phonics journey. All KS2 children can access the Spelling Shed website.
As part of the teaching of spelling, children are also asked to learn termly 'challenge words' across the year. For more information on this and how to use the Spelling Shed website, please use the links below.
Assignment Ranks and the Mastery Zone
Handwriting
Initially, children are taught to form their letters using print (pre-cursive). This is taught using a combination of Anima Phonics and Letterjoin schemes. We use formation phrases/ rhymes to support the children in learning to form the letters correctly. If you would like to view these phrases, click below:
Formation Phrases for Letter Formation
Once children are confident in this (usually from summer term in year one) they are taught to write cursively. Children are able to access the Letter-join website at home which is great for practising the formation of letters. Please see the link below for further information about this.
How to access Letter-join at home
How to join our letters at EFPS
Grammar
Grammar is taught throughout the school within English lessons. The links below provide some useful guidance to some of the terminology that the children are familiar with. These may also support any queries within homework that has been set.
Spoken Language
We recognise the importance of spoken language and encourage children to develop these skills throughout our curriculum. In addition, there are extra opportunities to apply such spoken language skills throughout the school including: participating within class councils and the School Council; question and answer sessions with visitors; performing within school productions and speaking within assemblies.
Our Spoken Language Curriculum is outlined here.