At Norton Primary School we strongly believe that reading is an essential life skill and are fully committed to helping all of our children to become confident, fluent lifelong readers by the time they leave Norton. We have high expectations of all of our children and ensure they all have equal opportunities to develop as readers.
It is a priority for us that: children have access to thought provoking text types, are given regular reading for pleasure opportunities, experience adults enjoying reading and that they can take ownership in their reading.Phonics enables children to learn to segment words which supports their spelling. It also develops the skills to blend sounds in order to read words. The teaching of phonics is of high priority at our school. Our phonics progression (see separate document) clearly shows what we would like each child to achieve in each term. We are now delivering phonics following the progression from a scheme named ‘Unlocking letters and sounds.’ This is very similar to the progression of Letters and Sounds that has been delivered for many years at Norton. The advantage of using the ULS is that it provides engaging resources to support the teaching and learning that is taking place. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate in contacting your child’s class teacher.
At Norton School, we recognise that English skills underpin all elements of the school curriculum, and are an essential life-skill. Considering the fundamental importance of Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing in everyday life, we are driven by the need to develop each learner’s skills and knowledge, thus enabling them to play a full part in society; equipping them for Secondary School and beyond. We do this by following the National Curriculum (NC) for English – Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing.
In addition, we endeavour to instil a love of Reading and Writing in our children which will stay with them - through a creative approach which is underpinned by experiences and purpose.
Our writing at Norton school is largely based around current classroom themes; providing an initial stimulus that captures the attention and excitement of children and which allows children to engage with their writing. Writing opportunities are planned with real life audiences and purposes in mind. These being to: persuade, inform, entertain and discuss.