English

Language is the principal means of making sense of our experience of the world and of communicating< with others. The children are the starting point of our language policy. We look at their interests and needs, and organise the way we teach language around them. We aim to help pupils gain confidence and expertise in their development as readers, writers, speakers and listeners, by providing opportunities to work in a variety of situations, on their own or in groups.

 

Children are encouraged to take books home. ‘Home / School Liaison Books’ are used to provide not only a record of what each child has read, but also a means of providing an exchange of information between teacher, parent and child. There are designated silent reading times in class and the sharing of books is encouraged through ‘Reading Partners’, where younger children pair up with an older child to share and enjoy books. Teachers hear younger children read every day and we encourage parents to do the same. Older children are also heard in a variety of contexts, in groups or as individuals. Several volunteers attend the school on a regular basis to assist teachers with hearing individual readers—there’s no substitute for telling a story to someone else! We also have an annual Book Week, when poems and stories are given a high profile within school, and occasional Book Fairs where parents and children can choose and purchase books together. Whilst the School Library, housed in a dedicated extension off the main school hall, is well stocked with carefully chosen non-fiction and well used by children, the pupils’ core readers are located in their classrooms where they need them.

 

Phonics teaching is an important strand of our eclectic approach to the teaching of language: we use a structured approach to synthetic phonics, following a rapid progression through the basic word building sounds. Pupils are also given words to learn by sight, in line with the recommended word lists of the National Primary Strategy.

We aim to show the children the reason for writing and the enjoyment it can give. From the beginning, pupils are taught to write letters carefully and are introduced to joined up writing at a stage appropriate for them. We use a whole school approach to letter formation and parents may wish to look at our web sight for more information about correct letter formation—there is no absolute correct way to form letters, but at Malvern Wells we follow the well respected Nelson Handwriting approach—it’s important that we all stick to the same letter shapes and rules!

 

As children’s language matures, we are able to provide them with experiences of the rich tapestry of literature that really stimulate a love of reading and writing for different purposes. At Malvern Wells we are very proud of the way that our older children converse and the range of books they read. By the end of their time here, pupils are often able to write at a level of sophistication way beyond that which can be expected for their age: more importantly, however, all will have made significant progress during their time at the school, so that they are equipped with the tools of language required to go ahead into the next phase of their education and learn effectively across the curriculum.