Reading

Reading is a huge priority for us at Helpringham Primary School. Our children have access to a wide range of high-quality books in their classrooms and around the school in many displays.

Our reading scheme is based around the Read, Write Inc. scheme. We encourage our children to develop a love for reading through our regular guided reading sessions which happen daily across the school as well as regular 'reading for pleasure' activities which take place in classrooms, reading areas and in our school library. We place a high emphasis on the children hearing stories being read to them which is why we have a clear, progressive framework for the class novels and shared texts. 

Our 'Battle of the Books' assembly on Tuesday's is thoroughly enjoyed by the children. Each week they vote for which book will be read in the assembly the following week. At the end of the assembly the children reflect on which of our school values are represented in the book and why. 

Take a look at the class novels we share during Year B of our curriculum. We love reading and sharing new books. 

Writing

In writing, pupils work individually, in pairs, groups or as a whole class to plan, draft, redraft, edit and present a range of writing genres. Teachers aim to ensure a balance of sentence and word level work across the week. A strong emphasis upon spelling, punctuation and grammar is undertaken through daily input, either during a lesson or through everyday routines. Pupils work independently, in small groups, collaboratively, peer to peer and as a class. Continuous assessment throughout a lesson allows teachers to address any misconceptions straight away and also to take learning forward. The plenary is used to reinforce and revisit objectives, as well as to consolidate learning and for assessment. Independent writing tasks offers the children a complete writing experience. Children in KS1 are regularly given the opportunity to write at length in order to utilise and demonstrate the skills they have learnt.

The children are taught to write using a cursive handwriting style with our nursery and reception children using a pre-cursive style. Joining is encouraged for our children in Year 2 and above. We used the PenPals scheme to support our teaching of handwriting. 

Our curriculum vision document below demonstrates how Reading links to our whole school vision, supporting our children to develop their sense of themselves, others and the world.