English
Phonics
We are passionate about ensuring that all children become confident and enthusiastic readers and writers, and we believe that phonics provides the foundations for these skills. In order to support this aim we follow the Little Wandle: Letters and Sounds Revised phonics scheme.
The Little Wandle progression information can be downloaded below.
READING (including phonics)
In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, we follow the Little Wandle Phonics and Fluency Scheme. Lexia is also used in Years 1 and 2 to support and assess reading.
In Year 3, children continue with Little Wandle Fluency. Those who have completed the phonics programme move on to reading independently, with progress tracked using Accelerated Reader. Children still on phonics are assessed through Little Wandle.
In Year 4, pupils still completing the phonics programme continue with Little Wandle, while others begin FREDs Fluent in Five. Assessment continues through Accelerated Reader and Little Wandle, depending on the child’s stage.
In Years 5 and 6, children follow FREDs Fluent in Five (Whole Class Reading), with progress monitored through Accelerated Reader. Any pupils still requiring phonics support are assessed using Little Wandle.
We also provide targeted interventions including Little Wandle Keep-Up, Little Wandle Rapid Catch-Up, Phonological Awareness, Learning Village, and Lexia to ensure every child gets the support they need.
Each class visits our school library weekly, Cranleigh Library each half-term, and reads a text together every half-term. This exposes pupils to a wide range of authors, settings, themes, and historical periods. These sessions are all designed to inspire a love of reading.
Writing
We follow the Talk for Writing approach to teach Writing throughout the school.
Talk for Writing has an outstanding impact on schools and is based on the principles of how people learn. Children move from imitating texts through to innovating them and then apply knowledge learnt in the final independent application stage.
Typically, schools have found that children initially double their rate of progress and, where the approach has been applied systematically across a setting, many schools have moved from dire results to outstanding success. Schools already performing well have not only increased attainment, but also enjoyment and engagement.
We use The Place Value of Punctuation and Grammar scheme from Grammarsaurus to support the teaching of Writing across the school. This carefully structured programme is designed to build children's knowledge and confidence in punctuation and grammar by linking each concept to its 'place value' within a sentence. Just as place value helps children understand the value of numbers, this approach helps them understand how different grammar and punctuation choices impact writing.
The scheme offers a consistent progression from Year 1 to Year 6, with engaging, well-sequenced lessons and visual supports. It enables pupils to apply grammatical concepts effectively in their own writing.
handwriting
We use Letter-join throughout the school to teach handwriting. Documents attached below.
For more information, please contact our overall English Lead Mrs N Jackson on 01483 273286.
Phonics - Reception and Year 1 Long-Term Progression Overview
Writing Long Term Plan - 2024-25
Whole School Progression in Skills - Speaking, Reading and Writing