English
Oracy
Talking is fundamental to learning. Pupils are encouraged to speak clearly, confidently and with expression in order to state their ideas and opinions. Just as important is the need to listen carefully to others and respond in appropriate ways. At Broomfield, pupils are given opportunities in all areas of the curriculum to develop their speaking and listening skills, in paired, group or whole class situations.
Phonics
Synthetic phonics is a method of teaching reading which first teaches the letter sounds and then builds up to blending these sounds together to achieve full pronunciation of whole words.
Synthetic phonics teaches the phonemes (sounds) associated with the graphemes (letters). We use the Letters and Sounds Six Phase Programme which introduces the sounds associated with the letters at the rate of about one sound per day.
The sounds are taught on their own and then blended together (this is called synthesising), all-through-the-word. For example, children might be taught a short vowel sound (e.g. /a/e//i/o/u/) in addition to some consonant sounds (e.g. /s/, /t/, /p/). Then the children are taught words with these sounds (e.g. sat, sit, pat, pit, pot, tap, at, it). They are taught to pronounce each phoneme in a word, then to blend the phonemes together to form the word (e.g. /s/ – /i/ – /t/; “sit”).
We teach sounds in all positions of the words( for example /t/ at the beginning of the word “top”, but at the end of the word “pit” or in the middle of the word “pitch”), but the emphasis is on all-through-the-word segmenting and blending from the beginning of the programme.
We are rigorous in our approach making sure that our phonic teaching is fun and fast. Research evidence has shown that the most effective way to teach phonics is by using one main programme (in our case Letters and Sounds). This can be complimented and enriched by other materials and we use a variety of other activities and resources such as Twinkl, Bug Club and Big Cat to compliment our provision to make our early phonics learning fun, successful and accessible for all learners.
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/twinkl-phonics/level-2-twinkl-phonics
Reading
There is a strong emphasis at Broomfield school on children learning to read, enjoying sharing books and reading a range of texts.
Intent- We aim to develop a love of books and reading from the beginning of child’s learning journey with us and value the role of parents as partners in this vital task. Our pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure and read widely. We hear our children read regularly both individually and in groups. We also value reading for its impact on vocabulary development and comprehension skills. We read aloud to our children daily (10 minute read). Vocabulary is taught explicitly.
Implementation- Children are heard reading both individually and in groups regularly. Guided Group Reading sessions and whole class reading sessions are carefully planned and questioning is used to assess and extend children’s learning. Guided Group Reading sessions expose children to a wide range of texts and aim to challenge their thinking and develop inference skills. Parents are given clear expectations about reading. Termly visits to our local library are planned and the sharing of books in assembly is a regular feature.
Impact- Pupil voice shows children enjoy being read aloud to and use school library facilities regularly. Children understand and can answer questions on the texts that they read. Pupil progress can be seen through termly and year end data.
