Hello, I am Miss Ng and I am the Literacy leader here at Hayfield Lane Primary School.

At Hayfield Lane we offer children a high quality English curriculum where we endeavour to teach and develop children’s vital key skills in English that will hold them in good stead to build a great base for the future. Our ambitious curriculum builds on their skills in reading and writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar, speaking and listening, phonics and handwriting. These are all key skills that are fundamental to ensuring that children are equipped to be successful in all their subjects and have a positive future. These skills allow aspirational targets to be held by the children and no ceiling to be placed on their hopes and dreams.

Our English Curriculum is taught in specific English NOVEL STUDY  lessons and practised and applied through written and practical work in other subjects across the curriculum. English lessons at Hayfield Lane help our pupils to develop skills in reading and writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar, speaking and listening, phonics and handwriting. The importance of being literate cannot be understated and we pride ourselves in developing these core skills within a broad and exciting curriculum. As we teach in a NOVEL STUDY FORMAT we expect and encourage children to write to the same standard in the foundation subjects as they do in English. We hold the foundation subjects to the same high standard as the core subjects- they are interwoven whilst retaining their individual importance. At Hayfield Lane, we endeavour to interest the children in their learning with a cross-curricular approach to writing. 

Curriculum Enrichment

Hayfield Lane's NOVEL STUDY approach allows for  curriculum enrichment. This  ensures that all children receive the opportunity to explore units of work through practical and experiential activities. A variety of trips and experiences (outside providers) are used to further enhance this so that  children build on knowledge and apply this. Enrichment happens across the curriculum and provides opportunities to develop independent learning skills.

EYFS and Year 1 Reading

Reading is a skill of high importance which impacts the children’s lives in many ways, such as gaining information and expanding their vocabulary. Children in Reception classes and Year 1 have important daily phonics lessons, Read, Write Inc, which give children the stepping stones to break down unknown words into readable chunks. This specific phonics programme has proved highly successful.  Phonics is not the only reading method, but is a very useful tool for children trying to make sense of texts that they do not understand. The core phonic scheme used is ‘Read, Write, Inc.’. The core reading scheme is predominantly Read, Write, Inc. link texts which mean that the books are matched to their reading ability and will be texts that the children are able to apply their reading skills independently. They are also sent a text that they are able to ‘read for pleasure’ from our READING PASSPORT collection of books.

Year 2 - Year 6 Reading

Reading comprehension in Year 2 is taught during whole-class  Reciprocal Reading sessions. Children have the opportunity to share their opinions of the text as a class. See the useful information section. Their comprehension skills are then checked through comprehension questions with a  test style format. This method also develops the children’s discussion and reasoning skills, which will be applicable to many other subjects which aligns to the schools determined drive to creative critically thinking learners.

In Year 3 upwards, teachers unpick reading as part of general NOVEL STUDY SESSIONS using the RECIPROCAL READING criteria. See the information section for additional information. The regular reading completed in junior classrooms uses READING PLUS (3 sessions per week)  which is a pupil responsive reading platform which caters to the individual needs of each child to give them exactly what they need. Online reading material are varied, meet interests and have content that matches the child's ability level. BEDROCK online platform is also used (2 sessions per week) to support the development of language.

Children who require additional support in reading as they are not meeting the age related standards access LEXIA (reading intervention) and  1:1 weekly phonics/reading support. There are also regular sessions during the weekly timetable linking to READING FOR PLEASURE, where children enjoy their READING PASSPORT BOOKS.

Handwriting

We teach the Martin Harvey style of handwriting. Pupils develop their handwriting and presentation throughout the entire school, from Foundation Stage to Key Stage 2. Early development within Foundation Stage provides children with the opportunities to mark-make using a variety of materials. As the children progress through Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 they develop their fine-motor skills resulting in a comfortable pencil grip and the ability to form letters using the correct sequence of movements. By the end of Year 3 the children are expected to begin using joined handwriting. These skills are extended as the children move through Key Stage 2. This skill instils the importance of presentation in the children.

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

Throughout the school, children are expected to learn spellings appropriate to their age group. In Key Stage 2, the children learn strategies to help them spell unfamiliar words using their knowledge from RWI and via staff spelling tuition in lessons.  Grammar and punctuation is also taught during NOVEL STUDY lessons and applied where possible. Pupils are given plenty of opportunities to apply their spelling, punctuation and grammar skills in all their lessons. The children also embed this learning with the use of the app SPELLING FRAME.

Narrative Texts

In studying narrative texts, children learn the structures of the different story styles that they encounter using a variety of immersive activities and methods. They learn how to set the scene for each and how plot developments can be used to engage the reader before a conclusion is planned to bring the narrative to an engaging end.

Throughout school, children are introduced to a variety of different story styles and are taught to 'magpie' words, phrases and ideas that they like so that they can re-use them at a later point. 

Children also study the grammatical structures used by writers and are helped to identify those that they should be aiming to include in their own work.

Poetry

Poetry comes in many forms. Our curriculum teaches the children to recognise these different forms, and the effects that poets try to produce in the reader by using a range of different styles of poetry.

Also, our children learn how to read poetry and to write in similar styles to known poets when expressing themselves individually.

At Hayfield, we are able to use the genre of poetry to develop an understanding of many grammatical tools, which children then use across all of their writing as well as in poetry.

Non Fiction Texts

It is important that our children can access information texts throughout their curriculum work, so that the children are exposed to different genres of writing. In studying non-fiction texts, children learn about the features to include in non fiction writing and how to use this knowledge when writing, reading or researching. Children learn how the style of writing in non-fiction texts varies; they read many such books in their studies in order to extend their understanding of a wide variety of themes and concepts.

Writing Skills

In Key Stages 1 and 2 we use the National Curriculum to outline a clear sequence for the teaching of skills-based writing (shared, guided, modelled and independent writing). Pupils are provided with an engaging whole class novel as a basis for producing their own writing. They are then guided by the teaching staff using the ‘I, We, You’ model to develop their writing skills. Pupils develop their punctuation, grammar and spelling skills through sentence level work linked with the class novel where possible.  They are given opportunities to write for a range of purposes and audiences, adapting their language and style according to purpose. 

Speaking and Listening

Pupils at Hayfield Lane are given ample opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills through activities including but not limited to: group discussions, presenting, performing, debates, drama/role play and speaking and listening tasks. These skills are developed throughout all their areas of learning. We use a progressive oracy structure to ensure that this is developed systematically. See the NOVEL STUDY section of the READING page.