Literacy Overview
At Newburgh C.E. School we recognise that language is a key building block in child development and we aim to equip each and every child with the literacy skills they need. This will allow them to enjoy reading for knowledge as well as pleasure and enjoyment, and to write with a sense of purpose and audience. We also encourage our children to express themselves effectively and to listen and learn from each other.
All classes have access to our library as well as their own inviting book areas in class. Whole class and guided reading takes place on a regular basis. These sessions include a mixture of teacher led work, follow-up activities, phonics work, independent reading and some time to simply read for pleasure.
Parents of children in our Nursery and Reception are invited to take part in a workshop to learn about how we teach phonics in order for them to support their child at home with their reading. Reading with your child every day hugely improves their reading success and this is something we actively encourage at Newburgh.
Each March we take part in World Book Day celebrations, we also have a variety of fun reading challenges (class diaries and teddies).
Through daily lessons, children learn the essentials of English language such as phonics, spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence construction, together with the skills to help shape and organise texts. However, English is not always taught as a discrete lesson, but as part of our creative approach to learning. In this way, learning is fun, memorable and purposeful. Through termly topics children are immersed in a range of fiction and non-fiction texts.
At Newburgh, children are taught to listen well, speak clearly, read enthusiastically and write effectively for a wide range of purposes and audiences. Children are supported and encouraged as they learn to express themselves creatively and imaginatively on their way to becoming enthusiastic and independent learners. A variety of reading schemes are used in school to provide early readers with phonetically decodable books to start them on their reading journey. The main schemes are Oxford University Press, Oxford Reading Tree, Songbirds, Floppy's Phonics and Rigby Star. Phonics follows 'Letters and Sounds' using the Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) phonics scheme.
The children are engaged in language development through drama and role play opportunities throughout the year. All children are involved in performances involving speaking and acting to an audience ranging from the EYFS & Key Stage 1 Nativities and reading in church to our key stage productions.
Statutory Framework for the early years foundation stage
National Curriculum English Programmes of Study: Key Stages 1 and 2
Parents' Reading Workshop
We hold an annual Reading Workshop for parents of children in the Early Years (Reception and Nursery). This workshop provides information for parents about how reading is taught using phonics and how they can support their children at home to develop the skills needed to become a fluent reader.
Examples of the resources used in Early Years to support literacy:
Poetry
We recently had the pleasure of inviting David Bowden (Word Guerilla) into school. He worked with Years 3 and 4 to explore poetry about RESPECT. The children went on to create some amazing poems about respect for ourselves, each other and the world. A selection of children performed their poems to an audience of over 100 people.
In Year 2 we have been taking notes on different animals and then creating our own poems. Take a look!
Ron Mills Reading Room
We were honoured to rename the Library to Ron Mills Reading Room in appreciation and recognition of the service that Ron has provided to our school as a reading volunteer over many years.
Reading Lists
Here are recommended books for each year group:
Please also see the following links for recommended reading for children:
