Reading
As a school, we place great emphasis on reading, the key building block for future learning. This was the basis of choosing Little Wandle Phonics as out synthetic and systematic phonics programme. Based on the EYFS and Primary National Curriculum , our curriculum places reading at the heart of all we do. Indeed, we ensure all children have full access to our varied and exciting reading-inspired curriculum. Our work is underpinned by quality texts that create a love for learning, that enable the children to develop as confident readers and ensure they can progress across all learning areas.
Our curriculum develops the basic skills, knowledge, values and themes that the children need at Manor Park Infant School and Nursery and reading is pivotal to developing all this. We provide constant access to books, celebrate reading for pleasure and provide time to enrich our worldly and cultural knowledge.
Implementation:
High quality texts form the backbone of each carefully planned topic. The knowledge and skills required for each subject are evident in our topic based approach and are enriched by a range of high quality and diverse picture books, novels, graphic novels, poetry and non-fiction texts.
Skills and knowledge can also be taught discreetly with children given the chance to develop their understanding of each subject. We want children to appreciate that they are artists in art lessons and musicians in music, for example. Nevertheless, by using a core text each term, our curriculum is also designed to embed transferrable skills; providing context for learning and a broad understanding of the areas they study.
To support this further, time is also given in our curriculum for reading for pleasure and library time. Not only are these invaluable opportunities to enhance fluency in reading (enabling all children to have access to the full curriculum entitlement) but they also provide great prior learning opportunities and ensure children have ample time to connect their learning across the curriculum.
As values are so important to us too, time to talk and articulate our thoughts, feeling and emotions form a key part of our curriculum ensuring that the whole child is educated and supported throughout the year.
Writing
At Manor Park Infant and Nursery School, we recognise that writing is integral part of everyday life and want to reflect this in our own curriculum. We wish to give children the opportunity to develop a lifelong, enthusiastic attitude towards writing and enable our pupils to consider themselves ‘writers’. We believe to become literate, children need to understand that writing is a representation of speech, and that both come in a variety of forms linked to purpose. At Manor Park Infants we understand that these aspects of language are inextricably linked, and can rarely be taught or experienced discretely. As a result, Speaking and Listening has a high profile, as good oral work enhances pupils’ understanding of how language is the vehicle for communication in both oral and written forms. We believe that exposing children to a wide range of literature enhances the children’s language, imagination and excitement for writing. To promote this we use a range of books that children study to use as a base for their writing.
Subject Leader: Miss Stewart and Mrs Bower
Link Governor for Reading and Writing: Sarah Castle