Through outstanding English teaching, children at Bevington become enthusiastic and critical readers and writers of stories, poetry and drama, as well as non-fiction and media texts. Our children gain an understanding of how language works by looking at its patterns, structures and origins. As a result, children become mature and fluent writers; they are able to write in a range of styles and for different purposes. Children use their knowledge, skills and understanding in speaking, reading and writing across a range of different situations and apply their learning in other areas of the curriculum.
Reading
Children are taught to be fluent and independent readers within a culture that promotes a love of reading for pleasure. Reading at Bevington is taught using various methods, including:
Reading at Bevington is taught using various methods, including:
Shared Reading
Shared reading involves the whole class and the teacher reading an enlarged text (e.g. big book, website or text projected via the visualiser and interactive whiteboard). Children are expected to be actively engaged whilst the teacher is reading, following the text and when confident, joining in and reading with the teacher. In Key Stage 1 & 2 the text is appropriate to the level that children can read by themselves. The shared reading text is used throughout the week of Guided Reading teaching to allow children to develop a range of comprehension skills mentioned below.
Modelled Reading
The teacher uses a key text to model fluency, enjoyment and interest in a range of different styles of writing and types of text. These texts are above the level that children can read by themselves and are read daily at the end of the school day to develop their vocabulary and to expose them to high quality and challenging texts. In EYFS books are selected from a special story time book basket and in Key Stage 1 & 2 key texts are selected to compliment the topic learning.
Home Reading
Children have the opportunity and are encouraged to access high quality texts, which they also take home with them. Reading books are sent home each week on a Tuesday and are returned the following Monday. In EYFS and at KS1, children take home a ‘decodable’ book that matches their phonics learning and a free choice book with a reading record. In KS2 children take home their own levelled chapter book. We expect all children from our 2 Year Old Provision to Year 6 to read to an adult for 30 minutes each day.
Guided Reading
In EYFS, Shared Reading and Modelled Reading are taught daily and a Guided Reading takes place weekly in small groups. In Key Stages 1 & 2, a daily Guided Reading session is an important part of our timetable. Across the school, reading is taught whole class focused on a specific reading skill. Each week follows the same structure.
| Monday | Shared Reading (Prediction and Vocabulary) |
| Tuesday | Fluency |
| Wednesday | Find and Retrieve Comprehension Questions |
| Thursday | Inference |
| Friday | Structure analysis and Vocabulary |
Lessons are discussion-based, with children also using Guided Reading books to record written responses. Each half term, classes use a range of high-quality stimulus to provide a base for their English planning, to develop pupils’ vocabulary and love for reading.
Library
Our woodland themed library is located on the ground floor. It is a calm, inviting environment that promotes the love of reading for pleasure, with a tree top snug, a reading amphitheatre for small teaching groups and an extensive range of high-quality texts spanning a range of genres. The library caters for EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. It is open at various times in the week for the children to visit and is run by our volunteer librarian. Each class has a weekly library session to supplement their Reading and Literacy learning and to help develop a love of reading.
Reading Lists
Parents often ask us to recommend books which will engage, challenge and inspire their children. We have compiled a list of books which do just that! Please see the links below for each year group. If you choose to purchase any of the books through Amazon, please select The Bevington Trust as your Smile charity, as this enables the school to access vital additional funds.
Progression Maps
Please find progression maps for Reading and Writing at Bevington below. These maps detail the skills and knowledge pupils are taught in each year through the school.
Writting
Writing is an essential and fundamental skill which is demonstrated in all curriculum subjects. Writing is taught through a number of techniques including explicit skills lessons (where pupils practise specific grammar and writing skills), shared writing (writing modelled by the teacher with contributions from the children), and guided writing (writing in small groups with teacher intervention). Children are also given the opportunity to write independently and for an extended period of time. Editing and improving is a valuable process which is directly taught throughout the school. Handwriting and presentation are highly important to us and we have the highest expectations when it comes to our work.
Our English teaching is linked to the year group half termly topic, meaning children are always writing within a clear context. Throughout an academic year, a variety of writing genres (from explanation texts to narrative stories) are explored and children are given opportunities to enrich their writing with accurate grammar, subject-specific content and effective composition. Learning from other areas of the curriculum (STEM, Humanities and The Arts) is integrated into English, providing meaningful supporting content, which results in purposeful and well-structured written pieces.
In Early Years, children experience writing in a range of settings. They are given opportunities for developmental writing through all areas of learning and the learning environment. Children also participate in a fun and engaging range of fine motor activities that enhance their writing skills.
Subject Overview
Please find the subject overview for English subject at Bevington below. This overview outlines what the pupils are taught in each year through the school.
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)
Key skills in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) are embedded fully in the main English planning. They should be referred to throughout the curriculum and promoted at all times. We also have a short discreet SPAG lesson once a day. This should be used to revise and revisit key areas of SPAG through games, test-style questions, exercises and activities. Spelling rules are taught weekly and spelling lists are sent home weekly via Google Classroom as part of their home learning and are tested each week.
Phonics
Read, Write Inc
At Bevington, we follow Read, Write Inc. which was designed by Ruth Miskin. Read, Write Inc. helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary and spelling. We believe that phonics is the gateway to reading and that the systematic and consistent approach ensures our pupils to ‘keep up’, rather than to ‘catch up’. We begin the programme in Nursery and will continue teaching Read, Write Inc. to children beyond the age of 7 if they still need support in their reading. Pupils are taught phonics daily for at least 20 minutes in groups.
Phonics and Reading
It is important that children are reading ‘decodable’ books that match their phonics learning. We also encourage reading for pleasure, and teach wider comprehension through a variety of ways. This includes using Guided, Shared, Modelled, Buddy and Home Reading across our school day and curriculum.
Reading enhances learning in all subjects, and by far the most important part of our curriculum.