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We want children to develop a passion for English, whether this is creative writing, reading, comprehension, spelling and grammar, poetry, prose, persuasive writing – or more. Our impressive library encourages a love of reading at all ages and we celebrate all children’s writing in our displays.
Our teachers in EYFS and Pre-Prep are passionate about phonics learning and ensure that children have the best start to reading through immersion in phonic activities through Nursery, EYFS and beyond. Teachers carefully weave their English teaching through other subject areas too, enriching children’s learning and ensuring the magic and love of learning is instilled in all. A focus on spelling and reading means that children make fantastic progress during their time at Littlegarth and in Year 5 and 6 benefit from being taught in fluid ability groups by the Head of English where they are delving into a range of grown-up texts, writing extended essays, becoming increasingly analytical in their approach and making important connections with other subject areas.
Children are well prepared for Essex 11+ (CSSE) and private secondary school exams through their curriculum, and work is tailored to their need. For some children who struggle with an aspect of English, additional help is also at hand if needed, through our Learning Support team. For those who are passionate about English in Years 5 and 6, there are even a range of before and after school clubs dedicated to further 11+ (CSSE) and Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) work.
Why is phonics important?
Reading and writing are the building blocks of education for children. Reading unlocks a world of possibilities and ensures success across the curriculum and beyond. At Littlegarth, we ensure that children make the best possible start on their reading journey by teaching our youngest children using a systematic phonics programme.
Phonics teaching includes:
Phonics is the most effective way of learning the alphabet code and starting to read and write as early as possible. Research shows that, on average, high quality phonics teaching leads to an additional 5 months progress in reading.
Right from when children join our Nursery, they engage with activities which help them to discriminate between different sounds and break words down into their constituent sounds. We teach Phonics using a programme called Read Write Inc which has a clear structure for learning the sounds and applying them to both reading and spelling words. As children move through the school, they build on these foundations through our English curriculum, leading to excellent progress in both reading and spelling throughout the school. Littlegarth’s well stocked library fosters that love of reading and our school librarian is on hand to help to steer children to discover new books and authors, creating a lifelong love of reading.
