How do we teach Literacy at South Ascot Village School?

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Intent

At South Ascot Village Primary School, we are committed to developing confident, enthusiastic readers and writers who have a genuine love of literature. We believe that high-quality texts should be at the heart of literacy learning, providing meaningful contexts for developing reading and writing skills whilst inspiring children's imaginations and broadening their understanding of the world.

Our literacy curriculum, built around the Literacy Tree scheme and Read Write Inc. (RWI) phonics, is designed to ensure that all pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, develop:

• A deep love of reading through immersion in whole, high-quality texts rather than extracts
• Strong foundational skills in phonics, spelling, handwriting and composition
• Rich vocabulary that enables them to access the full curriculum and express themselves confidently
• Clear purpose for their writing, understanding that their work will reach real audiences
• The knowledge and skills needed to succeed in their next stage of education and beyond

We are ambitious for all our pupils and ensure they experience a broad range of genres, authors and text types that challenge and engage them, whilst reflecting diverse experiences and perspectives.

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Implementation

Immersion in High-Quality Texts

Both RWI and Literacy Tree encourage children to engage with whole texts rather than extracts. This enables them to be fully immersed in each text type, developing deep comprehension, understanding of narrative structure, and emotional connection to literature. Every literacy unit begins with this immersion phase, where children explore, discuss and respond to carefully selected texts.

Clear Purpose for Writing

We provide children with a clear purpose for all reading and writing tasks. Whether it's an invitation to the headteacher to attend a class assembly, an email to an author, or an article for the school newsletter, our children understand why the quality of their writing matters: because there will be a real audience for their published work. This authentic purpose motivates children and helps them understand the power of effective communication.

Focused Teaching of Reading Strategies

We ensure that specific reading strategies are modelled explicitly to the class, providing children with a holistic bank of skills to draw upon. This includes:

• Scanning a text
• Making inferences
• Predicting
• Creating mental images
• Summarising key information

Our staff use a range of approaches including scaffolded reading, fluency reading, extended reading and close reading to develop children's comprehension skills systematically.

Drama to Engage and Inspire

Drama is a powerful tool that we use extensively to promote the exploration of characters, situations and historical events. Through techniques such as hot-seating, role play, freeze frames and conscience alley, we expand pupils' imaginations and provide them with the ideas they need to give their writing extra spark and flair. This kinaesthetic approach particularly benefits pupils who find traditional literacy activities challenging.

Rigorous Teaching of Spelling and Phonics

In Reception and Year 1, children learn phonics through RWI in smaller groups. This means that all children benefit from tailored teaching, making maximum progress as a result. From Year 2 onwards, we use the RWI spelling scheme to ensure systematic progression in spelling knowledge and application.

Grammar Taught Through Key Texts

Children develop understanding of grammar concepts and begin to apply them in their own writing when they start to read with a writer's mind. Punctuation rules and techniques are drawn from our shared texts – texts which the children have already been immersed in and have a good understanding of. This contextual approach makes grammar meaningful and relevant, rather than abstract and disconnected from real writing.

Lesson Structure

Our typical Literacy Tree teaching sequence includes:

1. Immersion: Reading and exploring the whole text
2. Vocabulary development: Explicitly teaching and practising new words
3. Grammar in context: Identifying and understanding grammatical features within the text
4. Modelled writing: Teachers demonstrating the writing process
5. Shared and guided writing: Collaborative composition with scaffolding
6. Independent writing: Children applying their learning with appropriate support
7. Publishing and sharing: Presenting work to the intended real audience

Differentiation and Inclusion

We ensure all pupils can access our literacy curriculum through:

• Carefully scaffolded support for pupils with SEND
• Pre-teaching of vocabulary for pupils who need it
• Additional adult support during independent writing
• Adapted resources and success criteria
• Opportunities for oral rehearsal before writing
• Use of writing frames and visual supports where appropriate

Assessment

Teachers assess pupils' progress through:

• Regular formative assessment during lessons
• Analysis of written work in books
• Reading assessments (including RWI assessments in EYFS and KS1)
• Pupil conferencing
• Statutory assessments (Phonics Screening Check, KS1 and KS2 SATs)

This assessment informs planning and intervention to ensure all pupils make strong progress.

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Impact

Through our approach to literacy, we see the following outcomes for our pupils:

Strong Progress and Attainment

• Pupils make strong progress from their starting points in both reading and writing
• By the end of KS2, pupils achieve well in national assessments
• Pupils who need additional support receive timely, effective intervention

Love of Reading

• Pupils demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for reading and can discuss their favourite books and authors
• Children choose to read for pleasure both at school and at home
• Pupils confidently recommend books to their peers

High-Quality Writing

• Work in books shows that pupils produce high-quality writing across a range of genres and purposes
• Pupils apply grammar and punctuation skills accurately and creatively
• Children write with increasing fluency, stamina and sophistication as they progress through the school

Rich Vocabulary

• Pupils use increasingly ambitious vocabulary in both their spoken and written language
• Children understand and can explain the meaning of words they encounter in texts
• Vocabulary from key texts is transferred into pupils' independent writing

Confident Communicators

• Pupils articulate their ideas clearly and confidently
• Children engage enthusiastically in drama activities and class discussions
• Pupils understand the importance of audience and purpose in their communication

 

 

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