English

‘Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects’.  National Curriculum

English at Chattenden is broken down into 3 key areas:  Phonics, Reading, and Writing, which also includes grammar, punctuation and spelling.  English runs through all areas of our curriculum; creating a strong foundation, ensuring each child reaches their full potential.

Phonics

At Chattenden, we follow the ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Scheme’ to teach phonics.  Little Wandle draws on the latest research into how children learn best; ensuring that phonics learning stays in the long-term memory of children.  This allows children at Chattenden to apply their phonics into all areas of English, becoming confident readers and writers.

To find out more about this scheme please visit the Little Wandle website, where there are fantastic resources for parents to access, including some useful videos to help support your child with saying their sounds and writing their letters at home.

Reading

‘A child who reads, will be an adult that thinks’ - Proverb.

 Reading in EYFS and KS1 at Chattenden is supported through the Little Wandle Letter and Sounds phonics program.  At Chattenden, we encourage all children to develop a love for reading. Each classroom has an engaging and inviting book corner, full of language rich texts, from a diverse range of authors, which include fiction and non-fiction.  We have a well-stocked library which all children can access.

Through whole class guided reading sessions, children are taught comprehension skills through the use of VIPERS questioning. 

V – Vocabulary

I – Inference

P – Prediction

E – Explain

R – Retrieval

S – Sequence (KS1) Summarise (KS2)

To enhance reading at home, we are part of Buster’s Book Club.  This reading programme:

• Supports our English programme
• Encourages parents to get actively involved
• Improves reading levels, skills and confidence
• Promotes teamwork
• Holds regular competitions throughout the year

Children read at home as much as possible, in order to win the weekly class reading trophy.

Writing

At Chattenden, we believe that children should be surrounded by subject-specific, high-quality, rich vocabulary.  Using this vocabulary, children are given opportunities to create pieces of extended writing in many different genres.  A focus point in each classroom is a writing wall, where each and every child has their writing proudly displayed.  Children are encouraged to write for purpose, whether that is letter writing, the creation of production programmes or playscripts.