English

There are many aspects to the English curriculum. These include reading—starting with a solid understanding of phonics—along with writing, grammar, spelling, handwriting, and speaking and listening.  At Millbrook Junior school, we want our children to become fluent, competent readers and writers and to build confidence in all areas of the English curriculum.

We are following several programmes from Literacy Counts. These include the Ready Steady Write programme, which includes  handwriting, and the Ready Steady Spell programme. Millbrook Infant School, where the majority of our children come from as they join us in Year 3, are also adopting Ready Steady Write, and in time, Ready Steady Spell. This will better help the children as there will be greater continuity and clear progression across the classes and year groups.  

Phonics and Reading

At Millbrook Junior School, we believe that reading should be a priority and at the heart of everything that we teach. We aim to equip every child with the necessary skills to read accurately, fluently and with increasing understanding.

We recognise that the teaching of quality phonics is imperative so that pupils are able to decode fluently before they can focus on comprehension and reading for meaning. As children join us from Key Stage 1, we will build on their current skills, knowledge and understanding.

Any child identified as reading below the expected level for their age will continue to learn phonics by following the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, Rapid Catch-up programme. Further information can be found on the Little Wandle website:

Little Wandle website

The Rapid Catch-up programme mirrors the main phonics programme but has a faster pace to help children to catch up quickly. This will allow children to secure the skills required for word recognition and decoding in early reading and writing.

We continue to teach reading skills during our discrete reading sessions and we encourage and enable our children to practise and apply their reading skills through discussion in all subjects across the curriculum.

Once our children are independent readers, we use Accelerated Reader, a computer-based programme which encourages them to read and reach their individual targets. Our pupils are taught how to use the Dewey Decimal System and are then able to select their books from our well stocked Reading Hub. We also firmly believe that children must be allowed to read for ‘pleasure and at leisure’, so we encourage them to bring reading material of their own choice in to school to share with others.

For more information please visit the link below:

Literacy Counts

Writing and Grammar

At Millbrook Junior School, it is our intent that children develop a love of writing for different registers and purposes.

We deliver our English lessons through the Ready Steady Write programme.

The programme helps to develop confident, independent and successful writers with high aspirations. Our writing curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, carefully designed to support all children to master the foundational skills and write for a clear audience and purpose. Through the use of high-quality, vocabulary-rich texts, we provide exciting and meaningful reasons to write. Children are immersed in literature and taught to craft their writing with precision, using a range of pedagogical approaches, including sentence accuracy, modelled writing and shared writing, as well as regular opportunities for editing. 

We value spoken language as a foundation for writing. Through structured talk, drama and vocabulary exploration, children learn how to organise and express their ideas clearly before writing them down. Our aim is for every child – regardless of need – to write fluently and take pride in their work. We want our pupils to leave primary school as enthusiastic writers, ready for the next stage of their education. 

Spelling

At Millbrook Junior School, we want our children to have the confidence to use creative language; choose ambitious vocabulary and consider the impact of their word choices. To achieve this, our children need to learn strategies that will help them to develop the skills and knowledge to spell accurately.

All children across Millbrook Junior School follow the Ready Steady Spell programme which links in with Ready Steady Write lessons. Pupils investigate spelling rules and patterns, and they undertake independent investigations to help them build the confidence required when applying these skills during their independent writing.

Handwriting

We believe that children should be encouraged to take great pride in the presentation of their work and that they should value their efforts at all times when writing across the curriculum. At Millbrook Junior School, we incorporate handwriting through our Ready Steady Write sessions in all year groups. Our teachers teach and model letter formations and their joins, and our children subsequently practise these and are encouraged to  apply them in their writing across all subjects.

Subject Leader: Julia Curtis

English Progression Grids