We believe that the skills in English: reading, writing and speaking and listening; provide the foundations for pupils' achievement throughout the whole curriculum and all other areas of learning for now and the future.  

English is a core subject of the National Curriculum, with reading, writing and speaking and listening being taught and practiced in a range of situations and across all subjects. Through a range of situations, we believe that pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. All the skills of the language are essential to participating fully as a member of society. 

Our hope and aim for English at Cowick CE Primary School is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.

At Cowick CE Primary School, the teaching and learning of English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Read, write and communicate orally with confidence, fluency and understanding
• Have an interest in books and literature; whilst developing a passion for reading
• Develop and foster a love of words, phrases and sayings, develop their meanings; and use a growing vocabulary in spoken and written forms
• Discuss reading and writing comprehensively: expressing opinions; explaining techniques and justifying preferences; about a wide range of literature, using appropriate vocabulary
• Understand a range of text types and genres; develop knowledge to appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• Write using a variety of styles and forms.

Reading and Phonics

At Cowick Primary School we teach reading through 'Read, Write, Inc.'

What is Read Write Inc?

The teaching of reading and early writing at Cowick CE primary school is done through Read Write Inc. Children start on the phonics programme in Nursery and Reception.

In Reception the children have daily phonics sessions. The sessions initially last about half an hour. The children learn to say the sound, recognise the sound, write the sound and then to write words containing the sound. Children are reassessed at the end of the first half term and are grouped according to how many sounds they know using the Read, write inc assessment criteria. Children are then taught sounds according to their ability. Some children may learn 5 sound a week whereas others will learn fewer. Once children are able to blend simple sounds together they will take home books to read at home. In addition they will commence on writing activities in a separate session which are directly linked to the sounds they are learning in their morning phonics lessons.   Children who need extra support to maintain progress work with a teaching assistant for 10 minutes in the afternoons to ensure that they do not fall behind their peers. 

Here is a guide on how to say the sounds. Click here. 

Once the programme is successfully completed in KS1, children commence Get Spelling

Click the RWI picture for useful information about the scheme.

How and what do the children learn?

READING

The children:

 learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts

 learn to read words using sound blending

 read lively stories featuring words they have learned to sound out

WRITING

The children:

 learn to write the letters/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds

 learn to write words by saying the sounds and graphemes

 learn to build sentences orally using adventurous vocabulary

 start with simple sentences and develop towards more complex ones by the end of the programme

TALKING

Children are assessed so they work with children at the same level. This allows them to take a full part in all lessons.

They work in pairs so that they:

 answer every question

 practise every activity with their partner

 take turns in talking to each other.

We also use another programme, Read Write Inc. Fresh Start, for upper primary school children learning to read. This uses exactly the same method but uses age appropriate texts. 

Here is a link to the Read Write Inc parents page that has lots of information to help your child read at home.

Parents page link

Here are some leaflets for parents about reading at home:

Reading at Home Booklet 1

Reading at Home Booklet 2

Here is more information about Read Write Inc and reading.

Reading Meeting information 19th September 2023

What do children think about our online NESSY programme?

'It's good, it helps me do my spelling. It helps me sound out letters so I can read the words.' Y3 pupil March 2021

'It's pretty good. You get nuggets for working. It helps me break up words and sound out letters in my work'. Y3 pupil March 2021.

'You get a new island when you work hard. They say a word to me and i have to write it'. Y4 pupil May 2021

'It's good. I can spell words I didn't know how to spell now. On banana wheel, monkeys break up the words and you have to spell them to put a bridge together to drive over'. Y4 pupil May 2021

'It's definitely boosted my confidence. I've been able to sound and spell words more confidently and read more fluently'. Y6 pupil July 2021

'It's been useful. My confidence is much better in spelling and I can read much faster than I used to". Y6 pupil July 2021

'It helped me achieve higher in my spelling and GPS. I remember in year 4 I was on yellow card (nearly green) but now I am on the green card and almost on blue!' Y6 pupil July 2021

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader. – Margaret Fuller