Curriculum

At Oldfield Brow Primary, we recognise that success in English is increasingly necessary in today’s world as a tool for thought, learning and expression, and will not only support children’s life-long learning but will also lead to improved life chances. As a reading school, we passionately believe that competency in reading is essential to enable knowledge acquisition and to make learning meaningful. Our school is committed to enabling every pupil to read fluently and with understanding, so that they are empowered to make sense of their experiences and begin to interpret the world around them. We also want our pupils to become fluent and effective writers and speakers. Further details about our Reading and Writing Curriculums can be found in the Download Section.

Here is our reading spine for Summer Term 1:

VIPERS, PHONICS AND SPELLING SHED

The teaching of reading begins with oracy and phonics in EYFS and KS1. To ensure a consistent approach across classes and year groups, we have adopted the DfE approved scheme - Phonics Shed - which is taught daily across EYFS and KS1 and is matched to pupils’ individual development needs.

Once children’s decoding skills are secure, comprehension skills are explicitly taught. Oldfield Brow Primary School brings consistency in this approach using the 'VIPERS' reading guidelines and 'Cracking Comprehension' across school. This begins in KS1 as appropriate. In KS2, whole class reading sessions are undertaken daily, with a focus on Vocabulary development, acquisition of Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Summarising skills. For more detail about  VIPERS, please refer to the KS1 and KS2 VIPERS guides in the downloads.

From Year 2 upwards, your child will be set spelling homework online with Spelling Shed. We have found this online spelling game an extremely popular form of spelling practice amongst the children. For more information please check information in the downloads. You may find the first part of this video helpful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVHb4srs0RU&t=16s

We are aware of the significant impact parents and carers  have in developing children's reading skills and importantly a joy of reading. We ask that you encourage and support your children to practise reading at home everyday, to listen to them reading aloud if you are able and quiz them about what they have read. The VIPERS guides in the Downloads include questions that you may find useful.

Oldfield Brow Reading Culture

In addition to our Reading and Writing Curriculums, we strive to enable children to take pleasure from reading. With this in mind, our wonderful teachers are excellent role models, sharing the joy of reading in class and creating engaging book displays, competitions and activities such as 'Reading Rivers' and 'Get Caught Reading'. Look out for the  'Oldfield Brow 100 lists' (see the downloads) to promote reading for pleasure across the school. In the children's section of our website, you will find our 'Literacy Blog' offering more information about what has been happening in school recently including more about our 100 Book Lists.