English

The Outcome – To Create Readers and Writers

‘The art of reading, the craft of writing’

Our Vision

English teaching and learning at Lime Tree seeks to ignite a passion for the written and spoken language in all children. It believes that the children should read and write creatively, studying and using the individual word, the phrase, the sentence, the paragraph and the chapter.

Our passion centres on Lime Tree pupils developing a lifelong love of reading. As such, children’s reading skills are closely monitored and nurtured through high-quality teaching of Systematic Synthetic Phonics from day one. Pupils read in a perceptive, curious and discerning manner, developing knowledge about authorial intent and writing styles, and engaging in discussions about what they have read in order to sustain a high level of vocabulary and understanding. By the end of their primary education, they are able to read fluently, with confidence and with purpose in any subject or genre.

In addition to reading enthusiasts, we strive to create confident, fluent and purposeful writers who craft pieces that have an impact on their reader by exposing pupils to high quality model texts and rich language structures from the very start of their learning journey. Children are encouraged to use their creativity and individuality to compose writing that excites them, while learning key genre specific structures that will allow them to continually broaden their skill set. By Year 6, our pupils are able to compose longer, more precise passages that demonstrate explicit and considered choices and are able to share their love for writing through performance.

The Areas of Study

Our English lessons follow Pathways to Write and seek to combine a variety of creative, stimulating opportunities with access to visual tools and various stimuli which seek to engage and enthral pupils to become inspired writers. We believe that pupil’s text development is enhanced through an active, direct and challenging approach to texts of all kinds. This involves texts from a range of authors. All books, texts and extracts are read by staff to ensure that they are appropriate for the year group.

ActiveLearn

Our youngest learners, in Tree Tots and Nursery, have daily phonics sessions centring on listening, rhyming and oral blending and segmenting skills. All of this is done through listening.

In Reception and Key Stage 1 we use Active Learn Phonics Bug. This is used for the teaching of phonics and the distribution of reading books. Each day, the children are taught phonics using Phonics Bug. This program includes fun and engaging decodable books, which supports the learning and teaching of phonics in a meaningful and memorable manner thus making comprehension easier. The books are grouped in a ‘developing order’ based on the

order of sounds introduced. The Phonics Bug books are also available online and feature online quizzes, with a focus on assessing phonic knowledge.

From Year 1 – Year 6, children also access ActiveLearn in the form of Bug Club Guided. Bug Club Guided is a robust guided reading program that helps children master fluency and deepen comprehension. Focus is placed upon clarifying, summarising, activating prior knowledge, visualising, connecting, predicting, questioning and evaluating.

Other Reading Platforms

All Key Stages across the school also access myON News. MyON is a comprehensive online literacy program. MyON News provides a constantly updated collection of news articles that can be read anytime, both in class and at home. These articles are carefully written for young readers, ensuring that they are accessible while still engaging and challenging. The topics covered range from current events, science, sports, culture, and more, exposing pupils to a diverse array of subjects. This content is especially valuable because it not only builds literacy skills but also fosters global awareness and critical thinking, encouraging our pupils to connect with real-world issues.

Each article also comes with supporting features such as audio narration, which helps emerging readers or those who struggle with reading comprehension. This makes the platform accessible to a wide range of reading abilities, from early learners to more advanced readers. 

In addition to myON, we also use Accelerated Reader as a key reading system across KS1 and KS2 to further support and monitor children’s reading development from Year 2 to Year 6. This system provides valuable insights into each child’s progress through half-termly reading quizzes. After each assessment, we carefully review the results to assess individual progress, identify target areas for improvement, and implement interventions where necessary to ensure each child is supported in reaching their full reading potential.