At Lauriston we believe that the targeted teaching and learning of excellent literacy skills at an appropriate level for each child is one of the most important and fundamental aspects of our duties as a school.

We are committed to high standards across all the strands of Literacy: oracy, reading and writing. In order to maximise opportunities to develop literacy skills, we make cross-curricular links wherever possible. This also ensures that coverage of the National Curriculum.

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If you would like to know more about this area of the curriculum, please talk to Francesca Hepburn, Deirdre Gormley and Sophie Elliott.

Drawing Club

Drawing Club is a new initiative for our Blossom schools which opens the magic world of tales and story to children whilst at the same time enriching their language skills, developing their fine motor and spending time together with them.  An approach that immerses children into a world full of imagination where anything can happen and often does, this aligns with Blossom's vision for child centred and creative learning.

Drawing Club begins formally in Reception, but we are trialling elements of this in Nursery.  

Based around picture books, tales and animations, it involves a short period of Time Together as a whole class followed by time with children exploring their ideas and creativity that can be adapted to how you believe is best. Each week we have a focus story or animation. The children learn new vocabulary linked to the story or animation and are invited to Drawing Club, where they may draw a character, setting or event. Children learn new, exciting vocabulary that we revisit each day of the week. The children are encouraged to add detail to their drawings and explain to the adults what they have drawn. During writing, children (and adults) can innovate their drawings and add secret passwords, magic powers or spells, hidden symbols, letters or numerals. 

We draw characters on one day, settings on another and we ‘wonder’ on a third day. 

The adult scribes this next to their pictures. 

• We also encourage them to use ‘Secret Symbols’ and introduce writing letters and words, when they are ready. 
• By the end of the year, they will be drawing pictures and writing words and captions. 
• Words do not have to be spelt correctly, just phonetically plausible

At the start of Reception, the sessions may be purely drawings based but this will progress on throughout the year to labelling their drawings with initial sounds, CVC words and eventually writing sentences about their drawings. We add maths to our drawings by talking about shapes, doubling, halving, addition, subtraction etc… 

We might be drawing a troll with a spherical shaped head, 2 strong, wiry hairs on his chin and double this amount coming out of each ear.  He has one more than 4 buttons on his filthy, ripped shirt.  

Children observe as the teacher models drawing club each morning and then get the opportunity to complete their own drawings. 

They are invited to wear a lanyard showing they are part of drawing club and can borrow ideas from the teacher or create their own amazing ideas to share.  

One of the most exciting parts of Drawing Club is adding Secret Symbols and passwords to our drawings. We always draw a secret symbol that can make anything happen! Sometimes we press them and aliens or unicorns become 3 times bigger, pencils turn into chocolate or hair turns multi-coloured! We then add a password to make the secret symbol work. This can be a mark, letter, digraph (2 letters that make one sound), a word or a sentence. As children make progress and become more confident with their phonics, their passwords develop and move towards phrases and sentences. 

This year, Year 1 have built on the amazing work of Drawing Club by introducing Curious Quest. Curious Quest continues the sense of freedom and creativity established in Drawing Club, showing children that writing truly belongs to them — that the pen is a magic wand, and that writing can be driven by joy.

Like Drawing Club, Curious Quest centres around a story each week, but it is structured through a series of engaging “mini moments” across the lesson:

• The Portal Message
  The lesson begins with an exciting message from the Portal — usually delivered by Professor Klunk — instantly capturing the children’s imagination.
• The Gadabout
  A lively, interactive element where the teacher parades around the room, chanting before pausing to ask and answer questions about the story. This energises the children and deepens their understanding through movement and talk.
• The Quest Codes
  These bring joy to key areas of learning such as SPaG, handwriting, spellings, and other smaller curriculum elements. They transform essential skills into playful and meaningful experiences.
• Story Sharing
  A high-quality book, poem, or cartoon is shared with enthusiasm, holding children completely spellbound and fostering a love of stories.
• Modelled Drawing and Writing
  Teachers draw and write in front of the children, modelling both creativity and curriculum-linked writing. This demonstrates that what we create has purpose and connects directly to what children need to learn.

Through Curious Quest, writing becomes an adventurous, imaginative experience — one where children feel empowered, inspired, and excited to express themselves.

Reading

Our vision at Blossom Federation is to nurture a life-long love of reading. We aim to develop confident readers who can actively chose, critique and comprehend texts. We strive for pupils to build an understanding of the wider world through varied high quality texts in which they see themselves represented.

Daily Supported reading: Pupils experience shared, guided and independent reading through a Daily Supported Reading (DSR) model. Pupils are assessed using PM Benchmarking and given a reading level which informs their reading group. Pupils are taught in small groups (4-6 pupils) with a lead adult.

Daily Supported Reading is a programme that ensures children in KS1 develop reading fluency by reading authentic natural language stories every day. Daily Supported Reading is implemented in addition to a school’s synthetic phonics programme.

Children read in small groups led by a trained adult. Adults use a lesson guide to structure the session, and to support independent engagement with, and independent enjoyment of, a range of story books. Adults receive ongoing weekly professional development training across the year. They also receive regular coaching support while working with their reading groups each day. The stories that children read in DSR are matched to their independent reading levels and children are promoted to higher level texts weekly.

Whole class reading: In Key Stage 2 the teaching of reading moves to a whole class text approach. High quality texts are chosen which can challenge and stretch all readers within the class. Where possible, they link directly to the pupil’s history and geography topics to form a cross-curricular approach to learning. The aim of this method is to expand pupils' vocabulary and deepen their understanding of the texts they are reading. By reading a text in its entirety (vs. stand-alone extracts each week) allows pupils to experience a full reading journey which includes development of characters, plot structure and themes, comparisons within the text and literary devices used. Each lesson is built up of four stages; teacher model, pupil shared reading, partner reading and comprehension tasks. Each week there is a chosen focus chosen from the reading domains linked to the National Curriculum.

Content domain reference

2a	give / explain the meaning of words in context
2b	retrieve and record information / identify key details from fiction and non-fiction
2c	summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph
2d	make inferences from the text / explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text
2e	predict what might happen from details stated and implied
2f	identify / explain how information / narrative content is related and contributes to meaning as a whole
2g	identify / explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases
2h	make comparisons within the text

Shared reading: Opportunities are provided through whole class reading, book fortnight, class reader and texts related to genres.

Reading assembly: Children in key stage one and EYFS will have an opportunity to listen to a story (and join in) that is read on a weekly basis, in order to develop oracy and a range of vocabulary.

Home Reading

Reading regularly at home with your child makes a huge difference to your child’s reading ability and helps to develop an enthusiasm for reading. We expect children in EYFS/KS1 to be spending at least 10 minutes a day reading at home with an adult with comments recorded into their reading journals. Research shows that this is the single most important thing parents can do to help their child’s education. With their growing independence and autonomy children in KS2 can begin to choose whether to complete their reading record independently or with adult support. It is still recommended that you listen to your child read often and engage in conversation about the books they are reading.

Reading records are given to pupils in EYFS and KS1. There are two designs, linked directly to the key stage the pupil is in. Pupils are to bring the reading record into school each morning and take it home each evening. The reading record should also come with a selection of books depending on the pupil’s age and reading level. Reading journals are checked weekly by an adult. Conversations take place with students and parents if and when necessary.

Children in KS2 keep a log and record of their home reading at school. They are expected to engage in dialogue and conversation about their books and reading with staff on a regular basis.

Oracy

Oracy permeates the entire curriculum. Interactive teaching strategies are used to engage all pupils in pupil talk and discussion throughout lessons. Students are encouraged to develop effective communication skills in readiness for later life and further development of their reading and writing skills.

Approaches to Speaking and Listening:

• Talk partners
• Whole class discussion
• Circle time
• Sharing assembly
• Drama and roleplay
• Talk for writing
• Vocabulary focus
• Words of the Week
• Drawing club and Curious Quest
• Show and Tell (EYFS)
• Enrichment Activities

English in the EYFS

Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading.

Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. 

Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing). "

Early learning goals that link to English:

EYFS Communication and language development

ELG Listening, attention and understanding –

• Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions
• Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding
• Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers

ELG Speaking –

• Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary.
• Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate
• Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher.

EYFS Physical development (this links to the mechanics of writing/pencil control)

ELG Fine motor skills –

• Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing – using the tripod grip in almost all cases

EYFS Literacy

ELG Comprehension

• Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary.
• Anticipate (where appropriate) key events in stories.
• Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role play.

ELG Word reading

• Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs
• Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending.
• Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.

ELG Writing

• Write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed.
• Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters.
• Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.

EYFS Expressive arts and design (this links to re-telling and adapting familiar stories – talk for writing)

ELG Being imaginative

Invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher.

In the EYFS, children are taught phonics through the Blossom Phonics scheme (phonemes, graphemes, tricky words, high frequency words, segmenting and blending, letter names).

• Learn songs, rhymes and stories with Singalong actions, so that they can re-tell them independently.
• Practise book skills eg where to find the front and back of a book, author, title, turning pages in order, tracking words from left to write, differences between words and letters, answering simple questions.
• Learn how to form letters correctly using letter patter (with flicks).
• Learn how to write simple words and sentences using their phonics skills.
• Gain a love of stories and reading from adults who share books regularly using props and puppets.
• Read individually or in a small group with an adult each week.
• Have daily opportunities to practise their reading and writing skills indoors and outdoors in child-led provision.
• Are taught new vocabulary in context and staff are skilled in helping the children to use new vocabulary so that it becomes embedded. Vocab books are made and used to enable children to re-visit and practise using new vocabulary.

Writing

Early Years

Context for Learning: Structured play is the vehicle used to deliver the writing curriculum

The Learning Environment: The foundation stage provides easily accessible, varied writing materials that children know are available if they wish to use them, and which are actively promoted within the planning structure.

The Learning Structure: The High Scope method of Plan/Do/Review used in the foundation stage is ideal for the promotion of writing skills.  The children draw ‘plans’ of what they intend to do and the adult scribes their words.  This enhances their self – esteem and makes them more independent.  It also encourages them to verbalise their thoughts – which they can then see written down and read back to them. This demonstrates the link between written and spoken word.

Promotion of Learning:

• The Nursery and Reception planning incorporates many exciting writing opportunities to entice even the most reluctant ‘emergent writers’ to try their hand.  These including imaginative, functional and personal writing opportunities. There are a number of opportunities given through purposeful activities and role play e.g making shopping lists, writing cards, letters etc
• The process of mark making enables children to give meaning to marks and are beginning to use recognisable letters and then using letter sounds.
• A wide variety of writing implements are provided and are always accessible, for example crayons, chalk, felt pens, biros and pencils
• The medium used for drawing their ‘daily plans’ also varies, to stimulate interest and widen their experience, for example paper, card, colours, shapes, cards, notebooks, lists, jotters, rough/smooth, thick/thin etc.
• Within the learning environment the teacher and other adults are constantly ‘modelling’ writing.  The children therefore interpret writing as a desirable thing to do.  They also see the way words are constructed, the formation of sentences and use of punctuation. (Knowledge about Language 5 – 14)

Key Stage 1 and 2

At Lauriston we use a Plan-Model-Write Approach to writing. The nature of the Plan-Model-Write Approach (PMW) enables teaching of genre features and writing techniques and skills within all writing lessons. The purpose of this approach is to enable pupils to be writing as frequently as possible throughout a week to develop stamina and fluency of skill recall.

A unit will combine immersion lessons with writing lessons so that pupils complete longer writing outcomes across several lessons, focusing on specific skills as they go along. These skills will be often retaught throughout the year which through consolidation will develop a deeper understanding of how to use them in a range of contexts.

Writing outcomes are to be planned from high-quality text and video stimulus linked to the half termly cross-curricular topic. A unit (sequence of lessons leading to a written outcome) may take place across one or two weeks depending on genre. Immersion lessons are to be used across units to enable children to engage with the stimulus below surface level; develop understanding of the genre; deepen understanding of context and meaning of the story; create intrigue and excitement; develop rich and broad vocabulary and imagination.

Writing Assessment weeks take place once a term. Pupils write independently without teacher modelling. This is an opportunity for pupils to use previously learnt skills in an independent task linked to a previous taught unit. Pupils are then given personalised writing targets based on this piece of writing. These targets are then used throughout the next term to support pupils with developing their writing and ensuring progress.

At Lauriston, pupils are encouraged to take pride in their writing and are offered many opportunities throughout the year to publish their writing.  This published writing then is often used on writing displays that can be seen throughout the school in classrooms, on year group boards in key stage corridors and in ‘The Street’ which has a termly themed showcase of writing from Nursery to Year 6.

Handwriting

Letter formation and handwriting is taught at Lauriston in a progressive sequence using consistent resources across the school. Pupils follow and complete a series of booklets teaching correct letter formation, capital letters, numbers, pre-cursive letter formation and joined letter patterns. Once pupils have secured these skills, they move on to working into a handwriting book where their practice of cursive letter formation and joining is completed daily. This handwriting teaching and practice continues throughout key stage 2, incorporating practice of spelling. Teaching of each letter is done according to letter sets and families, allowing pupils to see the similarities between certain letters and their style of join.

The basic organisational structure of how Handwriting is taught at our school charts the following stages in developing neat, fluent handwriting:

1. Readiness for writing: gross and fine motor skills leading to letter formation
2. Securing letter formation
3. Beginning to join
4. Securing joins
5. Practising speed and fluency
6. Developing independent organisation & presentation skills

At all stages of handwriting, children are encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their work and taught presentation skills relevant to their key stage.

Spelling

In Year 3 - 6 spelling is taught following National Curriculum Guidelines. It is taught as a stand-alone session twice a week yet is also integrated into literacy and cross-curricular sessions.

The following document states the rules for spelling and includes example words that pupils from each year group must learn:

The National Curriculum in England - Spelling

Assessment

At Lauriston, teachers make regular on going assessments of the children’s oracy, reading and writing. Through feedback and marking teachers assess and give guidance for progress. At two checkpoints in the year, pupils also complete summative reading assessments.  At this time teachers also look at students’ writing (across subjects) in order to make judgments on particular writing skills. These all feed into teacher planning, which allow us to ensure coverage of the National Curriculum.

Developing Book Corners

Across the Federation, we have had a big push on developing our Book Corners this September in every classroom to promote a love of reading and create inviting spaces to read across the school. ​​​​​​​