At St Joseph’s, we use the Primary Literacy Programme approach to Reading and Writing, which itself is based around Talk for Writing. It is grounded in the processes of shared writing with a strong and systematic focus on securing the basics of handwriting, phonics/spelling and grammar in relation to what is needed for progress and the text type being taught. It is also founded on the principle that schools should increase the amount children read/are read to and establishing a very strong ‘literature spine’ which identifies key stories, picture books, poems and non-fiction which will be read and drawn upon and referred to when teaching writing.

Cycle 1 of our PLP has been planned as below, with a following Cycle 2 to follow (this will ensure a 2-year programme which will cover the full range of genres that pupils should experience).

Alongside this, pupils are given a spine of quality reading books that we aim to read to them over the 2-year cycle. The table of books is available to view on our school website in the English section.

Pupils from Year 2 also take part in Whole Class Reading sessions on a daily basis. Each week has a theme running through the focus. For example, Year 5 have a week based on Brazil, reading excerpts from Journey To The River Sea by Eva Ibbotson, non fiction text on the footballer Pele and listening to and interpreting the lyrics to Trains To Brazil by The Guillemots