A Curriculum for Excellence identifies the different strands of Literacy as being listening and talking, reading and writing. It also includes modern languages. All aspects of spoken and written English are taught. Children take part in talks, discussions, debates, drama and poetry reading. Written language covers spelling, grammar, personal, imaginative and descriptive writing, poetry, writing of summaries, comparisons and instructions, letter writing, designing and completing simple forms.

Reading
Reading is one of the most important and basic skills your child will learn. By using a variety of resources and teaching approaches we encourage our pupils to read with expression, understanding and, develop a love of books. As a school, we follow the Literacy for All teaching strategies and focus on ‘Before, During and After’ reading strategies. We use Oxford Reading Tree and Collins Big Cat books in the early stages. Children also have regular access to library books both in fiction and non-fiction texts. In the middle and senior stages of the school we use several resources including Literacy World, Collins Big Cat and Read Theory. In these schemes, reading books are normally sent home for nightly reading practice. A language programme is built in and teachers work on aspects of written language at the same time as teaching reading. We offer workshops and meetings with parents to fully explain the teaching methods used.

Spelling and Phonics
In the Infant department, using Jolly Phonics, we begin with sounds letter recognition and formation as well as word building skills incorporated in an accelerated learning programme. We then move on to the Jolly Grammar scheme in the middle and upper school.

Writing
Written language covers functional, personal and imaginative genre. Children develop their skills using Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation (VCOP). Again, many teaching approaches are used to encourage children to express themselves in writing, beginning at the earliest stages with “Have-a-go” writing where children express themselves on paper and sharing their understanding of what they have written, verbally.

Scholastic Writing, Models for Writing and Big Writing are used to develop skills in writing and poetry. Alongside a range of resources, we use the Literacy for All ‘Before, During and After’ reading strategies. We continue to develop our children’s writing skills in line with Council guidelines.

Listening and Talking
We encourage our pupils to express themselves confidently and to listen carefully. We create opportunities for the children to give talks to a variety of audiences. Listening for information or to each other. This is a a skill we develop throughout the school and across the curriculum.

Modern Languages
In Ashpark, we have several teachers who are qualified to teach French in the primary school. This is done mostly orally, using everyday vocabulary and conversation. Learning a further language(s) will give additional opportunities to build on children’s literacy skills so that they develop a greater understanding of how language works. Pupils in P1-P4 will experience French in their daily classroom routines. From Primary 5 and upwards, children will continue to learn French expanding their knowledge and use of vocabulary. This is done mostly orally, using everyday vocabulary and conversation. Our pupils are also experiencing Gaelic as part of our teacher’s Non Class Contact Time in the middle and upper stages.