Reading
Reading is a fundamental life skill and is a key priority and focus in relation to attainment and learning and teaching in Fordbank. All children P1 – 7 are engaged in Reciprocal approaches to reading which teaches them how to discuss, analyse and comprehend texts through summarising, predicting, questioning and clarifying. We also engage children in Renfrewshire’s Dive into Reading approaches which further support comprehension by involving pupils in discussions about likes, dislikes and puzzles in relation to a range of texts. Children are encouraged to respond to different texts and we strive to create a class and school ethos where everyone is motivated to read and where we all read for enjoyment.
Children work at ‘colour bands’ across the school which reflect their current reading levels. Teachers regularly assess children’s reading and maintain Running Records which track progress across the bands. This ensures that all children work at the right level for them as individuals and prevents children being ‘stuck’ at levels where there are no opportunities to be challenged or progress at their own pace.
We use a range of reading resources all of which have been banded in line with the levels described above. Our main resource is Big Cat which includes online books and comprehension materials that can support Digital and remote/home learning. We also use Story World / Literacy World and have different resources to support children with Additional Support Needs (Rapid Readers and POPs).
We have a lovely school library and have developed our class libraries over the years to provide high quality story books, novels and non-fiction materials which children can choose for personal reading.
Children in Primary 1 are taught Reading Strategies which are reinforced as they move through the school. These help the children to learn how to decode words or work out what words are using a range of ‘clues.
Further information can be found in our Parent Zone.
Writing
Children experience many different types/genres of writing –
* Personal: writing about own experiences
* Functional: writing for a purpose
* Imaginative: developing own ideas and thoughts
As with reading, writing is a key priority and focus in relation to attainment in the school. Children are encouraged to take part in regular ‘Have a Go’ writing which is low-risk and where they can write freely about topics of their choosing to practise their skills. They are also involved in regular ‘Big Writing’ sessions which teach children a range of skills across the different genres. Writing is often linked to our Interdisciplinary topics so that it is contextual and meaningful for the children.
We have created progressive Spelling and Grammar programmes to ensure that children cover the key skills and spelling patterns P1 – 7. We take an active approach to spelling where children are engaged in a range of different activities to reinforce their weekly word lists. These are also practised each week at home.
Talking & Listening
Pupils learn to talk and listen to each other through many opportunities to work cooperatively, engage in discussions and debates, perform/talk to an audience and to listen and respond to texts and media. These are very important life skills and permeate all aspects of learning.
For all aspects of literacy, pupils are encouraged to track their own progress and set personal targets/next steps for reading and writing which are discussed with their teachers and shared with parents/carers. Teachers also track progress for each individual pupil and this is discussed at regular attainment tracking meetings where support needs are identified and strategies put in place to address any barriers to learning.
Languages
Our main language taught P1 – 7 is French. Pupils P5 – 7 also experience Spanish. Each year, we have a French and/or Spanish Focus day where children are given the opportunity to learn about French and Spanish culture. We use the Linguascope resource which is interactive and motivating for the children to enhance learning and teaching of languages.
