Reading
We believe that reading is a fundamental skill for everyday life that opens a world of knowledge and imagination. Our key aim is to foster a real passion and enjoyment for reading through the use of high quality and diverse fiction and non-fiction texts, poetry, and rhymes. Our reading journey starts in the Early Years where children are exposed to a large range of high-quality stories, poems and rhymes fostering a language rich environment; this leads on to the teaching of decoding skills using ELS (Essential Letters and Sounds) to develop independent readers; finally, comprehension skills are developed using VIPERS question stems. All children have access to a range of rich texts in year group libraries and book corners. Teachers help to foster the passion for reading by setting aside time daily, to read and share texts with the children. This facilitates a discussion on the text and exposes children to a wider vocabulary.
Writing
At Wilfred Owen Primary School, we believe in the transformative power of writing. Our aim is to nurture confident, expressive writers who can communicate clearly and creatively, contributing positively to society. Writing is taught through a carefully structured curriculum that blends our bespoke Wilfred Owen writing cycle with Talk for Writing and Pathways to Write, ensuring progression and depth across all year groups.
Our writing cycle begins with engaging hooks that spark imagination and clarify purpose and audience. Children then explore genre-specific features through high-quality texts, followed by explicit grammar, punctuation, and composition teaching. Planning, drafting, editing, and improving are embedded throughout, helping children understand writing as a process. Independent writing allows children to apply their learning, with assessment guiding future targets and development.
We celebrate all contributions to writing, encouraging children to see themselves as writers. Editing and redrafting are valued, promoting resilience and pride in improvement. Children are exposed to diverse texts, authors, and genres, with opportunities to write fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Oracy is developed through role play, debate, and discussion, enriching spoken language and supporting written outcomes.
Writing is also enriched through SMSC experiences, including cross-curricular writing, real-life writing opportunities, and events like World Book Day and community projects. SEND provision includes adaptive teaching, phonics support, spelling scaffolds, and regular assessment to ensure all learners succeed.
Assessment is purposeful and informs planning, with individual targets shared with children. Presentation is valued, and children are encouraged to take pride in their handwriting and layout. Through this comprehensive approach, children leave Wilfred Owen Primary School equipped with the skills, confidence, and creativity to write fluently and effectively for a range of audiences and purposes.
Phonics
At Wilfred Owen Primary School we are passionate about ensuring all children become confident and enthusiastic readers and writers. We believe that phonics provides the foundations of learning to make the development into fluent reading and writing easier. Through our scheme, Essential Letters and Sounds we ensure that children
- apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words
- respond speedily with the correct sound to graphemes (letters or groups of letters) for all 40+ phonemes, including, where applicable, alternative sounds for graphemes
- read accurately by blending sounds in unfamiliar words containing GPCs that have been taught
We use the Department of Education accredited scheme, Essential Letters and Sounds. Our teaching of phonics starts in Nursery and continues into KS1 and beyond (where necessary). Through Essential Letters and Sounds, the children are taught the 44 phonemes that make up all the sounds required for reading and spelling. These phonemes include those made by just one letter and those that are made by two or more. Children work through the different phases and as they grow in confidence and experience, they are introduced to alternative ways of representing the same sound.