Wallands Community Primary and Nursery School

English

At Wallands, we are passionate about fostering a life-long love of language and literature in our pupils. As such, we centre our reading and writing lessons around high quality texts which inspire, excite and engage our children.

Reading

Reading is at the heart of school life here at Wallands:

  • Stories are shared in every class, every day, with children and adults engaging in rich discussions together.
  • Each year group has a purposefully selected reading spine, promising the great texts pupils will enjoy that year and ensuring that every child experiences an excellent and diverse range of literature.
English lessons are my favourite because I love reading and writing. My favourite class book was ‘The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane’ because it was adventurous, with great characters and it was an unusual story. Ella Year 4 
  • Teachers share their enthusiasm, skills and knowledge in daily, taught reading sessions. In KS1, this teaching is through explicit guided reading lessons where children read phonically decodable books at their level. In KS2 it is through the delivery of our Destination Reader program. Children are taught to develop key reading skills including prediction, inference, retrieval, sequencing, evaluating and summarising.

  • Children are given phonically decodable books to practise their reading skills at home. These books are pitched to be the perfect level for your child, and to help them build their confidence, independence and enjoyment of reading. The school is well resourced with book areas in each classroom, a KS1 library, a KS2 library and a hidden book nook for quiet reading.

Writing

At Wallands, we aim to provide rich and meaningful writing experiences that nurture pupils’ creativity and empower them as developing writers. 

Our writing lessons are built around high‑quality texts that engage pupils’ interest and offer strong models for exploring authorial choices and literary devices. These texts help children understand how writers create impact and inspire them to apply similar techniques in their own work. 

We follow the key principles of Jane Considine’s scheme, The Write Stuff approach to bring clarity and consistency to the mechanics of writing. This aligns with the new DfE Writing Framework and combines teacher modelling, guided practice, and opportunities for independent writing. Through this approach, pupils grow into confident, capable, and imaginative writers. 

Children are encouraged to view writing as a process. They are given time, tools, and support to edit, improve, and redraft their work thoughtfully. From Year 2 to Year 6, writing lessons are structured into three manageable chunks to support cognitive load. Pupils use two books: a Magpie Book for collecting ideas, vocabulary, and examples, and a Writing Book for crafting their independent pieces. 

Writing at Wallands is purposeful and audience‑focused. Pupils write for a wide range of real and meaningful purposes across the curriculum, helping them understand the power and relevance of their writing. 

We also prioritise the development of clear, fluent handwriting so that children can take pride in the presentation of their work and communicate their ideas with confidence. 

Teaching of Spelling

At our school, spelling is taught systematically from Reception through to Year 6 to help all pupils become confident and accurate writers.

In Reception and Key Stage 1, children learn to spell through our phonics programme, Sounds Write. Daily lessons teach the links between sounds and letters, with pupils practising saying the sounds and writing the words. Each week, children also complete a short dictation activity to apply their spelling skills in sentences.

In Key Stage 2, pupils continue with daily spelling lessons following a consistent weekly structure that includes exploring sounds, sorting words, practising spelling patterns and completing dictation on Fridays. Each week focuses on one letter string to build understanding and accuracy.

Across the school, children use word mats to support high‑frequency spelling, and teachers regularly highlight and correct misspellings, encouraging pupils to edit and improve their work. Commonly misspelt words are monitored and revisited through targeted teaching or individual support.

This consistent approach ensures that spelling is taught explicitly, practised frequently, and reinforced as part of everyday writing.

 

Handwriting

At Wallands School, we place high importance on developing fluent, legible and confident handwriting. All pupils take part in daily handwriting lessons using the PenPals Handwriting Scheme, which provides a clear, structured approach from Reception to Year 6.

Lessons typically include:

  • Warm-up activities to develop fine and gross motor skills and to reinforce good posture.
  • Teacher modelling, using resources such as Big Books and interactive animations to demonstrate correct letter formation, joins or fluency patterns.
  • Guided practice, where teachers support children with grip, positioning and formation.
  • Independent application, with pupils applying the skill in words or short sentences.
  • Review time to celebrate effort and set simple goals.

From Reception onwards, children learn cursive handwriting, progressing from individual letters to joined writing as they grow in confidence. In Key Stage 2, pupils who consistently show neat, accurate handwriting can earn a Pen Licence, celebrating their achievement and encouraging pride in presentation.

Throughout the school, children are taught how to sit correctly, hold a pencil properly and position their paper effectively. The PenPals programme supports the development of a wide range of joins and letter forms, helping pupils build strong transcription skills that support their wider writing.

This consistent approach ensures handwriting is taught explicitly, practised daily and embedded across the curriculum.