The children at East Preston Infant School benefit from a creative approach to Literacy, inspired by their curriculum topics. Our main writing approach is ‘Talk for Writing’. This is a three staged scheme which involves imitation, innovation and invention of a text linked to the topic. During the 'imitation' stage the  children learn the text with actions and pictures, embedding the story structure and key vocabulary used. During the 'innovation' stage the children change parts of the text, allowing the children to be more creative as well as teaching clear structures, literacy features and spelling, punctuation and grammar rules. During the final stage, the 'invention' stage, the children are able to move away from the original text and invent their own stories or non-fiction pieces of writing. The children have full choice and now have the understanding and knowledge of the structure for the genre they are writing in. 

Throughout each topic, pupils progress through the skills necessary for forming each genre whilst also developing vocabulary linked to the topics. Well formed letters and punctuation are encouraged. 

During Guided Reading sessions, pupils read and respond to texts linked to the curriculum topics. They work in groups, accessing interesting and engaging texts appropriate to their ability. In addition to the creative curriculum, East Preston Infant School offers a specialised programme of literacy to small groups and individuals that require extra support in reading and writing which are designed by the teacher to fit each child's needs. 

The Letters and Sounds scheme combined with the Jolly Phonics scheme, supports pupils in their ability to decode words (read) and encode words (spell), as well as helping them to form accurately punctuated sentences. 

It is the aim of every teacher in East Preston Infant School to ensure that their class enjoy reading, writing and responding to texts, whilst raising standards for every pupil.

If you would like to find out more about reading click here
If you would like to find out more about phonics click here
If you would like to find out more about writing click here