At St. David’s, we aim to empower, inspire, and enable children to become the very best readers, writers, and communicators. Our mission is to cultivate a love for reading and writing throughout the school, ensuring that children can express their thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively. We strive to develop creative and capable writers who can edit and improve their own work, confidently using essential grammar, punctuation, and spelling skills. We set high expectations for all our children, encouraging them to take pride in their work and use a fluent, cursive handwriting style.

Our comprehensive writing program is designed to develop confident, enthusiastic writers who can express themselves in various styles and contexts. Beginning with early mark-making in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), our structured and supportive framework ensures that each child develops strong writing skills as they progress through the school years.

At St. David's, we believe that learning to read is a critical life skill. Our phonics and reading programme, utilising the Jolly Phonics synthetic phonics program, supports children from EYFS to Year 2 and beyond, laying a strong foundation for literacy.

Our goal is to ensure that every child develops strong communication skills, enabling them to speak and listen confidently and effectively in various contexts. By creating a language-rich environment, we encourage children to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions clearly and listen attentively to others. Our commitment to fostering a love for writing and reading ensures that each child becomes a proficient and expressive writer, prepared for academic success and equipped with a lifelong appreciation for literature and effective communication.

Speaking and Listening

1. Language-Rich Environment:

   • Interactive Conversations: Engage children in meaningful back-and-forth interactions, enhancing their language and cognitive development.

   • Storytelling and Role Play: Regularly include storytelling and role play to help children develop a rich vocabulary and understand narrative structures.

   • Extended opportunities: Children have a range of experiences offered to them, from SDS TV Club to Secret Story Teller.  These opportunities give a platform for modelling, communication skills and language development for a range of purposes.

2. High-Quality Texts and Reading:

   • Frequent Reading Sessions: Read a variety of texts, including stories, non-fiction, rhymes, and poems, to children, fostering a love for literature and introducing new vocabulary.

   • Active Engagement: Encourage children to discuss and ask questions about the texts, enhancing their comprehension and critical thinking skills.

3. Focused Speaking and Listening Activities:

   • Group Discussions and Circle Time: Facilitate group discussions and circle time activities where children can share their ideas and listen to others, promoting respectful communication.

   • Children have regular opportunities to share thoughts, ideas, work and talk in front of an audience.  

4. Phonics and Language Development:

   • Jolly Phonics Program: Utilise the Jolly Phonics program to teach children the sounds of letters and how to blend them, supporting both their speaking and reading skills.

   • Vocabulary Building: Introduce new words in context and encourage their use in everyday conversations.

   • Remind and Recall: opportunities to revisit and implement new vocabulary

5. Assessment and Support:

   • Continuous Observation: Regularly assess children’s speaking and listening skills through observation and interaction, ensuring they are progressing as expected.

   • Tailored Interventions: Provide additional support for children who need help with their language development, including tailored activities and interventions.

6. Engaging Parents and Community:

   • Parental Involvement: Encourage parents to read with their children at home and engage in conversations that build their child’s vocabulary and communication skills.

   • Community Interaction: Arrange visits from community members, such as authors and storytellers, to inspire children and provide real-life contexts for speaking and listening. 

Writing 

Early Writing (EYFS)

• High-Quality Texts: Instruction begins with immersion in high-quality texts that are often linked to class themes. This approach stimulates interest and provides a rich context for writing activities.

• Mark Making: Early writing begins with mark making, where children are encouraged to communicate using various tools. This process is integrated into both linked and continuous provision, laying the foundation for writing.

• Phonics Integration: Our Jolly Phonics program is used consistently across the school to provide continuity and ensure steady progression in reading and writing skills. Daily phonics lessons help children learn to read and write concurrently, establishing a strong literacy foundation.

• Child-Initiated Play: Learning in the Foundation Stage takes place during child-initiated play, where children explore, investigate, and create within a thoughtfully prepared environment. This encourages independent thinking and creativity in their writing.

• Adult Focus and Discrete Teaching: Activities are adult-led, linked to children's needs, interests, and areas of development. Discrete teaching times include phonics, handwriting,and writing ensuring comprehensive literacy education.

• Enhanced Provision: Targeted provocations allow children to explore texts and story worlds in order to deepen their understanding and develop creativity.

Writing Instruction KS1 and KS2

• High-Quality Texts: Instruction begins with immersion in high-quality texts that are often linked to class themes. This approach stimulates interest and provides a rich context for writing activities.

• Purposeful Writing Tasks: Children are given regular opportunities to write for various purposes and audiences, making tasks meaningful and engaging. These tasks illustrate how writing skills can be applied in real-life contexts, helping children see the value and relevance of their writing.

• Real-Life Contexts: Writing tasks are specific and meaningful, designed to engage children and show how their writing skills can be applied to real-life situations.

Teaching Strategies

• Talk for Writing: strategies are used to support children to be able to articulate what they want to write before they put pen to paper.  Children become familiar with key concepts and vocabulary, fostering a love for language and a keenness to explore different writing styles.

• Phonics Program: Our rigorous daily Jolly Phonics program supports children in learning to read and write simultaneously, with quality resources and parent support enhancing the learning experience.

• Integrated Learning: Handwriting, spelling, and SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar) are taught through planned sessions, integrated into the broader English curriculum. This ensures that children develop all aspects of their writing skills in a cohesive manner.

Assessment and Support

• Regular Assessment: Writing is assessed through 'hot and cold' tasks at the beginning and end of each unit, helping to identify gaps in understanding and address them promptly. Termly moderation ensures consistent progress and highlights areas for development.

• Additional Support: Tailored support is provided for children needing extra help.  We work closely with parents and provide high-quality resources to assist with supporting their children's learning at home.

Reading 

Program Overview

• Phonics: Phonics instruction begins in Foundation Stage 1 (FS1) with the development of auditory discrimination skills.  Phoneme - grapheme correspondence is introduced in FS2 through the Jolly Phonics synthetic phonics programme.  

• Reading: Children will regularly read in guided and whole class groups.  They will bring home a levelled book of their choice each day.  Parents are asked to listen to their child every day and to read to their child each day.  

• Activities are flexible, allowing for adaptation to the needs of children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Early Reading

• Foundation Stage 

  • Children are engaged in various play- based activities to develop their listening and speaking skills.

  • A text rich environment establishes a love of books, reading and a deep exploration of story worlds. 

  • The rigourous pace of Jolly Phonics will ensure that by the end of FS2, almost all children will know a sound for each letter of the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs.  They will be able to blend sounds to read words consistent with their phonic knowledge, and will be able to read some common exception words.  

  • FS2 learn to read in guided groups.

KS1 

• • The Jolly Phonics program is differentiated to meet the needs of each cohort; children continue their phonics journey, consolidating their learning from FS2 and moving forward to more complex sounds and spellings.

  • Children read in guided groups with increasing fluency and accuracy.

  • A text rich environment supports the development of children's growing awareness of story structure, language and imaginative worlds and an enjoyment of reading for pleasure.

• KS2 

  • Children continue to have guided reading lessons.

  • A literacy circle approach is implemented; children will examine,discuss and debate aspects of core texts.

  • Children are actively encouraged to read for pleasure having opportunities to discuss, share and recommend favourite texts and reading habits. 

Assessment and Support

• Assessment: Regular assessments are conducted to monitor progress and ensure that children are on track to meet the expected learning outcomes.

• Parental Involvement: Active parental involvement is crucial, with resources and support provided to facilitate home learning.Parents are encouraged to support their children with daily practice of phonemes, tricky words, and reading books.

Developing lifelong readers and reading for pleasure

• Children visit our library as part of their curriculum time and at lunchtime in order to read for pleasure and borrow resources. 

• Our storytime club includes visits from the Secret Storyteller

• Regular webinars and workshops take place across the year with authors, illustrators and performers to bring texts to life and further explore language and imagination.

• Once a year we celebrate World Book Day with celebrations and activities linked to a core text across the school.

• 2026 is the National Year of Reading, the collective aim - to reimagine reading and (re)engage with reading in all its forms. As a school we will  engage in termly cycles of high-quality professional development for our staff and memorable content for pupils. 

Impact Statement for Writing

At St. David's School, our writing program has a profound impact on developing confident and enthusiastic writers. From early mark-making in EYFS to advanced writing tasks in higher grades, our structured approach ensures continuous progression. Utilizing high-quality texts and meaningful writing tasks, we engage students in real-life contexts, fostering a deep understanding of the value and application of writing skills. Strategies like Talk for Writing and the Jolly Phonics program provide a consistent framework, allowing children to become familiar with key concepts and vocabulary. The result is a generation of proficient writers who can express themselves effectively across various styles and contexts, prepared for academic success and lifelong literacy.

Impact Statement for Reading

Our reading program at St. David's School lays a robust foundation for lifelong literacy, beginning with early language comprehension and progressing through to advanced reading skills. By integrating the Jolly Phonics program and guided reading sessions, we ensure that children develop strong decoding and comprehension abilities. Immersion in high-quality texts and diverse genres stimulates interest and fosters a love for reading. Through consistent assessment and tailored support, we address individual needs, ensuring all students achieve reading fluency and comprehension. The impact is evident in our students' ability to analyze texts deeply, engage in meaningful discussions, and develop a lifelong passion for reading, equipping them for future academic and personal success.

Impact Statement for Speaking and Listening

At St. David’s School, our speaking and listening program significantly enhances children’s communication skills through a language-rich environment, interactive conversations, storytelling, and role play. Activities like the SDS TV Club and Secret Story Teller provide platforms for language development. Frequent reading sessions foster a love for literature and introduce new vocabulary, while active engagement encourages discussion and critical thinking.

Our focused speaking and listening activities, such as group discussions and regular presentations, promote respectful communication and public speaking confidence. The Jolly Phonics program and vocabulary building activities support both speaking and reading skills. Continuous observation and tailored interventions ensure personalized support, while parental involvement and community interactions provide real-life contexts for developing communication abilities. This comprehensive approach equips children with essential skills for academic success and effective interaction.