At Acton CEVC Primary School, our curriculum aims to "teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually." (National Curriculum, 2014)

At our school, our children:

• persevere with their reading to develop fluency with good understanding
• are trusted to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate a rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and creatively, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• show compassion during discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening - having the courage to make formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

We offer a rich and varied range of teaching approaches to achieve these ends, always striving to challenge every one of our pupils to make the maximum progress regardless of their starting point, with an understanding that different levels of support may be required to help them achieve their goals.

Phonics

At Acton Primary School, we understand that systematic, synthetic Phonics is the most effective way of teaching young children to read, developing the skills and perseverance they need to tackle the reading of new words. In EYFS and Key Stage One, children experience a daily Phonics session which incorporates aspects of ‘Letters and Sounds’ and ‘Jolly Phonics’. However, we firmly that believe that for Phonics to be most effective, it must be embedded across all areas of the curriculum and strive to make links wherever possible. We are committed to ensuring that all children become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage One.