English♥

English has a pre-eminent place in education, in society and at Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School. We are devoted to providing a high-quality education in English which teaches our children 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. In addition, we use Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) to ensure our non-verbal children can communicate effectively.

Reading is at the heart of our school and we aspire to promote it as a passion and an enjoyable hobby. We want the children to know the importance of reading and how it can enable them to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. As a result, reading a wide range of genres and text-types will enable children to get lost in their own imaginations and will promote a high standard of writing. Through the systematic, consistent approach of Phonics taught in phases throughout school, children will have the opportunity to explore books from Nursery onwards.

At Ormsgill, we believe that English allows children to access all areas of the curriculum and so we promote excellent standards of literacy, articulacy and the correct use of Standard-English in all subject areas. We aim to foster a love for English through the use of exciting and engaging texts (often linked to other areas of the curriculum), drama, guided reading, story time, book clubs, debates and discussions, ICT, art, media, poetry and performance and visits to local libraries.

A consistent approach to the teaching and learning of reading, writing, handwriting, spelling, phonics, oracy, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation is essential, with high-expectations for all pupils across school. High-quality modelling of reading and writing is prioritised to make it clear to the children what is expected of them and to ensure they reach their full potential.

Teachers assess daily to find ways to extend learning; identify any gaps and address these as quickly as possible with interventions; work closely with support staff and colleagues of the MAT to ensure all children are receiving the best support; have high standards of presentation; inspire children to see a purpose and love for reading and writing and ultimately help all children make as much progress as they can.

Reading For Pleasure♥

At Ormsgill, we are passionate about promoting reading for pleasure and our children becoming readers for life. All children across school have the opportunity to read a range of high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry books of their choice. We regularly purchase new books to ensure children have a wide selection to choose from. Alongside this, the children are given a book carefully matched to their reading ability to promote fluency, confidence, well-paced reading and aid understanding.
Each year, we organise and host a Book Festival where we invite authors, illustrators, poets, story-tellers and even publishers into school to deliver inspiring and engaging workshops across a full day. We invite local schools to join us and we are excited to see who we can have visit us in the future!