English and Maths
English
Phonics at Wickham Common
Our chosen systematic synthetic programme is Read Write Inc. Please follow the links below for more information on how the programme works and the learning opportunities that it offers our learners.
Why is it called Read Write Inc. and what is the programme about?
Parent video: Understanding Phonics
10 things to think about when you read to your child
Reading at Wickham Common
Reading is central to all we do in our school and the foundation upon which all learning is fundamentally built. As such, reading is a key part of our daily routines at Wickham Common.
Children who have completed the Phonics scheme take part in reading sessions every morning that explicitly teach the skills necessary to understand and engage with the texts they are studying. Across a five day cycle, children build their understanding by applying their retrieval and inference skills, analyse grammatical features and consider the wider meaning of what they have read. Texts covered during such sessions cover a range of genres and text types.
In addition to skills sessions, children are afforded the opportunities to apply these skills in greater depth when reading whole texts. Texts are mapped across the school to ensure that there is a sense of progression year-on-year and within an academic year group. These reading opportunities give children greater opportunities to engage with high-quality literature purposefully, for a sustained period of time which deepens their love of reading.
Reading for pleasure is also given a place of prominence at Wickham Common. Our library was refurbished in 2022 using funding raised by our PTA and is a well-resourced, welcoming space that is accessible to all pupils on a regular, timetabled basis. The Wickham Common Reading Podcast features children throughout the school passionately and eloquently discussing the books around a certain theme and usually includes contributions from well-known authors, illustrators and poets.
Writing
Writing at Wichham Common follows either a 5 or 10 day cycle of lessons and each term will have at least one fiction, non-fiction or poetry unit. Within each unit, children will be exposed to multiple models of the text type or genre they are studying and be given the opportunity and support needed to develop the five components of the writing process; planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. Grammatical and compositional features are taught in accordance with National Curriculum expectations.
An example of the 5 or 10 day plan can be found here.
Our Writing Progression document can be found here.
Maths
To ensure that children gain an understanding of our number system, the importance of place value and why formal methods work, they are taught in a structured and progressive way. This mathematical fluency helps children to choose an appropriate strategy for the calculation given. For instance, it may be that a mental addition strategy is better suited than the formal column method. Children develop their skills with larger and more complex numbers (decimal, negatives, fractions etc.) as they move up the school.
Calculation Policy
At Wickham Common Primary School, the aim of our calculation policy is to ensure all children are taught according to the document, so they can be seamlessly built upon year after year, as the child moves through school. The policy has been taken from White Rose Maths. The use of concrete resources and visuals underpins this calculation policy.
The policy goes through:
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Multiplication
- Division
Each operation is broken down into skills for the year groups and shows recommended models and visuals to support the teaching of the corresponding concepts alongside.
Vocabulary Mats
The vocabulary mats detail the relevant mathematical language used within each topic/year group.
Year 1 & 2
Years 1 and 2 - Addition and Subtraction - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 1 and 2 - Place Value - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Year 3 & 4
Years 3 and 4 - Addition and Subtraction - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 3 and 4 - Fractions - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 3 and 4 - Measures - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 3 and 4 - Multiplication and Division - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 3 and 4 - Place Value Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 3 and 4 - Position and Direction - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 3 and 4 - Properties of Shape - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Year 5 & 6
Years 5 and 6 - Fractions Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 5 and 6 - Fractions, Decimals and Percentages - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 5 and 6 - Measures - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 5 and 6 - Multiplication and Division - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 5 and 6 - Place Value - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 5 and 6 - Position and Direction - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
Years 5 and 6 - Properties of Shape - Vocabulary Mat.pdf
End of year expectations
End of Year Expectations Y1.pdf
End of Year Expectations Y2.pdf
End of Year Expectations Y3.pdf
End of Year Expectations Y4.pdf