Coteford Infant School

At Coteford Infant School we believe the best writers are avid readers and so we aim to provide an environment where children are surrounded by books and stories, where reading is fun and children learn to love reading. We want children to see that adults too enjoy books and that reading for purpose is something we all do.

We value mark making from the earliest stages and support children so that they develop the skills to become fluent writers who develop stamina and a “can do” attitude. We know that children learn by making mistakes and teachers will use mistakes as learning opportunities so that children can develop resilience and become confident writers and readers.

Before children can write they need to be able to say a sentence or talk about an event or tell a story. We aim to provide lots of opportunities and experiences so that children have something to write about. Outings and events and practical experiences are important. We believe that reading lots of books around a topic and identifying key language improves writing.

Alongside developing children’s creativity and imagination teachers also carefully structure lessons so that key reading and writing skills are taught and children are given opportunities to practice them. Teachers use the National Curriculum and the EYFS curriculum to support their planning and to make sure that they challenge and support all children depending on their individual needs. We use the Read Write Inc. programme to support some of this teaching, however reading and writing teaching is not confined to literacy lessons and is often taught through a variety of subjects.

We know that children who read daily will achieve better in their school careers and encourage parents to be active partners in supporting reading and writing at school.