Images protected by Greenhouse School Websites

Millbrook Park CE Primary School

Our Trust Our Trust

English

  

ENGLISH IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE FUTURE, THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL YOU’LL EVER NEED, NO MATTER WHAT CAREER YOU CHOOSE. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ENGLISH. MAKE IT YOUR RIGHT!

BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH

READING AT MILLBROOK

  

Reading

The Read, Write Inc. programme supports reading and writing from Nursery/Reception and throughout Key Stage 1.

The children will receive a RWI reading book to take home and these are all colour coded.  Children are assessed regularly and move through the levels quickly.  Your child will also be given a colour band to choose their home reading book from which will help to ensure that the book they select is at about the right reading level for them. Every colour band includes books from a range of reading schemes so that they will experience a range of stories, text types and illustrations.

Destination Reader Information for Parents and Carers

PHONICS AT MILLBROOK

Phonics

At Millbrook Park Primary School, early reading is taught using synthetic phonics as the main approach to reading. We follow the phonics scheme 'Read Write Inc'.

Pupils are systematically taught to identify phonemes (sounds), how to blend the sounds to make words for reading, first orally and then in print and how to segment the sounds in order to write words. They are taught to use their phonic skills and knowledge as their first approach to reading, but are also taught high frequency words which do not follow the phonic rules and need to be learnt by sight.

Click here for the spelling expectations from Reception to Year 6, including the Year 3/4 word list and Year 5/6 word list

We use the Read Write Inc. phonics programme to teach our children to read, write and spell.  Our children do well in the phonics screening check and by Year 2, the majority are fluent readers with the best chance of success in the KS1 tests. For children who progress to KS2 without a secure knowledge of phonics or join our school later on in their school career, phonics will continue at their level.

Ruth Miskin Training recognise us for teaching the programme with fidelity and passion – we know what it takes to make reading and writing pleasurable and rewarding for our children.

This badge recognises that we: 

  • Raise standards in reading and writing for our children
  • Are all expertly trained by Ruth Miskin Training
  • Gain the latest programme updates through regular visits from our Ruth Miskin trainer
  • Support our most vulnerable readers with extra one-to-one teaching every day.

To visit the parent pages on the Ruth Miskin Training website go to:

www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents

or follow them on Facebook or Twitter. 

We also run termly RWI workshops for parents and carers so that you can find out how we teach phonics and reading at Millbrook Park Primary.  These workshops will also help you to support your child's learning at home.  

Read, Write, Inc (RWI) information for carers and parents

Phonics Terminology for parents and carers

Complex Speed Sounds Chart

YEAR 1 PHONICS SCREENING CHECK

At the end of Year 1, children will undertake a statutory phonics screening check.

This is a short assessment to make sure that children have learnt phonics to an appropriate standard.

There are 40 words in the screening check which children are asked to read on a one-to-one basis with their teacher. The check is made up of 'real words' (eg. 'mud') and 'non-words' (eg. 'splog') and children need to apply their phonic knowledge to read all words.

Preparation for the check takes place during the daily phonics session, but you can help your child at home by practising phonics on a regular basis.

 Phonics Screener Information for parents and carers

----------------------------------

READING BUDDIES

We run a Reading Buddy Scheme with older pupils reading with, and building positive relationships with younger pupils every week.

    

 

WRITING AT MILLBROOK

 

Writing Curriculum

Our writing curriculum develops confident, fluent and ambitious writers through a carefully sequenced, research-informed approach. We believe that children write best when they have first mastered the foundations of writing, so our curriculum prioritises sentence construction, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and handwriting before moving towards extended composition.

From the Early Years onwards, children develop their writing through rich talk, storytelling and oral rehearsal. We use carefully selected texts to immerse pupils in high-quality texts, enabling them to learn, imitate and innovate language before writing independently. Oracy is at the heart of every lesson, helping children organise their ideas and build confidence as communicators.

Across the school, pupils practise writing every day through explicit teaching, modelled examples, daily dictation, handwriting and purposeful grammar instruction. These routines develop automaticity in the core skills, allowing children to focus on expressing their ideas creatively and effectively.

Vocabulary is taught explicitly through carefully chosen texts, while grammar is always taught in context so that children understand how language creates meaning. High-quality model texts (WAGOLLs) and structured teacher modelling support pupils as they move from guided practice to independent writing.

By the end of Year 6, pupils write with accuracy, stamina and creativity across a wide range of genres. They have a secure understanding of grammar and language, can adapt their writing for different audiences and purposes, and leave as articulate, confident writers who are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

The Importance of Dictation

At Millbrook Park CE Primary School, dictation is a daily part of our English curriculum because it strengthens the essential foundations of successful writing. Rather than simply testing spelling, dictation brings together spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting in one purposeful activity, helping children apply their knowledge automatically and accurately.

Research shows that when transcription skills become automatic, children have more mental capacity to think about the content, organisation and creativity of their writing. By reducing the cognitive effort required to remember spellings or punctuation, dictation frees working memory so pupils can focus on communicating their ideas effectively.

Supporting Executive Function

Executive functions are the mental skills that help children plan, focus attention, remember instructions and manage multiple tasks successfully. Daily dictation provides regular opportunities to strengthen these important skills by encouraging children to:

  • Sustain attention by listening carefully and maintaining concentration.
  • Develop working memory by holding a sentence in mind before writing it accurately.
  • Use self-regulation by checking, editing and correcting their own work.
  • Develop cognitive flexibility by applying previously taught grammar, punctuation and spelling in new contexts.
  • Build processing speed and automaticity, allowing writing to become increasingly fluent.

How Dictation Supports Learning

Our carefully planned dictation sessions help children to:

  • Apply spelling, punctuation and grammar accurately within complete sentences.
  • Develop fluent, legible handwriting.
  • Strengthen sentence construction and grammatical understanding.
  • Improve listening and language comprehension.
  • Embed vocabulary and sentence patterns through repeated retrieval.
  • Build confidence and independence as writers.

Dictation is not a spelling test. It is a powerful learning strategy that helps children remember more, apply more and write with increasing accuracy and confidence. Over time, these daily sessions develop the automatic skills needed for high-quality composition, allowing every child to become a more fluent, thoughtful and successful writer.

 
↑

The LDBS Academies Trust

LAT was created in 2012 with five schools spread across the London Borough of Haringey. Our mission is to establish, maintain, carry on, manage and develop Church of England Schools across the Diocese of London. Our aim is that every child should have the opportunity to flourish and develop into a rounded adult who can live life to the full.

Visit Site
×