Reading

The aim of reading at Episkopi Primary School is to enable pupils to read easily, fluently and with good understanding.  We aim for every pupil to develop the habit of reading widely and often for both pleasure and information as well as encouraging a love of literature.

Through Reading, our pupils are equipped to embody our values in learning by acquiring knowledge and building on what they already know.  Pupils will have the opportunity to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually through exposure to a wide range of high-quality texts.  Through our teaching, we demonstrate how reading for the acquisition of information and knowledge requires resilience and resourcefulness.  Through the comprehension of a range of reading matter, pupils will reflect on the behaviour of the characters in stories and novels and in turn reflect on their own attitudes, actions and behaviour.  The development of the recognition of sounds and blending to read words encourages the pupils’ resilience and perseverance. 

Across all year groups, there is a focus in Reading on building resilience.  It is important for the pupils to learn that persevering with a text can bring great reward and a personal sense of achievement.  The daily practise of reading skills in order to become a fluent reader enhances a pupils’ resilience enabling the love of reading to come to fruition.  By encouraging curiosity and interest in learning more about our world pupils will become resourceful in their search for new and exciting information from various sources.

Writing

At Episkopi Primary School, we aim to equip all pupils with the key skills in writing so that they can imagine, plan, draft, compose, edit and evaluate in a range of contexts, enabling them to be competent, confident communicators, on page and screen. These integral skills will ensure a firm foundation for life-long learning.

By providing pupils with a range of exciting contexts, we will ensure that they understand the importance of writing effectively and develop their own unique voices to express their ideas, demonstrate their understanding, argue for their beliefs and explore their imagination. Through our teaching, we will provide the resources necessary to support challenge and independence, encourage pupils to make discerning choices and be effective problem-solvers. This resourceful skill set will grow as the curriculum demands so that our pupils can use their surroundings effectively, support each other’s learning and understand how to move their learning forward through further interrogation, development or discussion. Through the structure of our writing units, pupils will develop a resilient approach to the creative process: planning, sharing, discussing, editing and presenting on a regular basis so learning goals are clear and support can be provided by peers as well as adults, when challenges arise. Through exposure to established writers as well as shared pieces composed together or peer compositions, pupils will have opportunities to reflect upon how successful they have been in communicating ideas effectively, accurately and legibly. Time to improve, extend or replace is an essential part of the writing process as is the opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the written word.

We will endeavour to ensure that all of our pupils recognise themselves as writers. Our universal approach to exciting, challenging learning opportunities is planned to engage all learners so that they want to write. Where needed, we will provide additional support to those pupils who find aspects of writing difficult, providing them with scaffolds, visual representations, interactive resources, targeted interventions or a personalised curriculum so that writing is accessible and their voice can be heard. Opportunities to celebrate the written word are an integral part of our learning journey.

We want every pupil who leaves Episkopi Primary School to have the skills, knowledge and confidence to be the competent, imaginative, independent writers of tomorrow.

Speaking and Listening

The aim of speaking and listening at Episkopi Primary School is to promote high standards of language by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken word. Our aim is to enable our pupils to develop excellent listen skills so that they can understand what is being said, engaging effectively with others. We encourage our pupils to use discussion in order to learn and to be able to elaborate and clearly explain their understanding and ideas using a wide vocabulary.

Through Speaking and Listening, our pupils are equipped to embody our values in learning by developing communication skills necessary to succeed in all areas of the curriculum and in the wider society. Through our teaching and the learning opportunities we provide, pupils will develop confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills. Pupils will develop a sense of responsibility and will grow to understand that words can have consequences. Pupils will debate and discuss, and will learn to reflect on what others have said. Through all curriculum areas, pupils will use their resourcefulness in order to develop their vocabulary and understanding of the spoken word.  By developing these skills, we will enable our children to engage with others with compassion and empathy and so develop strong relationships. 

Across all year groups, there is a focus within Speaking and Listening upon building resilience. It is important for pupils to understand that others may have a different point of view and that this is to be celebrated. Pupils need good role models from adults in school in order for all children to develop good communication skills. Throughout all subjects, pupils will be given the opportunity to listen to and understand information and then to discuss and debate. Pupils will be given the opportunity to use language during role play and drama.