Our writing lessons are 'skills-based' and are carefully differentiated to meet the needs of all learners. A love of writing is encouraged through carefully chosen engaging texts and stories. We aim to provide our pupils with opportunities to develop core communication skills in every lesson, regardless of the subject.
In Key Stage (KS1), children read with adults every day. Our specific classroom programme helps to move all children on in their reading. It is delivered initially to all children in KS1 while they are still reading on KS1 colour band levels. It helps children make accelerated progress by working with trained adults in small groups matched to their independent reading levels. This method has a proven track record of success in raising school reading standards in KS1. Each reading session lasts for 30 minutes. The children are assessed on a daily basis to ensure that they are supported and stretched to achieve their full potential. We teach children to decode words using a programme called 'Letters and sounds' in a daily phonics lesson.
Both in school and at home, we want to build a culture of reading for pleasure and purpose. Our approach to reading involves daily sessions incorporating clear adult modelling before the children apply these skills through partner work and independent reading. Children deepen their understanding of the challenging texts they read through the systematic use of a series of strategies and language stems. Our approach encompasses the key principles of effective reading provision and fully meets the requirements of the National Curriculum by creating a deep understanding of texts, developing an ability to express themselves about what they have read and increasing children’s breadth of reading.
Children at Warwick learn Maths as a discrete subject for an hour a day. We use the Primary Advantage Maths approach in which children learn to use concrete resources, such as counters, blocks, plastic money and number lines, to develop a strong understanding of Maths concepts. They then move on to using pictures to help them visualise a concept, before learning to handle numbers in the abstract.
Our aim is that all children enjoy Maths and see its value in the real world. As such we focus on Maths in a real-life context and fun, problem-solving activities. When children have shown a good understanding of the basic concepts, we stretch their learning by challenging them to explain their reasoning and show a depth of understanding, leading to mastery.
Mental Maths is an important skill, taught in short bursts every day. Children are taught strategies to improve the speed of their mental calculations. We emphasise the importance of learning times tables and number bonds.