Dunstall Hill Primary School, Wolverhampton
“Early reading is prioritised by the school. Pupils encounter a love of reading from an early age and also build their fluency through a well-organised approach to teaching phonics. The school’s systematic approach means that most pupils learn the sounds they need to be able to blend words and develop their reading skills. Where this is not the case, pupils receive additional support to help them become more confident, fluent readers.”
School Inspection: Good
Previous Inspection: Not previously inspected
Ossett Holy Trinity CofE VA Primary School, West Yorkshire
“Early reading and phonics are a strength in the school. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to model new sounds effectively. They regularly check how well pupils understand their learning. If pupils fall behind, extra support is quickly provided to help them catch up. This is highly effective. Pupils read books that are closely matched to the phonics sounds they know.”
School Inspection: Good in all areas
Previous Inspection: Requires improvement
Ruth’s Updates
This month’s bumper newsletter covers mission Fresh Start, support with SEND, Online Assessment sessions and more.
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Castleford
“Staff teach high-quality phonics lessons with consistency. Pupils at risk of falling behind in reading receive targeted help, which helps to close any gaps in phonics knowledge. Pupils are enthusiastic about reading and demonstrate increasing accuracy in applying their skills to read unfamiliar words.”
School Inspection: Good
Previous Inspection: Good
Love, the Earth by Frances Stickley and Tim Hopgood
A poem from the Earth to inspire us to love and look after our world. The Earth gives us animals, weather, forests, oceans and plants. ‘Please share my food, my lakes, my land, but try to lend a helping hand’. If we take care of the planet, it will take care of us.
All the Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys
What does it mean to be smart? It’s not just reading and spelling or knowing all the answers. It’s building boats from boxes; finding treasures; flower picking; making up new games with teams. In fact, ’nobody will ever do the very same smart things as you’. We are all smart in different ways!
The Bridges by Tom Percival
Mia is a little girl who feels lonely. One day, a book mysteriously appears. The first book she has ever owned and, as she reads it, she begins to cross bridges. Bridges that lead her to new places, new people, new adventures. When she meets a little boy who seems lonely, she knows what to do.
Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield and Hoang Giang
One night, Jeremiah plants tiny seeds and makes a wish. The next day, vines magically sprout through his ceiling and up to the floors of his tower block. As he and his brother explore, they discover more flowers and more new people. How will the community feel about their tower full of flowers?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Georgia Ellinas and Jane Ray
Puck, a cheeky sprite, lives in the fairy kingdom. King Oberon and Queen Titiania have a disagreement and ask Puck to help them sort it out. At the same time, there are four young people in love but each with the wrong person. Can Puck sort out the muddles? A retelling of the play by William Shakespeare.
Ruth’s Blog: Talk to Your Partner
Get bang for your ‘oracy’ buck Nearly 30 years ago, Professor Bob Slavin, an educator from Baltimore, visited my school in Whitechapel. After praising our teaching of reading and writing, he asked me why so few children talked in lessons. He talked about the research he’d done into classroom talk and this one sentence has […]