Spelling

Intent

At Middle Barton School we believe that all our children can become fluent, confident and competent spellers. We encourage our pupils to think and write creatively, be adventurous with their use of language and to write with clear purpose and for pleasure. In order for these aims to be realised, it is essential that our pupils learn the knowledge and skills to spell accurately. We want our pupils to be equipped with the knowledge and range of strategies for learning spelling and to be able to apply their strategies when spelling words in their writing. 

Implementation 

To ensure this happens we teach using Ready Steady Spell. This is a systematic spelling programme which covers all the National Curriculum objectives in a cyclical way from Year 2 to 6. 

The progression document systematically develops children’s understanding of morphological and phonological spelling knowledge and rules, as appropriate, and builds upon previous learning in an incremental manner as they move through school. Children are also taught a range of engaging and interactive strategies which can be used to support recall of spellings and moving spellings into the Long Term Working Memory.

Impact

 Formative assessment:

Continuous formative assessment is integral in Ready, Steady, Spell. Daily practitioner assessments of children’s Practise & Apply outcomes are completed during and after each session. This enables practitioners to indicate areas that need immediate additional support. The different areas of support relate to formative assessment throughout the entire lesson and includes: 

• Spell Word List Word(s) 

• Strategy Recall

• Word Dictation 

• Sentence Dictation

Summative assessment: 

See the diagram below that indicates a typical half term structure of 5 weeks progressive teaching, followed by a week of consolidation and summative assessments: