Literacy

We believe that being literate is one of the core skills for an effective and fulfilling life. Our mission at Woodlands is to ensure that each child is able to access the world in a functional way,  depending upon their own needs, so that they can communicate their wants,  needs and desires. 

Our literacy provision includes a focus on communication or becoming literate every day of the week.  Sufficient curricular time is given to developing these skills and children are taught in ability focused groups to maximize their learning experience.  Children report that they really enjoy mixing up their groups each day and this increases their sociability and experience of others. 

We focus on the development of literacy through reading and writing,  making use of high quality children's literature and linking this with dramatic opportunities to explore the use of voice in different scenarios. Sensory stories are used effectively with a range of children too. 

Writing skills are developed either through handwriting or through technology with software such as Clicker 7. Writing activities are often very practical in their nature and children enjoy developing a variety of written forms such as creating recipes or lists,  poems,  book reviews and stories. Some children learn to use dictation to support their writing and we have seen some remarkable work produced which has been shared and even published locally. 

Our school library is extensive and children enjoy choosing and borrowing books with the librarians giving support for choices as well as interactive story sessions.