Communication and language provide the foundation for thinking, learning, relationships and participation. Pupils need the vocabulary, confidence and communication skills to understand others, express themselves and engage successfully with the world around them.

Communication and language development begins in Nursery and Reception. Through the United Curriculum, high-quality interactions, stories, poems, rhymes, songs, purposeful play and direct teaching, adults model language and help children to understand and express increasingly complex ideas.

Staff identify the important vocabulary children need to learn and provide repeated opportunities for them to hear, understand and use it. Adults respond to children’s communication, model complete sentences and extend what children say.

Across the school, our approach is informed by the principles of Voice 21 Oracy. Pupils are explicitly taught how to:

• listen actively and respond appropriately

• speak clearly and confidently

• articulate ideas using complete sentences

• explain their thinking

• ask relevant questions

• justify opinions using evidence

• build on or respectfully challenge the ideas of others

• participate in discussion, debate and presentation

• adapt their language for different audiences and purposes

Communication and oracy are developed throughout the curriculum. Teachers explicitly introduce and model subject-specific vocabulary and give pupils structured opportunities to rehearse ideas orally before reading, writing or solving problems.

Communication and Language in Our Specialist Provision

For pupils within our specialist provision, communication teaching is matched carefully to individual needs. Staff work closely with families and specialist professionals and use the communication approaches recommended for each pupil.

These may include visual support, symbols, signs, objects, structured language programmes or communication technology. Adults use consistent language and approaches so that pupils encounter the same important messages across different lessons, routines and environments.

Pupils receive frequent opportunities to initiate communication, make choices, express needs, respond to others and develop social interaction. Important vocabulary, sentence structures and communication skills are revisited regularly and practised with different adults and in different situations.

The purpose is not simply for pupils to demonstrate a skill during an individual session, but to use their communication increasingly independently throughout school and beyond.

Communication and Language Long-Term Plan

Our long-term plan shows how communication, vocabulary, speaking and listening develop progressively from Nursery to Year 6, including the pathways and adaptations used within our specialist provision.

[Add document: Communication and Language Long-Term Plan]

Reading is central to learning at Waterloo. We want every pupil to learn to read accurately and fluently, understand what they read and develop a lifelong enjoyment of books.

Early reading is taught systematically through Read Write Inc. Phonics. Pupils learn the relationship between sounds and letters in a carefully sequenced order and practise using this knowledge to read words and sentences. Reading books are closely matched to the sounds pupils have learned, enabling them to practise successfully and develop accuracy, fluency and confidence.

Teachers assess pupils’ phonic knowledge and reading fluency regularly. Pupils at risk of falling behind receive additional teaching and practice. Older pupils who have not yet secured accurate and fluent word reading continue to receive appropriately matched phonics and reading support.

As pupils become increasingly fluent, reading teaching develops:

• accurate, expressive and fluent reading

• vocabulary and background knowledge

• retrieval and summarising

• inference and interpretation

• understanding of authors’ choices

• comparison of ideas and texts

• discussion and personal response

• comprehension across different curriculum subjects

In key stage 2, our reading curriculum is delivered through Ark English. Pupils encounter carefully selected, high-quality texts and are explicitly taught the knowledge and strategies required to understand them deeply.

Reading for pleasure is promoted throughout the school. Teachers read aloud regularly, pupils encounter a diverse range of authors and texts, and children are encouraged to talk about their reading and make informed choices about books.

Reading in Our Specialist Provision

Pupils within our specialist provision follow Read Write Inc., Ark English or an appropriately adapted reading pathway according to their starting points and needs.

Learning may be broken into smaller steps, with additional modelling and more frequent opportunities to revisit previously taught sounds, words and texts. Pupils may read the same carefully matched text several times so that decoding becomes more accurate and fluent and attention can increasingly move towards meaning.

Staff distinguish carefully between difficulties with communication, decoding and comprehension. Resources and methods of response are adapted so that pupils can demonstrate what they understand without unnecessary barriers.

Phonics and reading practice continue for as long as pupils need them. Teaching is focused on meaningful progress rather than a pupil’s chronological age or class placement.

Reading Long-Term Plan

Our long-term planning shows the progression from early phonological awareness and phonics to fluent, confident and thoughtful reading.

[Add document: Reading Long-Term Plan]

Our writing curriculum develops both the ideas pupils want to communicate and the transcription skills they need to record those ideas accurately and fluently.

Children’s journey as writers begins with communication, oral composition, physical development and purposeful mark-making. Pupils learn to say and rehearse sentences before writing them and gradually develop the knowledge needed to communicate increasingly complex ideas.

Early writing is taught alongside phonics through Read Write Inc., including its Get Writing programme. In key stage 2, Ark English provides a carefully sequenced writing curriculum based on high-quality texts, purposeful outcomes and explicit teaching.

Our writing curriculum develops:

• oral composition and sentence construction

• vocabulary

• spelling

• handwriting

• punctuation and grammar

• planning and organising ideas

• drafting, revising and editing

• writing for different purposes and audiences

Handwriting is taught and practised daily throughout the school using a consistent Read Write Inc. approach. Pupils are taught correct pencil grip, letter formation, positioning, joining and presentation so that handwriting becomes increasingly accurate, fluent and automatic.

Spelling is taught systematically through phonics and our No Nonsense Spelling programme. Pupils revisit spelling patterns and important words regularly and are expected to apply their learning across the curriculum.

Punctuation and grammar are taught explicitly and then applied through meaningful reading and writing. Teachers model the writing process and break complex tasks into manageable stages so that pupils are not expected to undertake tasks before they have secured the knowledge and skills required to complete them successfully.

Writing in Our Specialist Provision

Writing within our specialist provision begins with each pupil’s communication, physical development and current method of recording.

Pupils may need repeated teaching and practice in:

• oral composition

• fine-motor control

• pencil grip and manipulation

• letter formation

• spelling

• sentence construction

• selecting and organising ideas

• using an appropriate alternative method of recording

Staff break writing into small, carefully sequenced steps and reduce unnecessary demands so that pupils can focus on the intended learning. Visual prompts, oral rehearsal, modelling, shared writing and adapted recording methods may be used to support success.

Important skills are revisited regularly and applied in different curriculum subjects and meaningful everyday contexts. Where a pupil uses an alternative method of communication or recording, this is recognised as an important part of developing their ability to compose and communicate.

Writing Long-Term Plan

Our long-term planning shows how composition, spelling, handwriting, punctuation and grammar develop progressively from Nursery to Year 6, including the pathways used within our specialist provision.

[Add document: Writing Long-Term Plan]

Our mathematics curriculum helps pupils develop secure mathematical knowledge, confidence and fluency. Pupils learn to understand numbers, recognise patterns, calculate accurately, reason mathematically and solve increasingly complex problems.

In Nursery, early mathematical understanding is developed through the United Curriculum, direct teaching, purposeful play, routines and practical experiences. Children learn to notice quantities, compare amounts, recognise patterns and use mathematical language.

From Reception to Year 6, mathematics is taught through Ark Mathematics Mastery. Learning is carefully sequenced so that new knowledge builds on what pupils already know. Teachers use clear explanations, mathematical representations, practical resources and precise vocabulary to develop secure understanding.

Our mathematics teaching prioritises:

• counting and number sense

• number facts and calculation

• place value

• arithmetic fluency

• mathematical vocabulary

• reasoning and explaining

• problem-solving

• making connections between mathematical ideas

Lessons develop pupils’ arithmetic fluency and give them opportunities to use their knowledge when reasoning and solving problems. Fluency does not simply mean completing calculations quickly. It means recalling and using mathematical knowledge accurately, efficiently and flexibly.

Teachers assess pupils’ understanding regularly and address misconceptions promptly. Pupils who need further support receive additional teaching and practice, while pupils who are secure are challenged to reason more deeply and apply their knowledge in unfamiliar situations.

Mathematics in Our Specialist Provision

Within our specialist provision, pupils follow Ark Mathematics Mastery where appropriate or an adapted mathematical pathway based on their starting points and individual needs.

Mathematical concepts are broken into small steps and taught using clear explanations, practical resources and visual representations. Pupils receive frequent opportunities to revisit number, calculation and mathematical vocabulary so that important knowledge is retained and can be retrieved more independently.

Staff vary resources and contexts carefully so that pupils learn to recognise the same mathematical idea in different forms. Pupils are supported to apply their knowledge during lessons, classroom routines, play and practical everyday situations.

Teaching maintains a balance between securing essential knowledge and enabling pupils to reason, solve problems, make choices and develop the mathematical understanding required for increasing independence.

Mathematics Long-Term Plan

Our long-term planning shows how mathematical knowledge and skills develop progressively from Nursery to Year 6, including the adapted pathways available within our specialist provision.

[Add document: Mathematics Long-Term Plan]