Spelling

In both KS1 and KS2 children have a weekly spelling test.  During and following on from the Phonics Shed programme (see separate policy), it is important that the children are taught a range of strategies to enable them to tackle the spelling of unfamiliar words.

We always encourage the children to attempt to spell words they are not sure of, to enable them to practise the strategies they have been taught.

To become independent spellers the children should:

• Have a store of words they can spell automatically.
• Be able to segment/sound words out.
• Know the common letter patterns, so that they know when a word looks ‘right’ (become a visual speller).
• Be able to divide words into syllables.
• Make links between the meaning of words and their spelling.
• Work out spelling rules for themselves.
• Use word banks and dictionaries

We encourage our children to develop a visual memory to enable them to visualise words.   To help in this process we use Spelling Shed to engage pupils in learning their spellings on a weekly basis.  To develop spelling across school, teachers use the ‘Twinkl Planit’ progression document, located on the school’s planning file, and upload/set their spellings on a weekly basis for the children to access both in and out of school.  Pupils will learn the spellings from their own year group and any additional support to a child’s spelling needs will be met through personalised in-class support and intervention.