Literacy

We use a structured literacy approach that emphasises phonemic awareness, synthetic phonics, and the development of reading fluency. In the junior classes, highly trained teachers  implement Heggerty and Sounds-Write to build strong foundational skills in phonics. Sounds-Write draws upon well-established theories of learning and teaching, shown to improve reading and spelling outcomes and accelerate learning. Our structured scope and sequence builds from simple to complex. It comprises three parts, The initial Code The Extended Code and Polysyllabic words.

As students’ progress through the school, they transition to Spelling Mastery, where they consolidate their knowledge and explore more complex sound patterns through regular, targeted practice. Spelling Mastery is a research-proven, Direct Instruction program that teaches spelling through phonemic, morphemic, and whole-word strategies. It uses 20 minute daily, structured lessons to help students understand spelling patterns rather than just memorizing, improving writing confidence.

In the senior unit, Literature Circles are a key focus. Literature circles are student-cantered, small-group reading discussions, similar to book clubs, where participants choose their books, meet to discuss them, and take on specific, rotating roles. This strategy boosts reading comprehension, critical thinking, and engagement through collaborative, student-led, and negotiated learning

To support students as writers Newington Primary School uses an evidence-informed approach to teaching writing through explicit, sentence-level strategies. It focuses on structured techniques—such as sentence combining and conjunction usage—integrated into existing curriculum rather than a separate program, improving both writing and reading comprehension.