Reading is a vital skill that all our pupils learn before they leave Pennine View. We read for pleasure, to develop our learning and as an essential lifeskill. Systematic Synthetic Phonics is used to enable pupils to decode and encode written language. We use All Aboard Phonics to deliver daily phonics sessions to pupils who are being supported to decode. We have interventions in place that overcome barriers to reading. The school environment is reading-rich with a well-stocked library of high-quality texts and each classroom has a reading area. Pupils in Lower School have daily phonics lessons, as do pupils in Upper School who need further phonics teaching. Opportunities for pupils to read daily for pleasure are built in to the timetable. Pupils have VIPERS reading sessions 3 times a week, where they have an opportunity to read and discuss a book in a small group of 4 led by an adult.

Writing skills develop from oracy and reading. Our language-rich curriculum and environment develop vocabulary and grammatical skills with writing being taught and practiced daily. Written communication is another vital life-skill that all our pupils need for successful futures. All pupils write daily, each writing lesson starts with sentence level work. We have developed our Writing curriculum through a Talk 4 Writing approach. Our writing curriculum is text led and the pupils follow a cycle of immersion, imitation and innovation. The pupils have 4 writing lessons a week where they write for purpose and accuracy both fiction ad non-fiction pieces.

A central school library houses all the resources which can be borrowed to refresh classroom reading areas each half-term.