Spelling at KWPS 
At Kirkham and Wesham Primary School, our spelling curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children.
We follow the award-recognised Ready Steady Spell programme by Literacy Counts to ensure that all pupils become fluent, accurate spellers. Our spelling curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, helping children secure the essential skills and strategies they need to spell confidently across the curriculum.
Through engaging activities, consistent teaching routines and regular opportunities to revisit prior learning, we help children move spelling knowledge into their long-term memory. Our aim is to build confident writers who are equipped with the tools they need to communicate clearly and effectively. Spelling is taught in a clear and systematic way, with regular reviews and assessments.
Additional support is provided through Ready Steady Spell: Go sessions, which offer targeted intervention for pupils who need further consolidation.
Please click here [add hyperlink to PDF of your spelling policy] for further information about the intent, implementation and impact of our spelling curriculum.
How Ready Steady Spell Works
Ready Steady Spell is a progressive spelling programme from Year 2 to Year 6. It provides full coverage of curriculum expectations and offers opportunities to reinforce and embed learning.
In Year 2, children are taught five Ready Steady Spell lessons each week. The first four lessons teach new spellings, and the fifth lesson provides an opportunity to revisit that week's learning and explore common exception words.
In Years 3 to 6, children are taught three lessons each week. The first two lessons cover new spelling rules, and the third lesson provides an opportunity to revisit the week's learning. During this lesson, children also explore words from their year group's statutory word list from the National Curriculum.
Assessment and Keep-Up Support
Assessment is continuous and ongoing through the Ready Steady Spell programme. Teachers continually monitor children's progress so that gaps or misconceptions can be identified swiftly and pupils can be supported appropriately.
Any child who finds spelling more challenging will receive additional support. This support is intended to help children keep up rather than catch up and may be delivered through the Ready Steady Spell: Go programme.
Supporting Spelling at Home
Parents and carers play a vital role in helping and encouraging their children to develop as learners. At KWPS, we encourage families to support children by:
Identifying Spellings and Spelling Rules at Home
Explore, discuss and reinforce the spelling rules children are learning in school. Encourage them to identify words that follow these rules whenever they are reading at home.
Learning Spellings and Spelling Rules at Home
Encourage and support your child to explore, learn and practise the words in their weekly spelling homework. This can be done by asking your child to:
- Look at a word.
- Cover the word.
- Write the word down.
- Check that they have spelt it correctly.
Encourage your child to prepare for their spelling test and celebrate their success afterwards.
Ensuring Every Child Succeeds
At KWPS, we believe that every child can be a successful speller. To ensure this, high-quality teaching, carefully matched activities, regular assessment and appropriate additional support are central to our approach.
Through strong partnerships between school and home, we aim to ensure that children leave KWPS with a secure knowledge of spelling rules and the spelling of common exception words.
At KWPS, learning to spell is fundamental to becoming a successful writer and reader and is an integral part of the journey that enables children to Belong, Believe and Be the Best They Can Be.
Spelling Progression Overviews (Y2 – 6)
