Following a review of our approach to the teaching of spellings in the primary school, from September 2024, we will be using the No Nonsense Spelling Scheme throughout the primary school. Children in Key Stage One will continue to initially learn spellings through our established phonics scheme (Essential Letters and Sounds) with the No Nonsense Spelling programme being used to follow-on from the phonetics approach in upper Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

No Nonsense Spelling is a complete programme for teaching spelling created by the Babcock LDP Primary Literacy Team to support teachers and pupils from Year 2 to Year 6. The programme consists of termly overviews, breaking down the requirements of the programme into strands with individual lesson plans and resources. The No Nonsense programme has been selected because it is flexible and easy to use, comprehensive and designed to meet the needs of the 2014 National Curriculum, and is tried and tested by primary teachers in many schools.

The principles of the No Nonsense Spelling Programme include:

• Spelling should be taught, not caught - children need to learn spelling patterns and rules, statutory words, common exceptions and personal spellings. No Nonsense Spelling teaches spelling using a 'Little-but-often' structure allowing pupils to revisit and review, learn new strategies and apply.
• A variety of strategies are used so that children with different learning styles can find out what works well for them. Handwriting activities are also included, to develop muscle memory of the spelling pattern.
• Clear progression through each year, splits the learning into units which build on previous learning.
• Home learning activities are adapted for children to use range of strategies, and regular tests can be built in.
• An approach to ensure spelling is taught cohesively and consistently throughout the school with clear progression from year to year.
   

Click here to read the No Nonsense Spelling Pathway for Years 2 to 6.