Charles Darwin Community Primary School – Pathways to Spell – Case Study

About the school: A two-form-entry primary school in Northwich.

Number of classes: 14

Number on roll: 350

The Challenge:

Previously we had followed a progression in spelling but had no resources provided and no real planning and we felt spelling was a boring lesson that children didn’t enjoy.

Mastery Approach:

Pathways to Spell follows on from our Little Wandle phonics programme with children in Year 2 moving on to Pathways to Spell once they have secured their phonic knowledge. The progression between the two works well and children have the vocabulary from phonics lessons enabling them to pick up the patterns and rules and talk about them technically in our spelling lessons.

Spelling is now an enjoyable lesson. The children love spotting rules and applying them during the week. Pathways to Spell makes spelling more meaningful. The vocabulary linked to spelling is more alive in school and because the children have discovered patterns and rules themselves, they are then finding it easier to apply them in their independent writing.

The Impact:

The PowerPoints are a godsend. Teachers’ workload has decreased enormously as the resources provided are excellent quality. Teachers new to year groups can pick up the programme and go with patterns and rules pointed out explicitly.

The programme is so easy to implement in school. Planning, presentations and resources are all provided and ensure progression through the week, year and across years. The lessons are engaging and thorough meaning children come away with the knowledge they need in a way that has been fun to learn.

The lessons link perfectly to our Pathways to Write units which the children really enjoy.

Charles Darwin Community Primary School