Lingey House Primary School
Headteacher: Mrs C M Jones
Spelling Policy
Feb 2015– Feb 2017
Spelling Policy
Introduction
Rationale
Lingey House Primary school believes that spelling is an important aspect of writing but it
must not be allowed to dominate our responses to children’s writing. Very good efforts at writing can
often be dismissed because of basic spelling errors and this can damage a child’s perception of him or
herself as a writer. We believe that a positive and interactive approach to spelling will encourage
children to recognise their achievements in spelling rather than allowing spelling to be associated simply
with mistakes and corrections. Through careful teaching and using specific strategies to develop spelling
through its stages, we can encourage children to investigate and overcome spelling problems, thus
becoming more confident writers.
The importance of spelling to the curriculum
Spelling is an integral part of the writing process in the curriculum. Pupils who spell with ease are able to
concentrate on the content of their writing and the making of meaning. While it is important to remember
that spelling is not the most important aspect of writing, confidence in spelling often has a profound
effect on the writer’s self-image. Accurate spelling implies consideration for the reader and also
recognises the deeply embedded notions about correctness which we hold as a society about spelling.
Strategy for implementation
Entitlement and curriculum provision
Spelling is taught as part of a planned programme, following the requirements of the English National
curriculum. In addition handwriting lessons and shared and guided reading and writing sessions afford
many opportunities for talking about spelling and revisiting and practising strategies. The teaching of
spelling of subject specific vocabulary occurs in all subjects and opportunities are made in these lessons
to reinforce spelling work undertaken in the Literacy Hour.
Teaching and Learning
The teaching of spelling aims to develop pupils as independent spellers who take an active part in their
own learning. Pupils are taught the knowledge and skills they need to become independent spellers.
Routines and structures are provided to enable pupils to apply what they learn about spelling
independently.
Teaching aims to show pupils how to become natural and accurate spellers. The programme
approaches this in three ways. Firstly, by using a structured approach as outlined in the National
curriculum. Secondly, by ensuring that pupils learn and practise those words which they most frequently
misspell as individuals. Thirdly, by increasing their spelling vocabulary by learning how to spell specific
words which are statutory in the curriculum. These spellings are given on a weekly basis, allowing
children to take them home and learn them. Children are then tested on these spellings.
During the foundation stage up to year 6 children need to learn to:
 use knowledge of word structure (phonemic, etymological and morphological) to extend
vocabulary and spell accurately
 use a range of strategies to secure spelling accuracy
Each year group has specific objectives for their year group which are shown below, but it is important
that teachers ensure that the children are taught from where they are in their spelling development and
therefore either previous year group objectives or future year group objectives need to be considered
when teaching spelling.
Foundation Stage
 link sounds to letters naming and sounding letters of the alphabet
 hear and say sounds in words in the order in which they occur
 use their phonic knowledge to write simple regular words and make phonetically plausible
attempts at more complex words.
Year 1
 all letters of the alphabet and the sounds which they most commonly represent
 consonant digraphs which have been taught and the sounds which they represent
 vowel digraphs which have been taught and the sounds which they represent
 the process of segmenting spoken words into sounds before choosing graphemes to represent
the sounds
 words with adjacent consonants
 guidance and rules which have been taught
Year 2
 spell new words using phonics and a range of self-checking strategies
 look at and spell words with new GPCs
 spell correctly common inflections, including plurals, tenses (ing, ed), words with double letters
and common prefixes
Year 3
 spell unfamiliar words using known conventions and rules and a range of strategies, including
phonemic, morphemic and etymological
 to spell and know the National curriculum word list for year 3
 adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words of more than one syllable
 spell words containing short vowels, prefixes and suffixes and inflections, doubling the final
consonant where necessary














How the spelling of verbs alter when ing is added
To investigate and learn to use the spelling pattern le as in little
To recognise and spell common prefixes and how these influence word meanings
To use their knowledge of prefixes to generate new words from root words, especially antonyms
How words change when er, est and y are added
To investigate and identify basic rules for changing the spelling of nouns when s is added
To investigate, spell and read words with silent letters
To recognise and generate compound words and use this knowledge to support their spelling
To recognise and spell common suffixes and how these influence word meanings
To use their knowledge of suffixes to generate new words from root words
To use the apostrophe to spell shortened forms of words
Identify short words within longer words as an aid to spelling
To recognise and spell the prefixes mis, non, ex, co, anti
To use their knowledge of prefixes to generate new words from root words and to understand how
they give clues to meaning
 To use apostrophe to spell further contracted forms of words
 To explore homonyms which have the same spelling but multiple meanings and explain how the
meanings can be distinguished in context
Year 4
 to spell and know the National curriculum word list for year 4
 adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words of more than one syllable
 spell unfamiliar words using phonemic, morphemic and etymological strategies distinguish the
spelling and meaning of common homophones



















To spell two syllable words containing double consonants
To distinguish between the spelling and meanings of common homophones
To spell regular verb endings s, ed and ing
To spell irregular tense changes
To recognise and spell suffixes al, ary and ic
To recognise and spell the suffixes ship, hood, ness and ment
The ways in which nouns and adjectives can be made into verbs by use of the suffixes ate, ify,
investigate spelling patterns and generate rules to govern the patterns
To investigate what happens to words ending in f when suffixes are added
To spell words with the common endings ight, tion, ious, ial and ough
To recognise and spell the prefixes ad, af, al and a
To explore the occurrence of certain letters within words e.g. v & k deduce some of the
conventions for using them at the beginnings, middles and endings of words
To explore the occurrence of certain letter strings (wa, wo, ss) within words; deduce some of the
conventions for using them at the beginnings, middles and endings of words
To spell words with common letter strings but different pronunciations
Collect / classify with common roots, investigating origins and meanings
To practice extending and compounding words through adding parts e.g. ful, ly, ive, tion, ic, ist
To recognise and spell the suffixes: ible, able, ive, tion and sion
To distinguish the two forms its (possessive, no apostrophe) and it’s (contracted it is) and to use
these accurately in own writing
To investigate compound words and recognise that they can aid spelling even where pronunciation
obscures it
To understand how diminutives are formed
Year 5
 to spell and know the National curriculum word list for year 5
 spell words containing unstressed vowels and more complex prefixes and suffixes, e.g. im-, ir-, tion, -cian
 group and classify words with regular spelling patterns and their meanings
 To examine the properties of words ending in vowels other than the letter e
 To investigate, collect and classify spelling patterns in pluralisation, construct rules for regular
spellings
 To collect and investigate the meanings and spellings of words using the following prefixes: auto,
bi, trans, tele and circum
 To identify word roots, derivations, and spelling patterns in order to extend vocabulary and provide
support for spelling
 To explore spelling patterns of consonants and formulate rules (ll in full becomes l when used as a
suffix / words ending with a single consonant preceded by a short vowel double the consonant
before adding ing / c is usually soft when followed by i)
 To investigate words that have common letter strings but different pronunciation
 To distinguish between homophones
 The correct use of possessive pronouns, linked to work on grammar
 To recognise and spell the suffix: cian etc.
 To spell unstressed vowels in polysyllabic words
 To investigate and learn spelling rules: words ending in modifying e drop e when adding ing / words
ending in modifying e when adding a suffix beginning with a consonant / words ending in y
preceded by a consonant change y to ie when adding a suffix except for the suffixes ly or ing / I
before e except after c when the sounds is ee. Note and learn exceptions
 To transform words e.g. changing tenses, negation, making comparatives, changing verbs to
nouns, nouns to verbs
 To recognise the spelling and meaning of the prefixes: in, im, ir, il, pro, sus
Year 6
 to spell and know the National curriculum word list for year 6
 spell familiar words correctly and employ a range of strategies to spell difficult and unfamiliar
words
 use a range of appropriate strategies to edit, proofread and correct spelling in their own work, on
paper and on screen
 To use word roots, prefixes and suffixes as a support for spelling
 To investigate meanings and spellings of connectives
Standardised Testing of Spelling
In Year 2 and Year 6, children sit a spelling test as part of their National SATs tests. In addition to this,
Year 3, 4 and 5, children sit a spelling test as part of the Optional SATs tests. The spelling test results
forms part of the overall English level awarded.
Homework and Spelling
From Year 1- Year 6 spelling homework will be set weekly. This homework will be appropriate to their
needs and will be linked to the searchlights and the National curriculum framework. It will be covered in
the English lessons.
Teaching Spelling
There are many different ways to teach spelling and as a school we have agreed to use a variety of
resources. These include: Searchlights, GCP, Prim ED and Andrew Brodie. In order to guide children to
becoming more confident spellers, the teaching of spelling is as investigative as possible. The lessons
provide visual, auditory and kinaesthetic elements in which the children play a vital role in their own
learning.
The spelling Appendix in the New National Curriculum for English will be used as guidance
in KS1 but are statutory in KS2.
However there are other ways that can be used alongside these schemes to support the teaching of
spelling and make spelling more FUN!
Cued Spelling: Mnemonic Strategies
RULES - some spellings do follow logical rules (like "i before e, except after c" - which most people
remember). The learner may be helped by rules like this, but (a) make sure you've got them right, and
(b) keep them simple and few in number.
WORD IN WORDS - just breaking words up into bits like syllables helps us to remember them, but if you
can break them up into smaller words that mean something, it's even easier to remember them. Words
like shep/herd, care/taker and water/fall are like this.
FRONTS AND BACKS - quite a lot of words have the same sort of start or finish. Starts and finishes can
be looked at closely in a set of words that start or finish the same. Starts (like "sta-", "pre-", "un-") are
often not as hard as finishes (like "-tion", "-ate", "-ous", "-ght").
FAMILIES - words which have the same fronts and backs can be put in groups or families. Sorting out
the words into families can be a game, perhaps even with a little prize for the winner. You can do this
with words that have the same middles, too. You might think of other ways of sorting words into families
or categories.
MAKE A PICTURE - if you can make up a picture in your mind about a word, this will help you
remember it. (Like thinking up a picture of two people getting married (wed) on a Wednesday to remind
you how to spell the name of that day). Some of your mind pictures or "visual images" will seem really
silly - but this is good, because if they are funny you will remember them better.
SHRINK AND GROW - with some words, you can remember a short hard bit of it or just some initials for
each part, like "par" in "separate". Often it helps to "grow" the initials into new words, to give you a
saying or rhyme to remember. Like: b / e / a / u / tiful = big elephants aren't ugly. Another example: n e c
e s s ary - has 1 collar & 2 socks.
FIX & STRETCH MEANING - it helps if we really understand what those hard words mean. The learner
might choose them because they seem interesting, but talking about the full and exact meaning and use
for while will make the word even more interesting, and help fix it in the learner's mind.
FUNNIES - as much as you can, work jokes and other silly and comic things into what you do with Cued
Spelling. Funny things are much more likely to be remembered.
RHYME AND RHYTHM - rhyme is very good for helping you remember, like in "i before e except after
c". If finding a rhyme is too hard, try to get some rhythm into the mnemonic so it is easier to say. You
could even try singing some of the words!
HIGHLIGHT - we only usually get one bit of a hard word wrong. Try highlighting the hard bits with colors
(perhaps green for easy bits, red for hard bits). Or just use capital letters or underline:- e.g. stationEry
Spelling Games
Below is a list of games that could be used as Morning Tasks, warm up sessions for spelling or just in a
spare 5 minutes!!! (Most suitable for Foundation, Key Stage 1 & 2) Learning is best when it is fun and
by using a variety of these games alongside Searchlights for Spelling and The Spelling Bank will ensure
that the different learning styles of the children is taken into account, especially the boys.
 Use alphabet stamps and let them stamp out their words on paper
 Squirt a bit of shaving cream on their desks and allow them to write their words
 Cut letters from magazines or newspaper to spell the words
 Write words as "stairsteps"
s
sp
spe
spel
spell
spelli
spellin
spelling
It is fun to do on graph paper
 Sparkle is where everyone sits on their desks, each person says a letter of the word you said to
spell until the word is over then the last person says "Sparkle" and the person next up is out of the
game.
Example:
Teacher: The word is "spelling"
Katie: S
Laura: P
Jim: E
Cassy: L
Hannah: I (Hannah is out, the real letter is L so she is out)
Josh: L
Mark: I
Jesse: N
Lindsey: G
Ricky: Sparkle
Tim: Tim is out because he got "sparkled"
 Sand dig: Bury the magnetic letters in the sand table. The kids have to dig them up and spell out
their words on an easel by the sand table.
 Make a wordsearch or crossword puzzle at Puzzlemaker.com with the spelling words
 30 Second Words: Students fold paper in quarters. Write the spelling word in one corner of the
corner. The teacher gives the students 30 seconds to write the word as many times as they can.
 Telephone Writing: The teacher prepares a paper with the spelling words written according the
key pad of a telephone. For example, c-a-t would be 2-2-8 (C is on the 2 button, A is on the 2
button, and t is on the 8 button of a telephone key pad). Students will look at a telephone key pad
to figure out the spelling word. They will write the spelling word on the paper the teacher has
prepared
 Give each letter of the alphabet a value. The students must find the value of each spelling word.
For example: A=1, B=2, C=3.. and so on. Can children find and learn words with a score of 25
etc
 Disappearing words: Write a word on the chalkboard with a wet sponge. Aim a small fan at it to
speed drying. The children write the words as many times as they can CORRECTLY AND
NEATLY before the word "disappears". It's a nice twist to writing each word multiple times and
they LOVE it! Whoever has the most correct (and neat) words gets to write the next word on the
board with the sponge!
 Write spelling words in white crayon -or any light colored crayon, then paint over them with
watercolor paint. The white crayon acts as a resist and the words "magically" appear
 Guess the word: One partner "writes" a spelling word with his/her finger on his/her partner' back.
 Musical spelling: Place a piece of paper with a different spelling word and a pencil on each desk.
Students stand by their desk. When the music starts they start walking...when the music stops,
they sit in the desk they are by. They write whatever word is on the desk. They are not supposed
to sit in the same desk twice! ,
 Which one: Write down 3 words, only one of which will be correctly spelt. Children then have to
copy down only correctly spelt word. E.g. wos, woz, was. This game could be made into a
competition by using Who wants to be a millionaire format but using 4 words instead of 3
 Speedwrite: Children to be given a word to write down and given an amount of time to write it
down as many times as they can (neatly). So in Key Stage 2 for example this could be the word
station and they are given 30 seconds to do this
 Countdown – Just like the TV game. Give the children a selection of vowels and consonants and
see who can make the longest correctly spelt word OR give children mixed up letters to make a
specific word. Either gives the children the word so that they can put the letters in the correct
order or ask them to make a word using all the letters.
 Finish it: Give children the beginning of a word such as musi(cian) and ask them to finish it
Reviewed: Feb 2015
Next Review: Feb 2017
Approved: Committee Two on 12 February 2015
More games to play on the internet (Smartboard) – A list of useful websites
http://teacher.scholastic.com/tools/spelling.htm
Enter your own spellings and the they are either jumbled into a list or made into a word
search for you (FS, KS1, KS2)
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/toftwood/lcwc.html
Look, cover, spell check. Words provided such as colours etc or spelling patterns (long
vowels etc) or you can enter your own (Good to have on for when children need an
extension)
(FS, KS1, KS2)
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/lookcover/lookcover.html
Look, cover, spell check. Words provided such as numbers etc or spelling patterns (long
vowels etc) or you can enter your own (Good to have on for when children need an
extension)
(FS, KS1, KS2)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/waystolearn/lookcover/game.shtml
Look, cover, spell check. Words provided for you such as topic words etc or numeracy.
Can not enter your own words to it
(KS2)
http://www.quia.com/ba/1476.html
100 most misspelled words used in a battleship game. You must answer questions every
time you hit a ship of the computers identifying the correctly spelt word from the list
(KS2)
http://www.quia.com/ba/1506.html
100 most misspelled words used in a battleship game. You must answer questions every
time you hit a ship of the computers identifying the correctly spelt word from the list
(KS2)
http://www.quia.com/hm/114901.html
100 most misspelled words used in a battleship game. You must answer questions every
time you hit a ship of the computers identifying the correctly spelt word from the list
(KS2)
http://www.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/gg.cgi?A1=m&A2=0&A3=0&AFUNCT=0&ALEVEL=1
Spell-A-Roo – Spotting the incorrectly spelt word
(KS2)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo/den/spelling/index.htm
Spellbound – Children flashed the word and then the word is scrambled for the children to
re-order
(FS, KS1, KS2)
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/auto/18/50.html
Spelling Machine – Children must fix the words by putting the letters in the correct order.
Words are spoken orally to them. Be careful with some American spellings however as
this site has the American spellings
(FS, KS1, KS2)
http://www.funbrain.com/plurals/index.html
The Plural girls – children must click correctly spelt plural
(KS1, KS2)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/spelling/spelling.shtml
Long Vowel words and pictures. Children are given a picture and they must drag the
correct long vowel phoneme into the word to correctly complete it
(KS1)
Other Spelling Resources on the Internet
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/englishA1.htm
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/englishA2.htm
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/englishA3.htm
All of these 3 sites have a variety of linked spelling sites for anything from CVC words to plurals to silent
letters and are either games to play or photocopiable material
School resources include:
Searchlights for Spelling
Spelling Rescue Packs – KS2
Letters and Sounds
List of Appendices
1. National curriculum for English ‘Spelling’.
Useful publications
National Curriculum for English 2013.
DCSf Support for Spelling 2009
DfES: The National Literacy Strategy- Developing Early Writing, DfES, London 2001
DfES: The National Literacy Strategy- Grammar For Writing, DfES, London, 2000.
DfES: The National Literacy Strategy- Spelling Bank, DfES, London, 1999.
DfES: The Primary National Strategy for Literarcy, 2007
English Appendix 1: Spelling
Most people read words more accurately than they spell them. The younger pupils are, the truer this is.
By the end of year 1, pupils should be able to read a large number of different words containing the GPCs
that they have learnt, whether or not they have seen these words before. Spelling, however, is a very
different matter. Once pupils have learnt more than one way of spelling particular sounds, choosing the right
letter or letters depends on their either having made a conscious effort to learn the words or having absorbed
them less consciously through their reading. Younger pupils have not had enough time to learn or absorb the
accurate spelling of all the words that they may want to write.
This appendix provides examples of words embodying each pattern which is taught. Many of the words listed
as ‘example words’ for years 1 and 2, including almost all those listed as ‘exception words’, are used
frequently in pupils’ writing, and therefore it is worth pupils learning the correct spelling. The ‘exception
words’ contain GPCs which have not yet been taught as widely applicable, but this may be because they are
applicable in very few age-appropriate words rather than because they are rare in English words in general.
The word-lists for years 3 and 4 and years 5 and 6 are statutory. The lists are a mixture of words pupils
frequently use in their writing and those which they often misspell. Some of the listed words may be thought
of as quite challenging, but the 100 words in each list can easily be taught within the four years of key stage
2 alongside other words that teachers consider appropriate.
The rules and guidance are intended to support the teaching of spelling. Phonic knowledge should continue
to underpin spelling after key stage 1; teachers should still draw pupils’ attention to GPCs that do and do not
fit in with what has been taught so far. Increasingly, however, pupils also need to understand the role of
morphology and etymology. Although particular GPCs in root words simply have to be learnt, teachers can
help pupils to understand relationships between meaning and spelling where these are relevant. For
example, understanding the relationship between medical and medicine may help pupils to spell the /s/
sound in medicine with the letter ‘c’. Pupils can also be helped to spell words with prefixes and suffixes
correctly if they understand some general principles for adding them. Teachers should be familiar with what
pupils have been taught about spelling in earlier years, such as which rules pupils have been taught for
adding prefixes and suffixes.
In this spelling appendix, the left-hand column is statutory; the middle and right-hand columns are
non-statutory guidance.
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is used to represent sounds (phonemes). A table showing the IPA is provided
in this document.