English
English curriculum
Statement of intent
English is an extremely important and essential part of a child’s educational development and it is our aim for all children to be taught a quality English curriculum. This should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to inspire children to have an appreciation of our varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often. We wish to promote a nurturing culture where children can take pride in their writing, write clearly and accurately and develop this for a range of contexts. Children should be encouraged to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and to use discussion to communicate effectively.
Implementation
These English aims are imbedded across our literacy lessons and wider curriculum. We have a well organised English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. Teachers adapt their teaching as appropriate to their classes, but also ensure that cross curricular links within topics are woven into their English lessons. Our curriculum closely follows the aims of the National Curriculum for English 2014.
We know the value of excellent vocabulary and this is developed and practised across our curriculum daily in lessons. Phonic awareness is important and is taught in daily sessions using Essential Letters and Sound. Children are heard reading regularly, both individually and in groups. Children are taught the importance of well-presented work through handwriting sessions and teacher modelling. We develop writing skills so that our children have the stamina and ability to write at age expected standard. We promote the importance of written work by providing a writing purpose and opportunity for writing to be read aloud and listened to by an audience. We use a wide range of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children.
Impact
We measure the effectiveness and impact of our English writing and reading, grammar and spelling curriculum in a variety of different ways. We use termly summative assessments across school, pupils complete writing assessments on a half termly basis and feedback/ next steps plus successes are provided. As a result of this teaching and learning we will have a community of enthusiastic reader and writers who enjoy showcasing their developing literacy knowledge and skills. They are confident to take risks in their reading and writing and love to discuss and share their ideas.