English
Intent:
At Chollerton First School we know and understand our children. We have created a curriculum that encourages them to become enthusiastic and engaged with English. The National Curriculum (2014) forms the basis for all subject teaching ensuring continuity and progression in an age-related curriculum. In addition, teachers make sure the content is relevant and stimulating by delivering through themes and topics. Our English curriculum has been developed to recognise the importance of English in every aspect of daily life and to develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children love to read, take pride in their writing and can clearly and accurately adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and to be able to use discussion to communicate and further their learning. By giving this context to their learning, the children understand the value of English to them now, and in their futures.
Our intent is to enable children to:
• Read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• Develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• Appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• Develop a love of writing and to be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively through the written word.
• Re-read, edit and improve their own writing
• Confidently use the essential skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling
• Acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and clearly explain their understanding and ideas
Implementation:
We ensure that our English teaching and learning provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. We use a wide variety of experiences, quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children. All pupils receive a daily English lesson.
Teachers also ensure that cross curricular links with concurrent topic work are woven into the programme of study.
Teachers create a positive reading and writing culture in school, where both are promoted, enjoyed and considered ‘a pleasure’ for all pupils.
• Promotion of reading through teachers reading out loud daily to their class.
• Pupils in EYFS and KS1 to have daily phonics sessions, following Twinkl Phonics.
• Age appropriate spellings sent home weekly for pupils to practise their words and to write a sentence containing each word at home.
• Pupils are being adventurous with vocabulary choices
• Pupils to acquire strategies to enable them to become independent learners in English (spelling rules and patterns and how to tackle unfamiliar words when reading).
• Pupils discuss and present their ideas to each other by talking, being able to elaborate and explain themselves clearly, make presentations and participate in debates.
• Vocabulary is promoted through all curriculum areas, enhancing and encouraging a wider use of vocabulary.
• Vocabulary mats to be used where needed and thesauruses and dictionaries which are easily accessible for pupils to use.
• Handwriting sessions are regularly incorporated into the English lessons as well as a discrete lesson.
• Teaching a range of genres across the school (progressing in difficulty) both in English and other curriculum areas; resulting in pupils being exposed to, and knowledgeable about, literary styles, authors and genres.
• Displays of writing, in class, shared areas, giving a purpose and audience, to encourage pride in work and to show that work is valued
• Reading and writing events (throughout the year) to encourage and promote enjoyment and opportunities to develop lifelong learning
Impact:
The impact and measure of this is to ensure children not only acquire the appropriate age-related knowledge, but also skills which equip them to progress from their starting points, and within their everyday lives.
Long term pupils will:
• be confident in the art of speaking and listening and to be able to use discussion to communicate and further their learning
• be able to read fluently both for pleasure and to further their learning.
• enjoy writing across a range of genres
• Pupils of all abilities will be able to succeed in all English lessons because work will be appropriately scaffolded
• have a wide vocabulary and be adventurous with vocabulary choices within their writing
• have a good knowledge of how to adapt their writing based on the context and audience
• leave Chollerton First School being able to effectively apply spelling rules and patterns they have been taught
• make good and better progress from their starting points to achieve their full potential Pupils of all abilities will succeed in all English lessons because work will be appropriately scaffolded with quality first teaching and experienced teaching assistants.
Assessment and Monitoring in English:
The impact of our English curriculum is measured through the monitoring cycle in school:
• Lesson observations, book monitoring and learning walks
• Skills progressing (SPaG)
• Gathering pupil voice – to check understanding, understanding of key skills and knowledge, progression, confidence in discussing English
• Moderating pupils work in school to ensure accurate assessments are made
• Pupil progress meetings with the SENCO ensure different groups (including EAL, PP and SEND) and individual progress is monitored, and interventions organised to support good and better progress
• Parents and carers will understand how they can support reading and spelling at home, and contribute regularly to homework.
• Importantly, monitoring is also used to identify gaps in the curriculum that may need to be addressed across the school, or within individual year groups. Monitoring is an ongoing cycle, which is used productively to provide the best possible English curriculum for our children and to ensure it is inclusive to all.
Role of the English Lead:
• Monitor the standards in the subject to ensure that outcomes are at expected levels
• Provide ongoing support to colleagues
• Collate appropriate evidence over time – this should show that pupils’ skills and understanding develop over time
• Regularly audit the needs of staff and organise training to address this
• Highlight / Celebrate successes