WELCOME TO OUR ENGLISH PAGE!
confident speakers, captivated readers, creative writers
Intent – What are we trying to achieve?
It is our intent for all children to learn to speak, read and write with confidence, fluency and understanding, enabling them to become independent, confident and creative learners. Through our teaching of English, we aim to nurture within children a love for books - reading for their own genuine enjoyment and write creatively within a range of genres using a wide range of conventions and punctuation. Therefore, it is our philosophy that children engage in a curriculum that inspires their reading, writing and spoken language.
We believe English is a crucial key to improving learning and raising standards. It supports children to access all other subjects across the curriculum, to read for information and pleasure, to communicate confidently and effectively.
Our intent is for all children to have equal access to English, which is one of the core subjects of the 2014 National Curriculum. Our school values all pupils’ efforts to read, write and talk. This is demonstrated by pupil’s work displayed in classrooms, a positive agreed approach to assessment, and the role of self assessment in pupil’s progress.
Implementation – How can we ensure our intent is put into practice?
The 2014 National Curriculum for English provides detailed guidance and forms the basis of teaching and learning for English at Freezywater St George’s. We provide a creative curriculum accessible to all children due to the implementation of our ‘Learning Challenge’ curriculum. Therefore, English reading and writing is taught in a cross curricular environment using the 2014 National Curriculum and additional strategies and approaches such as LiLac and Talk for Writing.
Spoken Language
Continual development of pupils’ confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills are fostered throughout the school by providing opportunities to explain understanding and prepare ideas before writing. Children are assisted in making their thinking clear to themselves as well as to others and teachers ensure pupils build secure foundations by using discussion within all lessons across the curriculum. To achieve this we have implemented the LiLaC approach to teaching and learning encouraging formal and informal uses of language, construction and reconstruction of texts and provide regular vocabulary building activities.
All pupils have the opportunity to participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with the artistic practice of drama and performance as they adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role. Children have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances throughout the year through class assemblies, Christmas nativities and end of year performances.
Reading
The study for reading at key stages 1 and 2 consist of two dimensions: word reading and comprehension (both listening and reading).
Teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both dimensions. Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. This is why the teaching of phonics using the Read Write Inc programme is emphasised in the early teaching of reading in Reception and Key Stage 1.
Comprehension skills are developed through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction as a whole class, individually and in small groups. All pupils are encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. All teachers model the enjoyment of reading by reading to their class daily using high quality, stimulating books closely linked to the children’s Learning Challenge curriculum.
Writing
The study for writing at Key Stages 1 and 2 are constructed similarly to those for reading: transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing). Teachers develop pupils’ competence in these two dimensions using a whole school approach, methods and strategies outlined within LiLaC and Talk for Writing.
Pupils are taught how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing and that of their peers. Composition (forming, articulating and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a reader) is taught through the development of awareness of the audience, purpose and transcription (spelling use of phonic knowledge, understanding word structures and spelling structures) is taught discreetly and within context during shared and guided writing sessions. Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation is taught as a discrete subject and contextualised during shared and guided writing sessions. Fluent, legible and speedy handwriting is awarded in the form of a ‘Pen Licence’ and is taught discretely using the Collins handwriting scheme.
At many points during the course of the year children are given the opportunity to become published authors within a range of competitions such as ‘Young Writers’.
Spelling, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
Teachers strive to enhance pupils’ vocabulary as it arises naturally from their reading and writing as they demonstrate how to understand the relationships between words, how to understand nuances in meaning, and how to develop their understanding of, and ability to use, figurative language with discrete lessons and during shared and guided writing sessions. Teachers show pupils how to work out and clarify the meanings of unknown words and words with more than one meaning. Teachers demonstrate and model the correct grammatical terms in English and consistently use Standard English. Punctuation and grammar will be taught as a discrete subject and contextualised during shared and guided writing sessions.
EYFS Reception
We believe that communication and language, with opportunities to explore reading and writing, underpins children’s future learning. The practice in Reception follows the DfE curriculum guidance and works towards the Early Learning Goals aiming to meet the goals by the end of reception year.
In reception the daily routine will include planned and child initiated activities that include:
- a wealth of opportunities to develop and experience speaking and listening;
- experiences that develop gross and fine motor skills through play and
handwriting activities;
- sharing and enjoying a range of rhymes, songs, stories and books;
- immersion in a print rich environment with opportunities for oral language
and written communication e.g. differentiated phonic activities;
- focus activities that teach children early communication language and literacy skills.
- reading groups which are central to the week
- big book activities with a shared reading and writing focus each week
Assessment
Pre & post assessments are used at the beginning of each unit (genre) of work where teachers and children can evaluate their progress in writing. We also Rising Stars Assessments every half term to assess the children’s knowledge and skills relating to grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Children’s daily English work is regularly marked with a range of feedback providing closing the gap comments, extensions and achievement relating to the lesson success criteria. Children are also encouraged to participate in the assessment of their work using self-assessment or peer assessment. This encourages children to understand what their next steps are for learning and to understand their targets to help them move on in their writing. Writing in ‘Progress in Writing’ Books are marked taking in consideration of all writing conventions and opportunities for children to extend their learning by applying taught skills are provided.
Impact – What is the impact of our English provision for our children?
All children will be able to speak, read and write with confidence, fluency and understanding becoming independent, confident and creative learners. They will have a love of books and read widely for enjoyment and information applying new language to communicate confidently and effectively in a range of formal and informal settings.
All children will be supported to achieve their full potential being able to write in cursive script, understand and apply writing conventions within a range of genres and develop creativity enabling them to thrive within this subject as they progress onto their next phase of learning within their secondary settings.