English
Subject Leader: Mrs A Neill
Intent
English is the foundation of our curriculum. Our main aim is to ensure every single child becomes primary literate and progresses in the areas of reading, writing, and speaking and listening.
We recognise that each child has their own starting point upon entry to every year group. As a result, we measure progress from this starting point alongside attainment against age related expectations. Staff are aware of those groups which may require additional support or challenge, and these groups of children are provided for accordingly, in order that all children may reach their potential.
English will be taught discretely on a daily basis, but it also underpins the other areas of our broad and balanced curriculum. It is embedded within all our lessons and we will strive for a high level of English for all. Through using high-quality texts, immersing children in vocabulary rich learning environments and ensuring curriculum expectations and the progression of skills are met, children will be exposed to a language-rich, creative and continuous English curriculum which will develop a love of reading, purposeful and creative writing and a confidence in speaking and listening, enabling children to become primary literate pupils.
Objectives:
- To ensure teaching and learning in school supports the development of speaking and listening, reading and writing in all pupils ensuring all pupils achieve their full potential according to their age and abilities.
- To enable children to communicate effectively, both verbal and non-verbally.
- To ensure children read and write with confidence, fluency and understanding, orchestrating a range of independent strategies to self-monitor and correct.
- To enable children to become fluent, confident and independent readers who have an interest in books and read for enjoyment.
- To enable children to understand a range of text types and genres and be able to write in a variety of styles and forms appropriate to the situation.
- To provide children with opportunities to develop their literacy skills across the curriculum.
Phonics
We use the Little Wandle scheme at St Mary's in EYFS and into Key Stage 1. Children further up the school who have not secured their phonics learning are targeted through interventions which follow the same programme.
Reading
Progression
Key Learning - Age-related Expectations
Pie Corbett's Reading Spine
Helping Your Child To Read
Reading Ambassadors
The Year 6 Reading Ambassadors work hard to promote reading around school. Some examples of what they do or have worked on this year include:
- Book raffles
- Competitions - design a bookmark and write a poem
- Reading displays
- Story time with younger year groups
- Organising the sale of books at the Book Fair
- Re-organising the library area
Writing
We use Lancashire English Department's Talk programmes throughout school. This approach begins with text exploration, and is firmly rooted in high quality talk strategies, which develop children's confidence, vocabulary, and their understanding of a variety of sentence and text structures. This leads into writing which is modelled by staff, before the children write their own, independent pieces of work. The children then revisit their work, evaluating, editing, and revising their pieces.
Useful Links
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Spelling Shed
Children can practise their spelling using their logins to this site.
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Accelerated Reader
The children can quiz on their Accelerated Reader books on this site once they have finished reading them.
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Letterjoin
The children can practise their letter formation and handwriting using this site.
