Curriculum Intent for English

Intent:

At St Simon's we believe that our English curriculum should develop pupils' passion for reading, writing, speaking and listening.  We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often, from a selection of high-quality texts. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing. Our aspirations are for children to write clearly and accurately and 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 use discussion to communicate, reason, justify and therefore further their learning.

We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate as educated citizens and contribute to a better world.

These aims are embedded across our literacy lessons and the wider curriculum. We have a rigorous and well organised English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. Our curriculum closely follows the aims of the National Curriculum for English 2014.

The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
● read easily, fluently and with good understanding
● develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
● acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
● 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
● use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
● are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

Implementation:

Phonics:

The systematic teaching of  synthetic phonics has a high priority throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 and where needed in Key Stage 2 also. Staff systematically teach learners the relationship between sounds and the written spelling patterns, or graphemes, which represent them. Phonics is delivered in a whole class format, on daily basis because it enables staff to ensure application across subjects embedding the process in a rich literacy environment for early readers. High quality class and group teaching is the most efficient and effective way of ensuring good progress for children.                                                                                                                    As a school we teach Phonics through the 'Little Wandle' programme,  which is a card based programme from the list of Government validated systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programmes.

We use a range of strategies to enthuse and engage the children,.

The Children work at pace and are encouraged to apply their knowledge across the curriculum with any reading or writing activities. 

Reading:

All children read daily and are read to often, so that they develop a love of reading.                          Books are selected by teachers with the knowledge of how they link to other areas of the curriculum and provide opportunities for engagement in high quality texts, celebrating our own experiences and those of others. 

All books are organised in KS1 in order to ensure progression and challenge for all children. This falls in line with the Progression in the Little Wandle programme linked to the teaching and learning of Phonics and Reading.                                                                                                                      Little Wandle  reading books are matched to the appropriate phonics phase for each pupil which they can access at home and school.  

During Year 2 and throughout KS2,pupils access the Accelerated Reader Programme to ensure individual progression for reading.                                                                                                    Accelerated Reader uses real books and is a computer-based program that schools may use to monitor reading practice and progress. It helps teachers guide children to books at the correct individual reading level.

Children take short quizzes after reading a book to check comprehension and word reading. The programme has diagnostic tools built in so that we can identify strengths and weaknesses in the children's reading and target appropriate support and challenge.

Whole class reading sessions are planned by all teachers to teach a range of skills and techniques which enable children to comprehend the meaning of what they read and develop their understanding of the vocabulary used by authors.

Writing:

At St Simon's we foster a love of writing from the earliest stages of learning. We prioritise the need for daily writing opportunities through engaging and inspiring lessons which allow children to see writing as a means of expression and communication. and to become confident writers. 

Opportunities for children to apply their writing are planned and links to the wider curriculum are made when doing this.

In Early Years,  Key stage 1 and year 3 we use the Talk for Writing approach to structure writing and build vocabulary and in KS2 We develop progression in writing through the Power of Reading approach which enables and empowers children to read and write independently for a variety of audiences and purposes using a range of quality texts.

A key feature of our approach to the development of writing is that children internalise the language structures needed to write through ‘oral rehearsal' of text, as well as reading as both a reader and a writer.

Our chosen approach moves pupils from dependence towards independence as writers, with the teacher using modelled and guided pedagogies to develop the ability in children to write creatively and powerfully.

By the time pupils are in upper Key Stage 2, most genres of writing are familiar to them and the teaching can focus on creativity, sustained writing and manipulation of grammar and punctuation skills.

Assessment of the application of Key skills and elements in writing  is an ongoing process and where next steps in learning are identified by the teacher and also through self and peer assessment.

We further prioritise the importance of enriching experiences to inspire children through the teaching of English, including Author Visits, book swaps, story telling sessions and drama performances.

Spelling:

Spelling is an integral part of the curriculum and is taught daily at St Simon's. We use the English Appendix 1, as a resource to teach spelling. This includes the statutory word lists and common expectation words for each Key Stage or Year group.  Across key stage 2 we use the Spelling Shed platform which is a programme  based on phonics, morphology and etymology.

Impact:

Children will use their English knowledge and skills, in all curriculum areas, to enable them to become lifelong communicators and learners. Pupils will use their Reading skills as a key tool in helping them to learn, and as a result, know more, remember more and understand more. Children will be able to produce written work in all areas of the curriculum of a similar standard which evidence good progress.

As a result, our school will have learners who are enthusiastic readers 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.