English

Intent

Our English curriculum is ambitious and designed to give all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and including pupils with SEND, the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.

It is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.

The curriculum is successfully developed to be ambitious and meet the needs of pupils with SEND, developing their knowledge, skills and abilities to apply what they know and can do with increasing fluency and independence.

Reading and the teaching of phonics

Reading and phonics are taught using the Read, Write, Inc. (RWI) programme which includes teaching synthetic phonics, sight vocabulary, decoding and encoding words as well as spelling and accurate letter formation. This is taught from reception through to year 2 and when the children are ready to come off RWI they access reading through Accelerated Reader. Children are encouraged to read for pleasure and have access to a rich variety of library books, the Bug Club online reading scheme and e-books available on Oxford Owl.

Reading-progression-of-skills-.pdf

Writing

Children access writing and reading through the CLPE scheme that encourages children to explore through talk and role play, and develop the thinking and creative processes involved in being a writer.  It also develops key speaking and listening skills and provides opportunities for children to use and apply their English skills across the curriculum.

Spelling, punctuation and grammar

Spelling is a skill which like reading affects written communication across the curriculum. We believe that children should be able to spell with ease, speed and legibility therefore this is a key component of RWI. Once children in year 2 have completed the RWI phonics programme, they follow the RWI spelling programme. 

This is also taught in years 3 and 4. RWI spelling teaches spelling cumulatively and systematically with deliberate, focused practice. It builds upon the teaching strategies and spelling activities from RWI phonics and is delivered in a fun way introducing an online spelling planet. Punctuation and grammar are taught through the CLPE scheme and are reinforced in all written lessons.

Writing-progression-of-skills-document-.pdf

Additional support

Additional support is given to pupils who have specific literacy or English needs in the form of small intervention group work.  These groups may target phonics, comprehension skills, language skills and acquisition, handwriting, grammar and other narrative skills.

English programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

USEFUL WEBSITES

Bug Club

Oxford Owl