English
Overview
EY&I
We foster a love of reading and listening to stories through story sessions, Guided Reading and the Talk for Writing approach. Encouraging children to become story-tellers themselves using props, role-play and small world resources. Children look at and learn about words in a language rich environment. In F1 and F2 Phonics is introduced by means of tuning into sounds in their environment and learning to distinguish between different sounds and talking about them before beginning to recognise letters and sounds which are familiar to them. In F3 Phonics is taught explicitly through the ‘Read, Write, Inc.’ programme using interactive resources, songs and rhymes. The children begin their writing journey through different mark making experiences which promote their gross and fine motor skills in preparation for writing later on. Writing is modelled for the children so they understand that what is said can be written and writing for a purpose is shown through lists, labels and stories. Opportunities for writing are included in role-play areas and messy play areas.
In Y1 and Y2 Phonics continues to be taught through explicit sessions where children are encouraged to use their phonic knowledge when writing and reading. The knowledge is applied across the curriculum especially in their English lessons. The Talk for Writing approach is taught where children learn to imitate quality fiction and non-fiction texts, before learning the grammar and vocabulary skills needed to invent their own stories. Role play and small world activities are used to promote creativity in their writing. Guided Reading sessions help the children learn to read and stories are enjoyed through story sessions throughout the week.
JUNIORS
We build on the foundations of phonics, vocabulary and grammar laid by EY&I and encourage children to use these to develop their own style of writing. We continue to use Talk for Writing to embed positive examples of the English language and develop a greater understanding of different story types: they explore language depth and structure of a high quality text, before imitating and then innovating as a class. The final stage involves inventing their own text, where they draw upon skills they have developed. Language rich environments are used to model positive examples and maximise development of a powerful and varied language. Regular opportunities are provided for reading and a love of books is encouraged through sharing class texts, guided reading sessions and exploring books one-to-one: library sessions are also used to give children a greater understanding of how the library system works and expose them to a wide variety of texts. Speaking and listening opportunities are seized on a regular basis to nurture confidence, allow for ease of interaction and communication and establish connections between speaker and listener where the speaker feels their thoughts and ideas are valued. Debate and speech competitions also provide children with unique opportunities to expand their skills and discover confidence that they may develop as a performer.
Aims and Objectives
Actively engage in a language rich and stimulating English curriculum that inspires children to read, write and speak with confidence.
Develop their grammatical understanding sufficiently in order communicate meaning correctly.
Write a range of texts to suit different purposes and audiences.
Listen and respond to others in English with confidence.
Read for pleasure and demonstrate an understanding of what they have read.
Use their English in other subjects to question others and clarify meaning.
Develop creativity, imagination and the ability to form original ideas both verbally and in the written form.
Read a text as a writer, understanding that words and phrases can be ‘magpied’ and used in their own writing.
Learn and retell plethora of stories that they can retain and draw upon to support them in their own writing.
Show enthusiasm and excitement whilst developing a love of language.
Curriculum
English is taught for a minimum of 5 hours per week as a stand alone subject, with additional reading lessons on top of that provision. Included below are the Reading Spines, which make up the framework for our 'Talk for Writing' primary curriculum. Your class teacher will be able to provide further details as to when they are delivered throughout the year.
Progress and attainment - Age related expectations (ARE)
The following document lists all of our English Age Related Expectations in one easy to follow document. On this document you are able to clearly see the progression from Year 1 up to Year 6.
HOMEWORK AND HELPING YOUR CHILD AT HOME
Ideas to support your child at home in this subject:
EY&I:
Share books with your child in a positive way, enjoying the story and talking about what you have read.
Let your child ‘read’ the story to you even if they are not reading the text and just using the illustrations to re-tell.
Sing songs, nursery rhymes repeatedly.
Ask comprehension questions about the characters and the main ideas of the story.
Take note of letters and sounds in your environment which are familiar to your child.
Encourage your child to use the correct pencil and hold the pencil correctly when mark making and writing.
Support your child in recognising and writing their own name and spelling words phonetically using sounds they know.
Write for different purposes with your child, such as shopping lists, stories, letters and posters.
Juniors:
Share books with your child regularly, in a positive way, enjoying the story and talking about what you have read. Reading a story together before bed is a perfect time for this.
Encourage your child to read English in real-life situations e.g. leaflets, newspapers, letters etc.
Support your child in learning their spellings, using a dictionary to clarify the meanings and putting them into sentences to reinforce meaning.
Encourage your child to keep a diary, notebook or story book.
Use materials provided by school to practise their English including Book Band Books and Reading Eggs/Reading Eggspress.
Encourage your child to practise speaking in English, if the possibility arises.
Use your home language with your child in order to develop a solid language foundation which can built upon.
OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION
The National Curriculum of England:
Talk for Writing background:
