Intent
The Oaks Primary Academy’s English curriculum prepares children for the future by giving them the essential skills needed to be successful in primary school, secondary school and in the workplace. Children develop into internationally minded individuals who have a love of reading, writing and speaking about the world around them. Our Phonics lessons teach children the skills they need to decode words as well as read tricky high frequency words they will encounter when reading a range of high quality texts. Phonics is linked closely with spellings in order to give children the skills they need to spell words based on sounds. Reading lessons not only help children develop an understanding of different text types but it also instils in them a love of reading. Children are given opportunities to delve into a range of genres and pick out key vocabulary and messages authors have left and there is a strong emphasis on inference and comprehension skills. At Oaks, children write with a purpose which is linked to their inquiry and class text. This allows them to write in a variety of genres after exploring them as a whole class.
Implementation
Teaching the life skill of reading at Oaks begins as soon as they walk through the school gates. In Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1, Phonics lessons take place both in specific lessons (using Phonics International) as well as “in the moment” teaching. The consistent structure of Phonics International lessons is continued throughout the school in interventions and provides children with the skills they need. Children are taught how to spell words using the sounds in the word as well as the HFW. Rules (and exceptions!) are taught in short, sharp daily spelling lessons and supported by Spelling Shed - an interactive online game which encourages healthy competition. Weekly spelling tests are conducted as well as close monitoring the application of spellings when children are writing.
Enthusing children with a love of reading comes from the class texts read with each class, access to a well-stocked library and Reading Rainbow lessons. During these lessons, children will listen to the expression and intonation an adult uses when reading aloud and choose up to three main aspects of the text to write about. These aspects range from the feelings of a character to the setting of the story to the key themes and messages the author is trying to relay. Inference and comprehension skills are taught by using a selection of high quality passages from Reading Vipers which focus specifically on 6 key areas of reading.
The transdisciplinary learning of the Oaks Curriculum encourages children to write for a range of purposes in both fiction and non-fiction styles. The PYP inquiries lend themselves to a range of real-life issues and circumstances which are used as a prompt for writing. For example, children will write newspaper articles about the extreme weather they have been experiencing and letters requesting permission from the Principal to go to the Science Museum so they can expand their scientific knowledge and understanding of space. Alongside the wealth of non-fiction writing opportunities, each inquiry has a key text. These high quality texts not only inspire children’s imagination but introduces them to vital writing skills (such as parenthesis and inverted commas). They are eager to use the skills they see authors use in the adventure stories and other gripping tales they read with the class in their own writing.
Impact
The Oaks Primary Academy English curriculum teaches children the crucial reading and writing skills they need to be successful in the future. Through the PYP, these skills are applied in a range of different ways across a range of subjects and inquiries. Children build their stamina for writing and are taught the key skills of spelling, punctuation and grammar. Because of the consistency and high quality teaching of phonics, a high percentage of children enter Year 2 being able to decode and blend real and nonsense words. This gives them a firm foundation on which to become confident readers who can recognise common exception words and decode unfamiliar words. This in turn, is applied when writing as children use the same skills when spelling. Teaching children how to read, unlocks a passion for reading - children can often be found in the school library at lunchtime, curled up in a beanbag reading a book! They become enthralled by the class book which sits alongside their inquiry and beg to read the sequel!
Being exposed to a range of high quality texts has a huge impact on children’s writing. They write in full sentences adding in detail and high level vocabulary which enriches their descriptions. These effective sentences will open doors for them in secondary school and in the future.
The Pupil Employment Scheme run at Oaks gives children the opportunity to put these skills to the test by applying for a variety of jobs on the school grounds. They have to apply to a specific role in writing (including an application letter) and attend an interview in order to be given responsibilities such as being a Play Pal or Librarian. The role is their responsibility which gives them a valuable taste of having a job and they are given a clear understanding of what will be expected of them when they enter the workplace.