The West Norfolk Academies Trust English Curriculum is intended to teach students the skills they need to be confident and successful communicators, being able to articulate their views sensitively both orally and in writing, whilst also reading and listening carefully and analytically to a variety of written and auditory texts from across the ages. Our broad and balanced, Knowledge-Rich and inclusive curriculum focuses on the teaching of an explicit set of skills which are both distinctive and carefully interwoven with the study of a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts from the origins of English narrative and poetry, through Shakespearean and 19th century texts to modern day non-fiction, short stories, poetry and novels.
Through reading we give all students the opportunity to develop cultural awareness, as well as becoming socially and emotionally literate: widening their vocabulary and understanding of how language can be manipulated for effect. Through speaking activities, students are able to develop their knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure, and prepare for written composition, whilst also considering the impact of body language and intonation on an audience’s understanding and interpretation of ideas. Central to our teaching of writing is the process of crafting: planning, drafting and revising texts to reflect, review and improve their intended impact on the audience.
Our curriculum is sequenced to ensure key procedural and substantive knowledge is revisited from KS2 and further built on through KS3,in preparation for GCSE study. Linguistic processes, grammatical skills and vocabulary are developed throughout KS3, with each unit building on prior knowledge, whilst also consolidating and evolving understanding and analysis of key literary techniques with a focus on one central text each term in each year of KS3 study. As students reach KS4, they apply all this knowledge to their GCSE studies, engaging in texts at a personal level to explore the writers’ choices and intentions, as well as the wider themes, ideas and context being reflected in them.