English

Intent

At WHA we believe that children need secure literacy skills to be a fully participating member of society. 

With English, every opportunity shapes a life by: 

Developing our values

Our school values are frequent themes visited in class reading texts and modelled writing.  These are explored through questioning and role-play.

Developing knowledge 

Children explore exciting texts and writing units linked to their Humanities and wider learning in order to deepen knowledge across the curriculum. One of the reasons texts and units are linked to the wider curriculum is to ensure children have a good grasp of a wide range of vocabulary, used in a variety of contexts.  Children are provided with lots of speaking and listening opportunities to develop fluency in using this vocabulary.  Genres are revisited, with a focus on traditional stories in Early Years to secure knowledge of story structures. The knowledge of phonics and early reading are taught explicitly and systematically as well as being reinforced across the curriculum.  The National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage are used to plan for the knowledge taught.

Developing Equality

We ensure that our class texts represent the pupils we have in our community as well as those they may go on to meet in the wider world. Every year children meet characters with a wide specturm of ages, disabilities, cultures, religions and there is a balanced mix of gender. The themes covered are age appropriate but do tackle some important issues.

Developing and providing experiences in learning

 In Early Years children share a reading experience with parents, led by the Nursery teacher on a weekly basis.  All children across the school have access to the library to encourage reading for pleasure.  During their journey in our school, children are provided with opportunity for visits linked to books, author visits and links to the local library. Role-play, hot seating and conscience alleys are used to explore character emotions and choices.