ENGLISH

All children follow the English Curriculum and have a daily session of literacy at school.  We have taken the approach to integrate the skills of English into all aspects of learning, so that the traditional 'English Book' will be full of historical facts, geographical knowledge and scientific inquiry to demonstrate that 'writing' is a universal skill, and not limited to English.

Speaking and Listening

Talking is fundamental to a pupils learning. Pupils are encouraged and helped to talk clearly, confidently and with expression in order to communicate ideas and feelings. Similarly, and just as importantly, is the need to listen to others and respond appropriately. All children are provided with opportunities in all areas of the curriculum to develop skills in speaking and listening.

Reading

One of the greatest gifts we can give is a child is the ability to read. We believe that reading should be an enjoyable activity, and our approach to reading is based on this. At Key Stage 1 there is great emphasis on the teaching of phonics and reading. At Key Stage 2 we extend and develop each child’s reading skills.  We aim to develop a love of reading and therefore encourage our pupils to take books home and share them with you. Children need to be able to read with understanding, for pleasure and for information. Pupils’ reading is structured in Key Stage 1 and taught using a variety of techniques including ‘Look and Say’ Phonics using ‘Letters and Sounds’, picture clues and repetition of familiar stories in “real books”. The core reading scheme is Oxford Reading Tree and  Ginn 360. In Key Stage 2 children are encouraged to take more responsibility for their choice of reading book and we operate a school library where children are able to take advantage of good quality fiction and non-fiction books which can be exchanged during lunchtime.

Writing

Pupils are helped to develop the ability to express their thoughts, ideas and communication skills through the written word. Every attempt is made to ensure that pupils develop a command of basic English which includes punctuation, spelling, grammar and correct letter formation, together with phonics teaching in KS1. We have defined a school wide good practice standard where we try and ensure fundamental things like full stops and capital letters are always used appropriately. We provide a host of opportunities for the children to write in real life context and display our work around school.

Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation (SPAG)

These three areas are integral to all aspects of the English curriculum and are taught discretely and within the English lessons.  At the end of KS1 and KS2 , grammar is tested (currently known as the EGPS test).  

Included below are files which detail the curriculum progression through the Rising Stars framework.  this framework is based on the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) from the National Curriculum, but break them down into smaller, more progressive steps