English
Intent | At St Philip’s RC Primary School, we aim to inspire all children to develop a love of reading and writing. Through high quality teaching, whole school values and an adaptive teaching approach, we aim to nurture confident, resilient children who will strive for their personal best. We aim to ensure that our delivery of English allows all children to have the skills, factual knowledge and then be able to apply this knowledge so that they leave our school with the capabilities to be successful in their Key stage 3 journey and beyond. We strive to educate our children to develop a passion for reading and an understanding of how becoming a competent reader can impact their future. |
Implementation | At St Philip’s, the English lessons that are delivered are split into a reading session ( 4 times a week) and a writing session (4 times a week). Both are intertwined and the writing is linked closely to the class text which is being read. We also aim to link the writing pieces and text choice to subjects we are studying in other areas of the curriculum. At St Philip’s, we follow a 3 week cycle where we introduce the genre, explore the features of the text, share a WAGOLL, demonstrate how to incorporate key descriptors appropriate to the year group through modelled and shared writing. We then teach the children to plan, edit and then write the edited version into a final showcase book. The final piece is then assessed against the key descriptors. The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of languageand literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils: ·read easily, fluently and with good understanding ·develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information ·acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language ·appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage ·write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences ·use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas ·are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate. In EYFS and KS1, the children have daily phonic sessions where children are split into ability groups. Currently, we follow the Read, Write Inc scheme. All children have reading and writing session 4 times which follows St Philip’s personalised scheme of work and subsequent lesson plans which allows our children to access a clear progression of knowledge and skills as they progress through school. Inclusion At St Philip’s, we believe that all children should receive opportunities to develop as readers and writers, regardless of their barriers to learning. We use adaptive teaching in our English lessons, ensuring that all children can achieve success in their learning. This is achieved through strategies such as target grouping, dual coding, explicit instruction, scaffolding and use of technology. What you would see in a English lesson:
●An opportunity for collaboration and partner discussion ●Use of Reader’s theatre to develop oral reading fluency through reading parts in scripts. ●Opportunities for the children to work independently ●Opportunities for feedback from other children and the teacher ●Specific vocabulary explicitly taught using a word etymology ●The working wall supports the children’s learning and shows the process of the writing cycle ●Toolkits are accessible for all children which includes tools to help them with their learning. This may include word banks, key vocabulary and spelling dictionaries. |
Impact | The learning objectives are shared with the children and at the beginning of each session. In every unit, children are presented with a success criteria which encourages them to add three focused level descriptors in their writing. Children receive specific feedback based on the success criteria. Written feedback is provided and they are told what they have included, what went well (WWW) and even better if (EBI). We encourage children to evaluate and edit their own writing and other people’s writing giving and receiving positive critical feedback to improve. The children will then make these improvements in purple pen. Class teachers track attainment at the end of each writing unit, assessing the showcase pieces of writing ticking the key descriptors that they have met. This information can then been used when moderating the children’s writing and making judgements of the writing standard the children have reached. We have writing moderation every term. We use Smart grade to assess our children in reading termly.The class teacher and subject lead can then analyse data to see the strengths and the areas for improvement. This analysis can be done individually, class and whole school. |
Enrichment | At St Philip’s we don’t just believe in offering our children high quality English lessons but we also provide them with a multiple of opportunities to participate in experiences outside the classroom and expand their skills further through author/poet visitors. We also seek to enter poetry and writing competitions throughout the year. We believe in celebrating our children’s successes in writing and present a writer of the week award. |