English Curriculum

Curriculum Statements for English

Intent

We intend to deliver English lessons that:

• are enjoyable,
• where children are challenged and encouraged to question,
• involve learning and practising essential skills.

 Our aim is for children to be able to:

• express themselves clearly and confidently
• communicate effectively.

 They should become:

• confident, independent readers,
• who are enthusiastic, reflective and critical of stories, poetry and drama, as well as of non-fiction texts. 

• In writing, they will use literary techniques used by authors to create an effect alongside a wide variety of vocabulary, appropriate to the purpose. Their writing should be accurate and meaningful, well presented and containing correctly spelt words.

 Implementation

The children will study a curriculum, which:-

• enables them to become fluent and able readers
• builds their knowledge of authors in reading,
• develops their skills in writing, with both informal and formal pieces,
• develops their use of an extending vocabulary and knowledge of punctuation
• develops their ability to be creative and imaginative.

The English scheme has been planned with consideration to

• text structure, sentence structure, punctuation, word and language use and terminology.
• Phonics and spelling are taught explicitly and systematically, building children’s knowledge of letter patterns and rules, using Twinkl Phonics programme and a spelling programme devised using English Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum.
• Lessons are engaging and the use of high quality books as a stimulus for writing supports learning.
• Teachers plan a wide range of activities, often linking the wider curriculum and literacy using opportunities to develop pupils’ enquiry skills.
• Teachers consistently engage and reinforce children’s prior knowledge, to embed and build on previously learnt knowledge.

Impact

• Children develop essential skills and learn a body of knowledge enabling them to be successful in other subject areas.
• Make connections between what they have read and what they write.
• Can apply the skills learnt to gather and communicate information
• Gain pleasure and enjoyment from reading texts and writing for a purpose.
• Their skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening, enable them to communicate and express themselves in all areas of their work at school, into the next stage of their learning and for future enjoyment of literature and life skills.
• Outcomes for pupils in Phonics, Reading and Writing at the end of all key stages are well above national and LA averages at both expected and higher standards.

What our children like about Reading at Caldershaw:-

'There are lots of different books in our library.' (Aamillah Y4)

'We have lots of books, a variety of non-fiction and fiction books.' (Mira Y5)

'We have lots of opportunities to read in class, sometimes through whole-class reading and other times we read independently.' (Charlie Y6)

'We like the Caldershaw collection as it is books recommended by the teacher and we can access these as a reward or during play time to enjoy reading,' (Misha Y6)

What our children like about Writing at Caldershaw:-

'When you write it is about different kinds of texts like non-fiction and fiction.' (Misha Y6)

'We learn about new types of words and vocabulary.' (Ahraar Y4)

'We learn different types of writing and how to write in different styles.' (Mira Y5)

'We learn how to use punctuation.' (Leo Y3)

'We learn new things about different stories.' (Aamilah Y3)

'While I’ve been at Caldershaw, the genres of writing are descriptive and this gives us a chance to express our vocabulary.' (Charlie Y6)

'We get to look at a range of different writing.' (Amelie Y3)