Intent
What are our aims?
At Crowland we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately, using grammatically correct English, and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning. We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in English, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in English skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.
Implementation
How will we achieve our aims?
These aims are embedded across our English lessons and the wider curriculum. Teachers plan from the National Curriculum for English but also ensure that cross curricular links with topic work are incorporated into their lessons. English planning at Crowland provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion.
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
These aims our delivered through our key drivers:
Active Learning:
children are exposed to a wide range of inspirational texts, films and animations to inspire writing and speaking and listening. We encourage children to take an active role in debate and discussion around these stimuli and other topics. Children are taught to take an active role in the improvement and assessment of their writing through daily self-assessment stickers. They are taught the skills required to edit and improve their writing as a result of the self-assessment process.
Excellent Communication:
Grammar and spelling are taught daily at the start of English lessons to ensure that these elements of English are incorporate in the children’s writing and speaking. In EYFS and Y1 and Y2, children are taught early reading through the use of the RWI programme. Here they learn their phonics sounds in order to read, write and speak correctly. In KS2, children are taught reading through the Destination Reader programme. This is a rigorous approach to the teaching of the skills required to develop a deeper understanding of texts. Children are taught specific language and sentence stems to formulate their discussions around texts. In addition, they are taught a set of ‘learning behaviours’ to scaffold their talk with their peers. Through DR, children take part in daily partner and whole class discussions around literature.
Global Awareness and Responsibility:
In addition to daily English lessons, teachers use P4C to further develop children’s speaking and listening skills and widen their understanding of the world and global issues.
Impact
As a result, we have a school of enthusiastic readers and writers who enjoy showcasing their developing English knowledge and skills. They are confident to take part in discussions and debates about literature, animations and films and wider global issues. At Crowland, we want all of our children to leave primary school with the skills and confidence required to be excellent communicators in secondary school, college or university and in the work place and society.