English

English at Loscoe CofE Primary School

We maybe small but together we can make a big difference.

‘Let us remember: one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.’ Malala Yousafzei

At Loscoe CofE Primary School, we believe Literacy to be central to the curriculum. By developing pupils’ abilities to read, write, speak and listen for a wide range of purposes, we hope that our children develop into effective learners across the curriculum. We want children to become enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers both in school and the wider world.

Intent

During their time at Loscoe, we want pupils to:

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 reading our intent is to:

Promote reading for pleasure and foster a love of reading throughout the whole school.
Develop all reading skills throughout the year but have a school focus for each half term.
Teach reading through high quality text linked to cornerstones.
Use the ‘Accelerated Reader’ Programme to monitor and assess children’s reading in Y2-6
Teach high quality phonics through the RWI programme.
Use strategies such as ‘pinny time’ to cement the knowledge of phonics.
Track phonemes known for each child in Reception and Year 1.
Assess phonetical knowledge each half term and adjust teaching accordingly.
Swiftly deploy reading interventions (Fast Track and Fresh Start) to those children below expected in reading.
In KS1 have additional, short whole class phonics sessions to make sure each child has opportunity to learn at age expectations.
In KS1, have additional sessions to promote quality text.
Teach text relating to the cornerstones curriculum
Encourage sharing a book with a parent
An adult will read aloud to the children daily.

In writing our intent is to:

Use some strategies from Talk for Writing throughout the school, which involve the use of text maps, scaffolding, boxing up, writing toolkits and word banks.
Use high quality texts to inspire writing.
Use RWI ‘Get Writing’ in Reception and Year 1
Teach spelling rules and words from Appendix 1 of the Curriculum.
Teach spelling through Read, Write Inc programme in years 2-6.
Follow the Read, Write, Inc writing programme in Reception and Year 1.
Differentiate phonics, spelling and grammar lessons throughout school to cater for the needs of all children.
Teach grammar lessons separately and also as part of English writing lessons.
Teach the writing of a range of genres.
Embed writing throughout the curriculum.
Teach letter formation linked to Read, Write, Inc in Key Stage 1.
Teach joined up writing from the end of Year 2.
Write in joined, legible handwriting by the end of Year 6.

Provide intervention for those children who are not making expected progress.

In speaking our intent is to:

Teach children to listen carefully and understand
To develop a wide range of subject vocabulary
To speak with clarity and confidence
To present stories with structure
To hold conversation and debates

Implementation
Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, to flourish to become the best they can be.
We teach the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children

Impact

At Loscoe we have a high quality, well planned writing curriculum which demonstrates progression and supports our vision.

We will know that our writing curriculum has been effective, as pupils at Loscoe will:

Have a love of reading and be able to talk to others about books they have read.
Enjoy English across a range of genres, make links and apply their skills in cross-curricular topics.
Be able to succeed in all English lessons because work will be appropriately scaffolded.
Have developed a wide vocabulary that they are able to use within their writing and will have a good knowledge of how to adapt their writing based on the context and audience.
Leave school being able to effectively apply the spelling rules and patterns they have been taught.
Have made good or excellent progress on the AR reading system.
Know all phonemes used in reading.
Have made progress on the DDAT writing grids.

Wider Curriculum

As part of the wider curriculum we ensure that throughout their time at Loscoe the children get to meet an author, read aloud their written work, perform a poem or perform in a play, visit the theatre, visit the library.

Careers

The skills you gain across the English curriculum can apply to a wide range of careers. The teaching and learning of English supports careers in:

Author
Journalist
Education – such as a teacher
Politician
Lawyer
Marketing Executive
Writer
Actor

English authors, poets, playwrights

Each term the children will be exposed to a wealth of high quality written material including picture books, novels, poems and nonfiction. Through hearing books read aloud daily and from studying books in English the children will be familiar with a range of authors, poets, writers and playwrights. These will include men and women from different cultures and backgrounds including those who are dead and still living.

SMSC

The Cultural Child - English supports the cultural development of a child by exposing them to a wide range of written and spoken language from a range of cultures.

The Social Child - English supports social development by helping children to understand how written and spoken language has changed over time and also social attitudes to language.

The Moral Child - English supports moral development by encouraging children to look, discuss and evaluate a range of social and moral issues found in genres.

The Spiritual Child - English supports spiritual development by engaging children with poetry, fiction and drama. Exploring feelings and values found in a wide range of genres.

British Values

English at all levels provides opportunities for discussions which focus on both democracy and the rule of law. Texts are chosen which allow students to explore the issue of rule of law and equally as well as issues around democracy. Students are introduced to a range of texts and types of writing. Across Key Stage 2 students are involved in debates and letter writing for persuasion.

Protected Characteristics

At Loscoe C of E Primary, we want to give our children an open, respectful and realistic mindset. We strive to expose them to a range of significant writers from all different backgrounds related to the protected characteristics, and have planned for this in our varied curriculum. We also will discuss issues relating to the characteristics when they arise in the books we have chosen for our children to study in class.

If you have any queries regarding Literacy in School, please ask for Miss Davy.