English at Plympton St Maurice Primary School

At Plympton St Maurice Primary School we work hand in hand with parents & carers to provide an English education of the highest quality, which celebrates everyone’s success in a happy, caring environment and where all our differences are valued.

Our Intent for our English Curriculum

Our English curriculum is designed to meet the content requirements of the DFE’s ‘National Curriculum in England: English Programmes of Study’ (2014) and the language and literacy sections of the ‘Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage’ (2014). Our curriculum aims to develop pupils’ competence in reading, writing, speaking and listening; this is to ensure that our pupils can become competent users of language that will ensure that pupils can access the whole curriculum effectively as well as being able to develop Life skills, Understanding, Nurture curiosity, Aspiration and Resilience to achieve their potential.

Our Implementation of our English Curriculum

Our English curriculum encompasses:

Social and emotional learning,

Talk,

Mastery Learning,

the Arts,

Understand Learning,

Resilience,

Independent Personal learning and thinking,

Collaborative Learning and

Experience rich curriculum.

Writing at Plympton St Maurice Primary School is taught through a workshop-style approach, in conjunction with the use of a quality text. Daily writing sessions include word and language games which are used to ‘warm-up’ the imagination and encourage creative thinking.

Our workshop-style approach involves making explicit the processes and thinking involved in writing; this is so that they can be internalised and applied by children in their own writing. Where appropriate, children are encouraged to deconstruct quality ‘example’ texts for specific genres; this allows them to create their own ‘Key Language Features’ toolkits and utilise the given structures within their own writing.  Opportunities for writing for a real purpose, and across the curriculum are utilised by class teachers as often as possible.

Reading at our school is delivered through weekly guided reading sessions; this provides a consistent whole-school approach to reading for all children. Through weekly discussion and reflection with peers and staff, children develop the skills and strategies that they need to become competent and fluent readers, as well as learn to recognise the language features of different text types. We ensure that reading is at the centre of our learning by using quality texts to deliver literacy lessons; this is in conjunction with our workshop-style approach to writing.

The Impact of our English Curriculum

Throughout reading and writing sessions, children learn to identify the key language features within each writing genre and the basic skills in writing are continually reinforced. Specific skills in English are developed, including:

Reading KS1

• Phonic skills are established and developed, along with basic grammar and vocabulary (with support in Year 1).
• Children take on more complex words, grammar and texts in Year 2.

Reading KS2

• Comprehension and increased understanding of more complex words (Year 3/4).
• Diverse reading repertoire to multiple text styles and types (Year 5/6).
• Increasingly sharing opinions on what children have read

Writing KS1

• Basic spelling, reciting the alphabet and handwriting using a precursive font that begins to join
• Finer details and specificities of spelling, grammar, punctuation and handwriting. More opportunities to write across the curriculum.

Writing KS2

• Refinement of spelling and handwriting (cursive) and advanced grammar and punctuation.
• Begin to plan, draft and edit (with support in Year 3/4).
• Broad vocabulary, think aloud to draft, re-read and check meaning is clear (Year 5/6).

Our Aims:

At Plympton St Maurice Primary School we aim to develop in all the children:

• A positive attitude towards reading, writing and speaking & listening.
• The ability to communicate and respond effectively with a range of audiences, across a range of genres and for real purposes.
• The competence to produce writing of the highest quality; quality of thought and succinctness being valued as much as elaboration.
• Independence and confidence in order to prepare them with a solid Literacy foundation for secondary school as well as later life.
• A belief in their own imaginations in order to transport their readers to new worlds and engross them in unique stories.
• Persistence and stamina in order to be able to write independently at length.
• A love of books and literature that will not only support their learning across the curriculum but also enrich their lives.
• The confidence, desire and ability to express their views and opinions (to their peers and adults like) both orally and in writing via a ‘workshop-style’ approach.
• The ability to express themselves clearly in writing and structure their work appropriately, using effective spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• Effective reading skills so that they become fluent, proficient readers who are able to analyse, infer upon and respond to an increasingly challenging variety of texts.

Staff at Plympton St Maurice:

• Provide children with successful English role models to increase aspiration.
• Provide children with meaningful, engaging contexts for reading, writing, speaking and listening.
• Provide high quality English and real-life experiences outside designated English lessons through a creative curriculum.
• Work to meet and exceed the requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum and the EYFS Development Matters document.

Reading:

Plympton St Maurice Primary School provides a consistent, whole-school approach to daily reading for all children. We recognise the importance that being a competent and fluent reader plays in every aspect of life – throughout school and beyond. As such, we ensure that reading is at the centre of our learning by using quality texts to deliver English, in conjunction with our workshop-style approach to writing.

Within weekly guided reading sessions, children are taught and encouraged to:

• Become more independent readers through discussing and reflecting upon a wide range of reading material (including banded books, Read Write Inc and Reading Planet – a whole-school phonics reading programme which is designed to help children master fluency and deepen comprehension).
• Develop the skills and strategies they need to be competent and fluent readers.
• Develop their phonic knowledge in order to decode words efficiently.
• Develop a critical appreciation of what they read
• Recognise the language features within different text types.
• Have an interest in words and their meanings, supported by Word of the Day with ‘Mrs Wordsmith’.
• Understand the sound and spelling system and use this to read and spell sounds accurately through the daily, systematic teaching of phonic skills in KS1 (and KS2 as necessary) using the Read write Inc programme.
• Develop their comprehension and inference of text through Reading for Meaning and quizzing with the Accelerated Reading Programme (introduced by the end of year 2).
• Be interested in books, foster a love for reading and evaluate to justify their preferences.

Writing:

At Plympton St Maurice Primary School, we teach writing through a workshop-style approach in conjunction with the use of a quality text. This approach involves making explicit the processes and thinking involved in the writing process so that ultimately, they can be internalised and applied by children in their own writing. These skills are developed at both a word and sentence-level within our Literacy lessons.

Within daily writing sessions, children are taught and encouraged to:

• Develop the necessary skills to become competent, creative and efficient users of the English Language in order to prepare them for secondary school and beyond.
• Develop their speaking and listening skills, thus enabling them to converse with peers and adults in a meaningful way.
• Express themselves clearly in writing, using good spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• Write in ways appropriate to an intended audience and/or for the intended purpose.
• Structure a wide range of text types effectively and to engage their reader throughout.
• Edit and self-assess their writing regularly, making changes as appropriate to improve the overall quality of their work.

We use ‘Letter Join’ for our whole school approach to handwriting.

Planning and Teaching

All teachers will plan against the 2014 National Curriculum.

All children will receive a focused, objective specific daily English session which will provide children with the opportunity to learn new skills, apply their knowledge, edit, review and perform in front of an audience as necessary. Additionally, all children will be given the opportunity to enhance their English skills through well planned topic sessions; they will have regular cross-curricular opportunities following out LUNAR curriculum to read and write for a variety of purposes.

Whole school writing is planned to demonstrate progression within and across each year group.

Spelling is taught via a multi-sensory approach of RWInc in the daily phonics sessions and then from years 2-6 with the specifically designed spelling programme.  In addition, we are going to be introducing the ‘No Nonsense Spelling’ programme (Babcock) in the autumn term to complement existing practice and whole school access to Spelling Shed.

Additional opportunities for English include Library Club, working with visiting poets and authors, World Book Day, Mrs Wordsmith, Reading Volunteer Scheme, Lollies Book Awards, writing competitions and annual book fairs.

Please see your class teacher for Log in details for access to our on-line learning opportunities for:

-Letterjoin (handwriting)

-Reading Planet -Foundation and KS1

-Spelling Shed

Useful links for parents:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-english-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-english-programmes-of-study

https://www.risingstars-uk.com/subjects/reading-and-ebooks/rising-stars-reading-planet/reading-planet-online-library/rp-online-for-parents

https://www.risingstars-uk.com/login?returnurl=/my-account.aspx

https://www.renaissance.com/2016/09/09/parents-guide-renaissance-accelerated-reader-360/https://www.spellingshed.com/en-gb/parents  (log in details https://play.edshed.com/)