English
'You can make anything by writing'
C.S Lewis
Intent
When our children leave All Saints Upton, we expect them to be avid readers, children who read fluently and widely and are able to express preferences and opinions about the texts that they read. We want them to read for pleasure, having had access to a wide range of text types, genres and authors in order for them to make informed opinions about their favourites.
We want to produce children who write with confidence and accuracy for a variety of purposes and audiences whilst developing their own individual flair. We want our children to be able to write with grammatical accuracy and be able to apply spelling patterns correctly using a neat handwriting style. We aim to expose our children to a wide range of vocabulary so that they able to decipher new words and then use them when speaking both informally and formally.
We also aim for our children to apply all of these English skills to all areas of the curriculum. In English, we have high expectations for ALL learners, regardless of their needs or starting point.
Implementation
We hope to achieve this by:
- Prioritising reading, writing and speaking and listening at every opportunity.
- Providing stimulating environments in which all aspects of literacy can thrive.
- Developing trusting relationships in the classroom, involving good use of peer and self-assessment, so that pupils feel confident to express themselves without fear of embarrassment or criticism.
- Following a text-based learning approach within English lessons, linking texts to topics where suitable, through the use of the Literacy Tree.
- Making lessons highly interactive and productive, so children have time to do, evaluate and improve.
- Making sure that learning is personalised as much as possible to meet the needs of individual children.
- Teaching using the Read Write Inc phonics approach.
- Implementing the Letterjoin Handwriting scheme from EYFS to include flicks for joining letters, then cursive writing from Year 2.
- Giving the children the opportunity to read for pleasure with allocated reading areas within our classrooms
- Providing opportunities throughout the school year to promote reading and writing (e.g. Book fairs, competitions, World Book Day, parent workshops, author visits, having reading ambassadors in all classes, reading incentives such as certificates and book tokens).
Impact
The impact on our children is clear: progress, sustained learning and transferrable skills. By the end of KS2 the majority of our children have made considerable progress from their starting points in EYFS. With the implementation of the writing journey being well established and taught thoroughly in both key stages, children are becoming more confident writers and by the time they are in upper Key Stage 2, most genres of writing are familiar to them and the teaching can focus on creativity, writer’s craft, sustained writing and manipulation of grammar and punctuation skills. Our children are also becoming more confident readers and they realise the importance of reading for pleasure along with reading for information.
We hope that as children move on from us to further their education and learning that their creativity, passion for English and high aspirations travel with them and continue to grow and develop as they do.
