Our English curriculum intent
At Kirkheaton Primary School, we know that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to inspire our children to become confident readers who use a rich vocabulary in their own communication through developing a habit of reading widely and often.
We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in both the content and presentation of their writing, can write clearly and adapt their language and style for a range of purposes and contexts. Throughout school and across all subject areas, we develop vocabulary, spelling and writing skills so that our pupils have the stamina and ability to write at the age expected standard. The writing process gives children time to talk, draft, edit, improve and publish their work; we want pupils to see themselves as authors. To support children in moving towards independent writing we provide a wide range of activities (imagery, modelled, shared and guided writing, peer editing and discussion).
We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening so that they are able to convey their ideas fluently and confidently ask questions. Throughout the curriculum we encourage pupils to express and exchange ideas and develop more sophisticated vocabulary orally, so they are ready to write. Our use of language structures and vocabulary development across school supports this.
We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the curriculum. A secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully in their learning journey. We do not put ceilings on what pupils can achieve and we do not hold pre-conceptions about any pupils’ ability to make progress.
We understand the importance of parents and carers in supporting their children to develop and so we encourage a home-school partnership which enables parents and carers to understand how to enhance the skills being taught in school.
Our English Implementation
We are building a rigorous and well organised English curriculum that provides many opportunities for reading, writing and discussion across the curriculum alongside daily spelling and handwriting routines as a priority. Our children enjoy a wide and diverse range of texts through the phonic based reading scheme, the varied texts used as class readers and the broad selection of books in our school library.
The enjoyment of reading is at the core of our day. All children are read to daily for pleasure; children have access to the school library both during lessons and at lunchtimes and regular reading is a priority within our homework policy. We also use the online platform, Accelerated Reader, to encourage our children to read a wide variety of books matched to their reading ability.
We believe that reading and writing are the fundamentals of all learning so we ensure that cross curricular links with topic work are woven into every aspect of our programme of study, which follows the National Curriculum 2014. We use a wide variety of quality and diverse texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children.
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 their understanding and ideas
● are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
Our English Impact
As a result of this intent and implementation, we are developing a community of enthusiastic readers and writers who enjoy showcasing their developing literacy knowledge and skills. They are becoming increasingly confident to take risks in their reading and writing, and love to discuss and share their ideas. Children are learning to take pride in the presentation and accuracy of their writing. Children’s resilience and independence is developing through regular drafting and editing.