The English Curriculum |
Our vision At Locking Primary School our English curriculum promotes language development which enables pupils to communicate effectively and to appreciate the richness, magic and power of the written word. It enables children to see language as a source of pleasure and enjoyment and use it to develop powers of imagination, creativity and inventiveness. |
The English curriculum at Locking Primary School will: |
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English teaching at Locking Primary School will: |
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Assessment of English at Locking Primary School will: |
NfER and statutory end of key stage assessments for reading, phonics and GPS Comparative assessment for writing
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Curriculum Rationale: ELAN English Curriculum |
We follow the Primary National Curriculum for all aspects of the English Curriculum. Developing a love of reading, and the importance of this for our children both now and in the future, lies at the heart of our English curriculum.
Timetabling: English is taught daily with additional sessions for the discrete teaching of phonics, spelling and guided reading |
Reading |
Our reading curriculum is shaped to provide children with the skills to read easily, fluently and with good understanding as well as growing a love for reading. It develops children’s understanding of vocabulary and the techniques authors use to show meaning, build atmosphere and add clarity
Timetabling We have daily guided reading sessions and story time. In addition to this children are provided with opportunities to read during the day both within and distanced from the English lesson.
Reading at home At home, we expect children to read at least 5 times a week (this could be reading aloud or sharing a story). In upper key stage 2 children complete a weekly online padlet linked to their home reading.
Through reading and well-chosen literature pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Children are provided with opportunities to read aloud and to share books, becoming immersed in language and hearing and experiencing a wide range and depth of language.
Daily guided reading sessions encourage children to read and analyse a variety of quality texts in small groups as well as providing children with opportunities to respond to what they have read and to read for pleasure. Text choice is used to differentiate comprehension and matched well to children’s needs and interest. Our home/school reading scheme is progressive and in line with the steps of our phonics programme. Children are assessed regularly to ensure progression is accurate. |
Writing |
We believe in immersing our children in texts through reading and analysing the skills of an expert writer. This is important as through this emersion, children become aware of the language skills of a writer and use this as a model for their writing. Using this model, children develop greater competence in the conventions of spelling, punctuation, sentence structures and text organisation. Through our curriculum, children will develop:
As part of daily planning, previous knowledge and next steps within our progression are identified and shared with the children. Opportunities for proof-reading and editing written work is planned daily and children are encouraged to take an increased responsibility for proof-reading for mistakes and editing their work, with the reader in mind, as they progress through the school. The teaching of grammar is planned for and taught through the learning journey. Where necessary to introduce a new concept or cement understanding, additional discrete grammar sessions may be planned. |
Phonics and Early Spelling |
Our phonics scheme is Extend Letters and Sounds (a DFE validated programme) as a systematic, synthetic phonic programme . This programme offers a systematic approach to teaching of phonics and early spelling skills by following the 9 step approach to systematic teaching of phonics. The core principles are: • Children having knowledge of the alphabetic code; • Children having the skills to blend to read; • Children having the skills to segment to spell; • Children understanding these as a reversible process.
The programme allows children to become confident with the correspondence between graphemes (letters) and phonemes (sounds).
Timetabling: phonics is taught two daily in 20 minute sessions.
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Spelling |
As a school we use The North Somerset Learning Exchange’s ‘Year 2 – 6 Spelling Programme’. This programme meets the requirements of the Year 2; Year 3 and 4; Year 5 and 6 National Curriculum, 2014, programmes of study (transcription and English appendix 1 - spelling) with reference to Year 1 spelling requirements to ensure clear progression.
Timetabling: Spelling is taught daily in 20 minute sessions.
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Speaking and Listening |
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Handwriting |
We work towards children developing a continuous cursive script where handwriting is legible and fluent when writing at speed. Children move from writing simple printed letters to joining, forming a more flowing script. This process is tailored to the maturation and developmental stage of the individual child.
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