English

‘The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.’

(National Curriculum 2014)

INTENT

At Dogmersfield School we believe that for children to be able to learn for life they need to be excellent communicators. To that end, the English curriculum must be designed to enable children to read, write and speak for different audiences and purposes and teach them so that they can select the most suitable form of communication to have the best effect on their audience.

I think the act of reading imbues the reader with a sensitivity toward the outside world that people who don’t read can sometimes lack.

John Connolly – The Book of Lost Things.

We believe that fostering a love and respect for literature, in its broadest sense will allow children to learn about the world they live in, empathise with other people and communicate their meaning with clarity, confidence and flair.

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.

Albert Einstein

IMPLEMENTATION

Our English curriculum is influenced by the following pedagogies or values. A unit of work will be driven by one or more of the following:

Mantle of the Expert

Rich Texts

Oracy

Opening Doors

Reading for Pleasure

Some of the work will be drawn from our work with Mantle of the Expert contexts and therefore are cross curricular in nature. Other work is drawn from our use of rich texts that give context to learning, usually in the form of the class novel being read that term. Further work is taken from the ‘opening doors’ progression, working with extracts from text that teach vocabulary and composition. The other two influences, ‘reading for pleasure’ and ‘oracy’ link with our work to imbue children with a love for reading and the ability to express themselves orally in a range of contexts for different purposes. Both of these underpin our work at Dogmersfield as we strive to create life-long learners.

KS1

In each term children should have access to poetry, picture books, written fiction and non-fiction. The proportion of work on each text type will vary from term to term depending on what influences the learning in that term. Some learning may fit with the Mantle of the Expert context and be taught in a very cross-curricular and integrated manner. Other work may be more discrete. As children move through the key stage, they should have access to more challenging texts and ideas.

In KS1, English lessons are supplemented by additional spelling, handwriting, reading and phonics sessions. In addition,

KS2

In each term children should have access to poetry, picture books, written fiction and non-fiction. The proportion of work on each text type will vary from term to term depending on what influences the learning in that term. Some learning may fit with the Mantle of the Expert context and be taught in a very cross-curricular and integrated manner. Other work may be more discrete. As children move through the key stage, they should have access to more challenging texts and ideas.

In KS2, up to 1hr 35 minutes could be dedicated to English learning in any given day. Spelling, grammar and handwriting may be taught discretely in short, 15-20 minute sessions to learn and rehearse skills. Up to an hour might be spent on further English learning or application and an additional 20 minutes may be given over to reading or children responding to reading.

IMPACT

Through the teaching of systematic phonics through KS1, the children will be able to fluently decode and read. This will allow them to focus on their fluency, comprehension and reading for pleasure through the remainder of their primary schooling. Through the systematic teaching of the English curriculum the children will be able to effectively communicate for a range of purposes confidently and take pride in their abilities to read, write and speak for a range of purposes.

The impact of our English curriculum is measured through the regular monitoring using the following activities:

Data analysis (including SATS and phonics screening

Information gathered through book bingo, conferencing and observations of learning

Internal and external (including LA) Moderation of pupils work

Tracking pupils’ progress each half term in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening and Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. This informs planning and any intervention needed

Tracking of children who are identified as the lowest 20% of readers

Pupil progress meetings ensure different groups

Monitoring is an ongoing cycle, which is used productively to provide the best possible English curriculum for our children and to ensure it is inclusive to all. It’s purpose is to identify strengths, gaps in provision and priorities for the English curriculum going forward.