English – Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement

Intent: Why do we teach what we teach?

At Bledington, we are dedicated to encouraging all children to be passionate about reading and writing through a quality Literacy (English) curriculum which is built on the principle of skills and shows a clear pathway shown through our school progression maps. We are determined that ALL children will become highly competent readers and writers to prepare them for their future beyond Primary School. We work together with parents and carers to encourage pupils to reach their full potential. We teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and, through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. It is our intention to immerse pupils in the wonders of quality texts to instil a love for reading, a passion for discovery and a confidence to explore their imagination.

Implementation: How do we teach what we teach?

During their time at Bledington, all pupils will be exposed to a high-quality education where English is embedded and merged across the wider curriculum to motivate and inspire our children. Teachers ensure that cross curricular links with concurrent topic work are woven into our planning.  They also produce carefully designed English sequences which map out text-led learning journeys, with a clear starting point, development and modelling of skills and a final written piece to show learnt skills and knowledge. Tasks are designed to challenge all learners with support in place for those moving at a slower or faster pace.

English consists of:

Writing

We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly & accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. The teaching of writing consists of two dimensions; transcript (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them).

• We encourage the development, articulation & communication of ideas, organisation of writing coherently, with clarity, awareness of audience, purpose & context and with increasing use and knowledge of wider vocabulary.
• Our structured writing involves the introduction of the purpose of writing (genre), development of vocabulary & language to be used, modelling the genre structure & content and finally publishing (producing) a written piece.
• Teachers use progression of skills linked to the National Curriculum to correctly identify the punctuation/grammatical content required. Pupils will be taught to use grammar correctly, building on existing knowledge to expand the range and variety of grammar they use. It is taught either through systematic steps moving from decontextualized drills to contextual, discrete teaching.
• Pupils participate in “Adventure Writes” throughout the year linked to enriched and exciting themes where we aim to develop stamina and skills to write at length, with accurate spelling and punctuation, using legible, correctly formed handwriting appropriate for their age and ability.

• Opportunities to apply taught skills are provided in other areas of the curriculum.
• To celebrate writing, we choose Star Writers at the end of a sequence who have made significant individual progress. These pupils receive a certificate to identify how they have progressed and their work is displayed on the Star Writer Wall for everyone to see.

Phonics and Spelling

A secure phonic knowledge is key to children’s success as both readers and writers.  Learners are taught and encouraged to spell quickly and accurately through knowledge and understanding of phonics, word structure, spelling patterns and word recognition.

• Each year group follows a carefully created programme based on the framework of Letters and Sounds/Twinkl Phonics and the National Curriculum.
• Daily Phonics sessions take place in Reception and Key Stage 1. We teach the five key skills – learning the letter sounds, learning the letter formation, blending sounds, segmenting words and learning tricky words (reading and spelling).
• Spelling sessions are taught at least four times a week. These lessons will have a clear progress of revisiting, teaching, modelling, practising and application.

Reading

Reading across our school is multi-dimensional and one of our priorities is helping children read and develop their all-important comprehension skills. We develop and secure phonic knowledge and show how to use this to decode unfamiliar words. We encourage the importance of learning the ever-increasing range of familiar written words (Sight Vocabulary) and fluency. Pupils are taught to read with purpose, recognise that there are different types of text, understand the prose of fiction and non-fiction text, learn the ability to adapt their approach to reading when necessary and use reading to support their acquisition of knowledge and vocabulary across all subjects.

• Children start by following a reading system, where reading texts closely linked to their phonic, sight vocabulary and comprehension abilities.
• Then children progress to ‘Free Readers’, where books are linked to vocabulary, age appropriate content and comprehension skills. We develop the reading for pleasure by encouraging the children to choose their own books and to vary genre.
• Guided Reading sessions take place from Reception to Year 6. These sessions follow a progression of skills in the following areas: Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explain, Retrieve and Summarise. We actively engage the reader, adjusting approaches to ensure understanding.
• Children are heard read on a regular basis by staff and our committed group of volunteer readers.
• Daily story-time develop pupils’ ability to listen with concentration to class novels and age appropriate text. They provide additional opportunities to develop comprehension and communications skills.

Handwriting

Handwriting is an essential life skill and it contributes to reading fluency because it activates visual perception of letters. It assists success in other subjects, because good handwriting has a positive impact on showing communication, knowledge and learning. Our pupils are taught accurate formation, correct starting & finishing points, awareness of size, spacing, legibility, fluidity and writing stamina using the skills based progression by Letter-Join. All pupils will be encouraged to use sharp pencils to enable them to develop and practise their skills. Year 5 & 6 will have the opportunity to progress to using pens when appropriate, at the discretion of their class teacher.

• Handwriting is taught each week in each year group. Interventions or whole class teaching will take place where necessary as per teacher’s assessment/decision.
• Presentation and handwriting are checked as and when appropriate by class teachers and guided by  the Letter-Join scheme.
• Good models/exemplars will be displayed in classes and corridors

Speech and Language

The spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing. The quality and variety of language pupils hear and speak are vital for developing vocabulary & grammar and the understanding linked to reading & writing. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking & listening and use discussion to communicate, organise their ideas and develop further their learning.

• Pupils are regularly given opportunity to listen and respond to adults and their peers.
• Foundation years and Key Stage 1 will ensure to praise good interactions and speech whilst modelling correct sentence formation.
• Key Stage 2 enhance speech and language abilities through debates and detailed discussions (expressing themselves confidently and coherently, voicing their opinions and rationalising other people’s points of view).
• Expert readers in school will model good ‘prosody’ and fluency when reading and allowing children the opportunity to read aloud regularly and develop their own oracy skills.

Impact: How do we know what pupils have learnt and how well they have learnt it?

We strive to ensure that our pupils' progress is in line with or exceeds their potential when we consider the varied starting points of all our children. We measure this using the assessment criteria outlined on Insight, NFER testing for reading, and STA Assessment guidelines, whilst always considering the age-related expectations for each year group.  We monitor weekly spelling test and dictation results, so we can adapt teaching to individual needs. In reading and writing, we monitor and check progression of skills throughout the year through target sessions, evaluations and during adventure writes or guided reading lessons. Pupil are encouraged to showcase their skills at every opportunity. Pupils will also participate in discussions with staff members to know what they have learnt, identify how they have progressed and know their next steps. We will identify moderation pieces, complete book scrutiny’s and participate in professional discussions to identify the impact of teaching and learning.

Our English curriculum will ensure pupils are:

• Confident to write for a range of different purposes and produce written work to a high standard.
• Enjoy reading for both pleasure and information whilst appreciating our rich and varied literary heritage.
• Confident to participate in discussions where they are able to share their ideas, opinions and knowledge whilst listening to others.
• Make good individual progress through all aspects of the English curriculum

English is important for pupils as it broadens their minds, develops emotional skills and improves the quality of life. Pupils will benefit from our balanced and enriching approach and will be academically prepared for life beyond primary school and throughout their educational journey.