English

Subject Leader: Mrs Coughlan

Our English Curriculum Statement: 

Our English curriculum at Stella Maris is used to promote a love of reading and writing across the curriculum and at home. We encourage our learning values of Independence, Interdependence, Challenge, Spirituality, Thinking and Creativity to ensure high standards of achievement and success for all our children.

English - Intent

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

We use words to communicate in many different ways and contexts: we use them to communicate with others by speaking and listening, receive messages in print, for example, in newspapers, magazines, comics and books, labels on tins and food packets; we need to be able to use words effectively to send and receive text messages and by posting and messaging friends on social media, such as Twitter. We are surrounded by words and language and because they are so central to our lives here at Stella Maris, we strive to offer our children the richest opportunities that develop a natural love for words (vocabulary) and how to use them effectively in a range of contexts for different purposes.

It is our intent 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 clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

English - Implementation

At Stella Maris, we believe that language is a powerful tool for learning and social development and are committed to developing children’s spoken and written form. We understand that reading and writing go hand in hand; children need to be capable and fluent readers in order to become capable and fluent writers.

By using ‘Little Wandle’ we make sure our children secure the phonics skills along with other strategies to develop a love for reading and writing for pleasure.

We use The Power of Reading approach which supports our primary school in developing a high quality literacy curriculum which fosters a whole school love of reading and writing. 

The Power of Reading puts quality children’s literature at the heart of literacy learning and is built on years of research and best practice.  The programme develops teacher subject knowledge and supports our school in raising engagement and attainment in language, vocabulary, reading and writing and meeting all the requirements of the National Curriculum.

We recognise that writing is a complicated process and therefore, in order for children to succeed, our planning provides a range of scaffolds to support their success. These scaffolds include drama and role play, technology, writing for a range of purposes and audiences, explicit grammar teaching in context, exposure to high quality texts, visual and language models as well as the systematic teaching of spelling and handwriting.

All year groups have regular opportunities to write at length across a range of subjects, topics and genres. In addition to this, we have a process where children can write longer pieces engaging the children to write enthusiastically with increasing independence and stamina. These writing initiatives also provide opportunities for teachers to assess the child’s writing when less support is given.

We support children’s writing by bringing them powerful stimulus as hooks such as visits, workshops and experiences, but also by encouraging them to write for a range of real-life purposes and audiences at home and at school. For example:

• Shopping lists/ to do lists
• Diaries
• Letters
• Story writing
• Captions for photographs

English - Impact