English

English

INTENT

 At St Jude’s our goal for each child in our school is:

• to be a self-assured communicator in both the spoken and written word
• to be a fluent and confident reader who understands what they read and can discuss concepts readily
• to enjoy reading
• to be a life-long reader
• to use a rich, varied and precise vocabulary to enhance their communicative skills
• to be an accurate speller

IMPLEMENTATION

Planning:

• years 1 - 6 follows the objectives from the National Curriculum programmes of study for reading, writing, handwriting, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, which includes speaking and listening opportunities
• high quality texts (linked to other areas of the curriculum during that half term/term) will be the driver for English Learning Journeys
• will be adapted as necessary to respond to Assessment for Learning (AfL)
• will include a range of genres: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and visual

Teaching:  Reading

Phonics and Early reading:  Phonics is taught through the Little Wandle phonics program.

• In Reception, the children are taught all of the phase 2, 3 and 4 graphemes
• In Year One, children are taught the Phase 5 graphemes and corresponding phonemes.
• If children in Reception and Year One are finding it difficult to master the programme, they are given additional and daily 1:1 or small group phonics sessions to address any gaps within their phonics knowledge. They are then reassessed every three weeks to ensure they are making progress and keeping up with the scheme.
• If a child in Year Two children is assessed as having gaps in his/her phonic knowledge, or if they are not fluent readers, daily rapid catch up is provided to ensure he/she makes the appropriate progress.  The child will be assessed every three weeks. 
• Once a child has completed the phonics programme, and they are fluent readers, they come off the scheme and become ‘free readers’, which means that the texts they will be accessing are not limited to those within the phonics scheme. 
• Once a child has mastered the code and can read fluently, confidently and independently, teachers will provide a variety of opportunities for children to experience excellent reading modelled throughout the school day.  At all times, vocabulary and meaning is explicitly unpicked and discussed, which allows the children to develop their understanding.  The children practise decoding through whole class reading, shared reading, guided reading, 1:1 and reading for pleasure.  High quality texts are selected to ensure the children are exposed to a rich and varied diet of vocabulary, high-level sentence structure, grammar and punctuation.  This enables teachers to highlight how the author has manipulated language and sentence structure for the intended form, purpose and audience. 
• We have a large library which the children access at least once a week. 

Teaching:  Writing

EYFS writing:

• The children engage in ‘mark making’, to which children attribute meaning.  They do this through acting out situations that they have seen adults do. 
• As children learn about reading, letter shapes and words begin to have more meaning for them. This allows them to remember what is, after all, just a collection of shapes.  Reading and learning phonics also allow children to work out how to write the sounds of the words that they can hear in their head.
• Mark making opportunities are provided in every area of the learning environment in Early Years, using a variety of stimuli and a variety of materials, to make mark making and writing fun.
• Children in Early Years see their ideas come to life when adults scribe their oral stories, making the link between the spoken and written word.

Teachers in Years 1 to 6 follow the National Curriculum

• The class teacher will skilfully impart the skills and knowledge required for the children to communicate thoughts, ideas, arguments and information using age-appropriate grammar, punctuation and sentence structure.  Through a range of genres, children will be taught to understand that the craft of writing requires critical and precise editing, which takes time.  Each child rehearses their writing skills independently, in pairs, or small groups, and is given time to edit and develop their writing.  Eventually, the child learns to edit critically and to appreciate that the writing is for the intended reader, not necessarily for themselves. 

Assessment and feedback:

• Teachers assess according to the Hampshire Assessment Model, where objectives from the NC are assessed in different phases and then built upon and revisited throughout the year
• Feedback is given verbally where possible, or through marking in books which might include questions to clarify understanding, identification of errors to correct or edit, advice about word choice, sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, description and/or tone.
• Formal assessment is carried out termly.     

Leadership:

• English books and planning are regularly monitored for consistency of expectation, adherence to Feedback Policy, progression and coverage.  Any questions or issues arising are dealt with appropriately. 

IMPACT

• Children are able to communicate their thinking using precise and descriptive vocabulary to enhance clarity in both their speaking and writing
• Children will widen their knowledge of authors, texts and genres, and become life-long readers
• Across the curriculum, children will use accurate sentence structure, grammar and punctuation to demonstrate their writing craft.