English

Please click to access the English Curriculum Map

Purpose of Study

English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will 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. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.

Aims

At The Hayes we support the aim for English expressed within the National Curriculum: 'to promote high standards of 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.'

Spoken Language

This underpins the development of reading and writing  and is vital for pupils' development across all aspects of the school curriculum. We provide children with a wide range of opportunities to hear and use good quality vocabulary, focusing also on variety. Children are encouraged to ask questions, discuss in pairs and groups and to use conventions for discussion as well as debate. Opportunities for drama are sought throughout the curriculum as it is recognised that the skills that are developed through this medium are unique.  

Reading: quality children's literature at the heart of all learning. 

Throughout Key Stage 1 and 2 we teach English through the Power of Reading programme.
 

The Power of Reading approach has raised achievement in over 2500 schools across England and internationally. Here at The Hayes, we have seen The Power of Reading transform the way the teachers teach and the way children feel about reading and writing. Children engage with high quality picture books, novels, poetry and non-fiction through a wide range of teaching approaches. Children are immersed into the text through music, art, drama, discussion and role-play. Other approaches include responding to illustrations, ‘Book Talk’, story mapping and book making. Children take ownership of the text and engage with it deeply.

The programme of study at Key Stages 1 and 2 are:

• word reading

• comprehension (both listening and reading).
   

Our aim is to teach children to read fluently and accurately so that they have a full understanding of text, resulting in enjoyment of what they have read.  We share this aim with parents, and to this end, use a variety of strategies. Our children’s reading experiences continue and develop throughout The Hayes, with them learning to read for a purpose – why are they reading?  This of course reflects directly upon their writing skills, when the two are allied and the connections are made known to the children! Children are, therefore, encouraged to make choices about their reading matter, according to why they are reading.  When reading for information, higher reading skills are taught so that they can skim/scan text for what they need. 

Skills such as recapping on what children have read, predicting what might happen next and inviting opinion as to why, are vital to children progressing as readers and these skills are encouraged from our earliest readers. The impact can be seen in our results when in 2019, progress for our Year 6s was significantly above national (3.2) and in the highest 20% of all schools. Additionally, the KS1 three-year average attainment score (107.0) was in the highest 20% of all schools. 

The carefully chosen texts are all part of Centre for Literacy in Primary Education’s (CLPE) Core Book List.

Phonics:

Phonics and all aspects of Early Reading at The Hayes are given the utmost priority and woven into all aspects of the Early Years curriculum. The systematic teaching of phonics ensures that children write and read well. We ensure that our children receive high quality phonic teaching on a daily basis throughout the EYFS and Infant department. In KS2, for those pupils who still require support with phonics, there are extra intervention sessions to support decoding words and reading fluently.

We follow the DfE validated systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) scheme, ‘Little Wandle, Letters and Sounds Revised’. All staff have been trained in the delivery of the SSP scheme ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised’. Daily sessions of systematic teaching of phonics are consistent, well-structured and pace-appropriate. Four new sounds are taught each week with a fifth session to review the weeks learning. Staff ensure the decodable books our children read match the sounds they are learning. This enables them to develop phonemic awareness rapidly and embed phonic knowledge into long-term memory from working memory. Practice makes permanent. Children in EYFS and KS1 read three times a week and this regular practice helps children apply their skills and become fluent readers. Reading practice sessions focus on decoding, prosody and comprehension meaning that children are able to use their phonics skills, develop fluency and take time to discuss and develop a passion for reading.

The ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised’ phonics programme overview outlines the progression of phonics and tricky words that we teach term-by-term. The progression has been organised so that children are taught from the simple to more complex graphemes and phonemes, as well as taking into account the frequency of their occurrence in the most commonly encountered words. All the graphemes taught are practised in words, sentences, and later on, in fully decodable books. Children review and revise graphemes, phonemes and words, daily, weekly and across terms and years, in order to move this knowledge into their long-term memory.

Children need to learn to read as quickly as reasonably possible, so they can move from learning to read, to reading to learn, giving them access to a range of reading materials and to enjoy their independent reading in the future. Our expectations of progression are aspirational yet achievable. Children who are not keeping up with their peers are given additional practice immediately through keep-up sessions.

The Hayes Primary school promotes, values and inspires reading in its pupils. We value reading as a key life skill and recognise the importance of reading for future success and well-being. Our aim is for all children to become life-long readers.

Writing: quality children's literature at the heart of all learning. 

The programme of study at Key Stages 1 and 2 are:

• transcription (spelling and handwriting)

• composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing).
   

Learning to write is a complex process that involves a variety of skills but is an extremely powerful medium.  It can last longer than the spoken word and can, and often has, been immortalized.  We encourage all our children to become “authors” in their own right.

Initially, a child needs to be able to form the letters needed and then be able to express one’s ideas using these letters.  Through shared and guided writing opportunities, we equip children to develop the skills of writing clearly and legibly.  When the child is confident with these basic skills, they will work towards being able to write with a greater sense of purpose and learn to organize their writing according to this purpose.  Children are equipped with the necessary tools to do this, being given daily opportunities to focus on spelling and/or grammatical structures. 

Our children work using a variety of real texts – the link between reading and writing is made very clear.  We are keen to develop the links between the child’s creative work and the creative arts.

Handwriting 

We strive for our children to form correct letter formations, joining and good handwriting habits so that they can write fluently and legibly by the end of KS2. Children are introduced to cursive style writing from early years. This is taught with a sequential and progressive approach with teachers and TAs modelling the handwriting style.
 

We believe that children’s self-esteem and pride in their work can be raised by good quality presentation.

Each aim is considered equally important:

• To teach children to write with a flowing hand which is legible, swift and pleasant to look at.

• To enable children to develop their own style of handwriting as they progress through Key Stage 2.

• To support the development of correct spelling and to aid in the elimination of letter reversals by the learning of word patterns and the correct joining of letters.

• To ensure that children of differing abilities are provided with appropriate and achievable goals.

• To assist children in taking pride with the presentation of their work.

• To teach correct letter formation.

• To appreciate handwriting as an art form.

• To display excellent examples of handwriting in every classroom and around the school.
  
  At The Hayes, our aim is that pupils will be supported to develop a handwriting style which is clear, joined and fluid. Inevitably some will be neater than others, but each child can acquire a consistent and fluent style. Although there are many opportunities to practice handwriting across the curriculum, we will also provide regular lessons for teaching and revising these skills. The frequency and length of these lessons will vary according to the age and competence of the children. Formal handwriting skills will be taught regularly and systematically through the use of the PENPALS Handwriting scheme (Cambridge University Press).
  
  Five stages are identified and these form the basic organisation of the scheme:
  *Readiness for writing: gross and fine motor skills leading to letter formation (Foundation)
  *Beginning to join (Lower KS1)
  *Securing joins (Upper KS1/Lower KS2) 
  *Practising speed and fluency (Lower KS2) 
  *Presentation skills (Upper KS2) Opportunities for linking handwriting with early phonics and spelling work are fully exploited through the PENPALS scheme. 

Year 2 (KS1) and Year 6 (KS2) Teacher Assessment Frameworks (English and Maths)