English

Intent

At Buckshaw Primary School, we strive for excellence in English achievement throughout the school. We aim to deliver a high-quality curriculum which 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. We believe that all the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society. 

Buckshaw Primary school aims to produce pupils who:

• Learn how to read and write with fluency, understanding and confidence.
• Are encouraged to develop a love of reading and to read for enjoyment.
• Develop their ever-growing vocabulary, through an interest in words and their meanings.
• Experience a range of text/media types and genres, across a range of contexts, to develop their understanding.
• Learn to write in a variety of styles and be able to apply characteristic features of texts to their own writing.
• Develop a technical vocabulary with understanding of grammatical terminology.
• Learn how to apply grammatical terminology in their own writing.
•        Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly

their understanding and ideas.

• Have the opportunity to write for pleasure; to explore and develop their own ideas.
• Are always given the opportunity to develop their creativity and imagination.

Implementation

In EYFS, children have daily Phonics lessons through Red Rose Letters and Sounds Phonics to develop skills like blending and segmenting in preparation for early reading and writing. A wide range of exciting learning areas provide children with opportunities to develop their communication, language and literacy skills on a daily basis with a focus on child-initiated activities. As well as a Writing Area, which provides children with a range of materials with which to experiment and practice mark marking/letter formation (and eventually to practice taught skills), other learning areas provide children with the opportunity to read and write in a range of contexts. 

A range of resources in the outdoor area, including a mud kitchen, provide valuable opportunities to engage children in writing for pleasure. In the outdoor area children have constant access to Reading and Writing sheds which are filled with engaging, exciting resources that can be used independently. They also have access to a vast range of texts, including fiction and nonfiction. 

In Key Stage 1, Red Rose Letters and Sounds Phonics lessons are continued with an increased focus on spelling and spelling rules. In English lessons, children explore a variety of themes such as Stories in Familiar Settings, Instructions, Fantasy Stories or Funny Poems. They study fiction and non-fiction and begin to compare characteristic features of writing. Children learn how to apply these features in their own writing and begin to write at length. In Key Stage 1, children will write for a range of purposes, including (but not limited to): stories, diaries, newspaper reports, instruction texts and poems. 

Writing skills are developed across the curriculum and children are given lots of opportunities for cross-curricular writing. 

Children have 1:1 reading sessions, as well as daily Guided Reading, and use Bug Club to engage with a variety of texts both at school and home to develop their reading comprehension. Children are encouraged to develop a love for reading through daily story time. 

In Key Stage 2, children have English lessons in which they focus on a range of text types throughout the year. During Key Stage 2, children can expect to tackle a range of writing tasks, including (but not limited to): myths and legends, adventure stories, mysteries, play scripts, biographies, recounts, debates and journalistic writing. 

English, Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar is taught discreetly in daily sessions. Additional daily sessions include Guided Reading through our Bug Club scheme. Children also have access to our KS2 library, regularly borrowing books according to their interests, which they can engage with at school and at home. 

In Key Stage 2, children continue to have a range of opportunities for cross curricular writing. English skills are developed across the curriculum so children can apply what they know in a variety of contexts. 

Impact

Through our teaching philosophy, we feel that Buckshaw Primary School teaches an English curriculum that enables children to make progress, engage in sustained learning and develop transferrable skills. 

Reading at Buckshaw Primary School is progressive and planned to meet the needs of all children. Assessments are carried out regularly to ensure children are accessing books of the right level and are being challenged in their reading. At the same time, we provide books to ensure that children read for pleasure and learn to love reading. 

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods: 

• Phonics assessment.
• Phonics screening results.
• Book band colours.
• Summative assessments each term.
• End of Key stage SATs results.

In writing, assessment for learning strategies are used on a daily basis. These allow a personalised picture to be built up of the pupils’ progress. Areas of strength or weakness can then be addressed in teachers’ planning. 

Formative assessment is completed termly. Children complete independent writing pieces within a unit of work, which are assessed against our writing criteria. Analysis of the data impacts upon teachers planning so pupils’ needs can be addressed. Moderation of teacher assessment is also completed termly in order to ensure that judgements are accurate. Children are formally assessed using Lancashire’s ‘KLIPS’, which focus on the acquisition of key skills. Children who are not on track to make expected progress are quickly identified for intervention. 

At the end of KS1 and KS2 teachers use the Teacher Assessment Framework to report Teacher assessment.