English

At Crondall Primary School we use English to communicate in both written and spoken form. We use language to build our view and opinion of the world and our community. We believe that developing a love of our language in our children is vital in achieving success at school and later in life. The exploration and enjoyment of the English language is our priority and we value all its aspects –speaking, listening, reading and writing. English is taught daily across the whole school with work appropriately differentiated to match all abilities.

Implementation

Speaking and listening

Talking is fundamental to learning. Children are encouraged to speak clearly, confidently and with expression in order to state their ideas and opinions. Just as important is the need to listen carefully to others and respond in appropriate ways. At Crondall Primary, children are given opportunities in all areas of the curriculum to develop their speaking and listening skills, in paired, group or whole class situations. Therefore, role play, small world and drama activities are intrinsic elements of speaking and listening across the school. Each year group also has a class assembly each year and a key performance to support opportunities to share their learning.

Reading

Children who read for pleasure gain a richer vocabulary, more knowledge, critical thinking skills and become independent learners.

Guided Reading is an important part of our curriculum. Children work as a whole class or in focused groups to develop their reading skills and their understanding of texts. We provide children with rich reading experiences within the English lessons and encourage them to appreciate the author’s use of language and writing techniques in order to develop their own writing skills. Our children take their reading books home daily to share with their families/carers. As they go through the school, they are given more responsibility for making their own reading choices from the excellent resources we have in school. Our well-stocked library is also open daily for children to choose their books. Please see our information booklet on early reading development.

By the end of KS1 pupils meeting age related expectations will be able to:

read accurately most words of two or more syllables
read most words containing common suffixes (from English Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum)
read most common exception words.

In age-appropriate books, the pupil can:

read most words accurately without overt sounding and blending, and sufficiently fluently to allow them to focus on their understanding rather than on decoding individual words
sound out most unfamiliar words accurately, without undue hesitation.

In a book that they can already read fluently, the pupil can:

check it makes sense to them, correcting any inaccurate reading
answer questions and make some inferences
explain what has happened so far in what they have read.

By the end of KS2 pupils meeting age related expectations will be able to:

Demonstrate a positive attitude by frequently reading a wide range of texts for pleasure, both fiction and non-fiction
Show familiarity with different text types specified in the YR 5-6 programme of study, which include modern fiction and fiction from our literary heritage; books from other cultures; myths, legends and traditional stories; poetry, plays and a range of non-fiction texts
Recommend books to others, giving reasons for their choices; state preferences
Accurately identify and comment on the features, themes and conventions across a range of writing, and understand their use. q Demonstrate that they have learned a wide range of poetry by heart
Identify language, structural and presentational features in texts (e.g. columns, bullet points, tables) and explain how they contribute to meaning
Use contextual evidence to make sense of the text; explore finer meanings of words; show, discuss and explore their understanding of the meaning of vocabulary in context
Identify the effect of language, including figurative; explain and evaluate its effect e.g. impact of a word or phrase on the reader; the suitability of a chosen simile; personification
During discussion, ask pertinent questions to enhance understanding
Make accurate and appropriate comparisons within and across different texts
Make developed inferences e.g. characters’ thoughts and motives, or identify an inferred atmosphere; explain and justify with textual evidence to support reasoning; make predictions which are securely rooted in the text
Distinguish between fact and opinion
Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction texts
Identify key details which support main ideas; summarise content drawn from more than one paragraph
Participate in discussion about books, expressing and justifying opinions, building on ideas, and challenging others’ views courteously
Explain their understanding of what they have read, including through formal presentation and debates, maintaining a focus on the topic

Phonics and spelling

We place great value on the importance of accurate spelling. A structured programme of spelling extends across the whole school, beginning with Little Wandle in EYFS and Key Stage 1. There is a natural transition to spelling programmes from Year 1 onwards and this continues to be used through to the end of Year 6. The spelling programme is supported by regular whole class teaching.

By the end of KS1 pupils meeting age related expectations will be able to:

Segment spoken words into phonemes and represent these by graphemes, spelling many of these words correctly and making phonically-plausible attempts at others
Spell many common exception words*(from Appendix 1 of National Curriculum)

By the end of KS2 pupils meeting age related expectations will be able to:

Write from memory, dictated sentences which include words and punctuation from the KS2 curriculum
Use knowledge of morphology to spell words with the full range of prefixes and suffixes in the Year 5-6 spelling appendix e.g. pre-, re-, -able, -ible, -ably, -ibly, -al, -ial
Use the appropriate range of spelling rules and conventions to spell polysyllabic words which conform to regular patterns
Spell some challenging homophones from the Year 5-6 spelling appendix
Spell the majority of words from the Year 5-6 statutory word list.

Writing

At Crondall Primary we aim for children to be independent writers. We encourage them to write clearly and with confidence in any given genre. We teach them to use punctuation and grammar accurately, to be able to proofread their own work and make amendments and improvements. Our system of pen licences encourages children to place value on the development of correct letter formation and neatly presented handwriting. We give children a wide range of opportunities in which to develop their writing skills and display work of which they are proud. Through our English curriculum, we aim to nurture in the children a love of literature and language, and the confidence to continue reading and writing throughout their lives. We allow children to have extended periods of writing time to showcase the skills they have learnt in class. This time is called ‘write away’ and is at the end of each genre studied.

By the end of KS1 pupils meeting age related expectations will be able to:

Write simple, coherent narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real or fictional)
Write about real events, recording these simply and clearly
Demarcate most sentences in their writing with capital letters and full stops, and use question marks correctly when required
Use present and past tense mostly correctly and consistently
Use co-ordination (e.g. or / and / but) and some subordination (e.g. when / if / that / because) to join clauses
Form capital letters and digits of the correct size, orientation and relationship to one another and to lower-case letters
Use spacing between words that reflects the size of the letters.

By the end of KS2 pupils meeting age related expectations will be able to:

Discuss and develop ideas; routinely use the drafting process before and during writing
Adapt form and style to suit purpose and audience; draw appropriate features from models of similar writing
Use paragraphs to develop and expand some ideas in depth; add detail within each paragraph; coverage may not always be even
Use a range of devices to link ideas within and across paragraphs e.g. adverbials or repetition of a phrase
Use a range of presentational devices, including use of bullet points, tables and columns, to guide the reader
Integrate dialogue to convey character and advance the action
Describe characters, settings and atmosphere, with some precision
Summarise longer passages, when required. q Evaluate own and others’ writing; proof read, edit and revise
Write a range of sentence structures (simple and complex) including relative clauses e.g. using ‘that’, ‘which’
Use a wide range of punctuation including brackets and dashes; commas for pauses; colons and semi-colons for lists; hyphens; consistent use of bullet points
Use modal verbs to indicate degrees of possibility
Maintain correct tense; also control perfect form of verbs e.g. He has collected some shells
Understand and use active and passive voice
Identify the subject and object
Identify synonym and antonym
Select vocabulary and grammar to suit formal and informal writing
Use vocabulary which is varied, interesting and precise
Use a dictionary and thesaurus to define words and expand vocabulary
Writing is legible and fluent
Correct choice is made about whether to join handwriting or print letters e.g. to label a diagram

Impact Pupil Voice:

“I love reading the stories about our topic, they help us to understand it better.”- Year 5

“The librarians now read us stories at lunchtimes and show us new books. This is helping my reading.”- Year 2

“Write away gives me time to think about my writing and produce a good piece. I love the candles and soothing music that plays.” - Year 6

The impact of our curriculum is continually assessed and reviewed by the senior leadership team, subject leaders, Governors and our children. The impact of the curriculum is evident in the improved outcomes for all children.

How to support my child?

Below are some links to online games and support

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/freeIndex.htm

http://www.ipicthat.com/index.php

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zv48q6f

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2literacy.