English Intent:

At Welford on Avon Primary School, we believe that a high quality English Curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion and promote high standards of literacy and language.

• We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and to be able to use discussion to communicate and further their learning.
• We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often for pleasure.
• We develop in pupils a love of books and high-quality literature that will not only support their learning across the curriculum, but also extend beyond the classroom environment and enrich their lives;
• We nurture a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts.
• We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.
• We value and celebrate diversity in culture and language.

 

Teachers use a variety of interactive teaching methods to deliver the curriculum and achieve set learning objectives.

Teaching and learning takes place within a whole class setting and, in the main, differentiation is by outcome, scaffolding and through setting different expectations. However, the teacher will lead smaller ability led guided reading and writing groups as appropriate. Within guided groups, teachers move children forward by focusing specifically on reading and writing issues which are particular to that group of children.  

Teachers are also expected to plan time within certain writing lessons for children to reflect on their marked work, and independently respond to teacher prompts to improve their writing, using the Effective Feedback Policy.

Speaking and Listening

At Welford on Avon Primary School, we believe that speaking and listening form the foundations of all learning in English. In formal and informal situations, we create and facilitate opportunities for conversation, discussion and talk around learning. Effective questioning forms the basis of our teaching and we strongly encourage children to be inquisitive and to share their thoughts confidently in a supportive environment.

What does this look like at Welford on Avon Primary School?

• Talk for Writing models
• Questioning and taking risks with language;
• Presenting in-front of an audience;
• Reciting and reading aloud;
• Re-telling, role-play and drama productions ;
• Listening to and participating in stories, poems, rhymes and songs;
• Drama activities to enliven and enrich children’s understanding of character;
• Talking the text – opportunities for children to talk about and discuss their reading and writing;
• Debate;
• Collaborative work and reporting back following group work;
• Presentations.

Writing

At Welford on Avon Primary School, we strive to create an environment that will promote both reading and writing.  Teachers carefully plan writing to link to the termly topic or quality texts, ensuring that there is a purposeful outcome to each piece of writing. In order to ensure that all pupils learn to be confident writers, we encourage children to write creatively whilst teaching key writing skills explicitly and systematically. Writing takes place daily within English lessons and in other lessons linked to the wider curriculum. Extended writing is encouraged and developed at all times.

What does this look like at Welford on Avon Primary School?

• A purpose and audience for each piece of writing is decided from the outset;
• Writing is displayed all oer the school;
• We pride stimulating first hand experiences e.g. trips, events;
• Writing is taught as a sequenced activity;
• Teachers pride regular helpful feedback through marking;
• Time is planned into lessons for children to respond to marking and feedback;
• Writing is, in the main, linked to class topics and quality texts to promote engagement;
• We ensure progression in complexity of tasks and reading material year on year;
• We build stamina for writing by providing opportunities to write for extended periods;
• Some pieces will be ‘published’ i.e. re-drafted in neat and displayed on classroom walls;
• Peer marking is encouraged as an additional way for children to respond to writing;
• Children complete an extended piece of writing once a fortnight in their ‘Ready, Steady, Write!’ books, with time given to proof-reading and editing.

Spelling

Understanding how to spell correctly is important in supporting children to organise their thinking around language. Knowing how to apply spelling rules and recognising key words is empowering for children. Spellings plays a significant part of standardised assessment and is taught throughout the school. In Foundation Stage and Year 1, phonics are taught supported by the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme.  From Year 1 onwards, pupils are introduced to a new spelling rule each week, supported by the Pathways to Spell.

What does this look like at Welford on Avon Primary School?

• All pupils are encouraged to ‘have a go’ in their first drafts and refer to class word banks when writing;
• We use the 2014 National Curriculum as a guideline as to which spellings should be taught in which year group.
• Children practise three spelling corrections in their books  - chosen by their teacher as ‘ones they should know’  - as part of their response to marked work; 
• We link handwriting to common spelling patterns;
• Children learn to spell explicitly in weekly spelling lessons;
• From Year One, children are actively encouraged and taught to proof-read their writing for spelling errors;

In addition to in-class focus on a spelling, the focus spellings are also given to children as part of their homework;

• Children learn spellings using a combination of activities and sentence writing.
• Support staff use a system of repetitive over learning called ‘Precision Teaching’ to support those children who need extra help. 

Handwriting

We place value on children taking pride and care over their work and handwriting is a key part of this. In the early years, there is a big emphasis upon fine motor skills and we use a range of resources to practise these basic skills. This moves into correct letter formation with a focus on both upper and lower case letters.

What does this look like at Welford on Avon Primary School?

• We take the view that handwriting should be taught little and often – at least 3 X 20 minutes each week.
• We use cursive script and encourage children to join their writing as soon as they are forming their letters correctly;
• Extra handwriting groups occur in classes throughout the school where the class team feel that additional handwriting support is needed.

 

Grammar

An understanding of how to use grammar correctly, use relevant meta-language and identifying word classes and sentence types is taught both in the context of a piece of writing and explicitly in whole class work.  Linked to the National Curriculum guidelines for year groups, grammar is taught both discretely and planned to fit in with relevant genres of writing.

What does this look like at Welford on Avon Primary School?

• We start with the basics of sentence construction including full stops and capital letters;
• Children begin to identify word classes early on (noun, verb, adjective, adverb);
• We follow the 2014 National Curriculum as guidance as to what is taught in each year group.