Curriculum – English

In this section of the website, you will find information about our approach to teaching English at Esh Winning Primary School.

The Intent provides information on the relevance of English and why we teach English in this way at Esh Winning Primary School. .
The Implementation of English outlines how teachers at Esh Winning Primary School teach English across school from Nursery to Year 6.
The Impact details the evidence collected to ensure the intent is realised and the implementation is successful across school.
The Progression of English outlines what progression looks like across the school.
The Useful Subject Information section provides further information on the opportunities there are to engage with and deepen learning in English.

Intent of English

Intent

At Esh Winning Primary School our English curriculum intent is that all children, regardless of background, will become fluent readers and technically skilled, creative writers. Our children will engage with a range of genres and develop their understanding of fiction and non-fiction styles. Furthermore, we have developed a curriculum that will instil in all children a love of reading and writing that we hope will stay with them for life. We understand that a good grasp of English is the bedrock of the entire curriculum and that children who are confident and adept readers and writers will be empowered to succeed in all other areas.

We will deliver an English Curriculum that:

Develops in all children a love of reading and writing.
Nurtures in all children the ability to express themselves clearly – verbally and in writing; to develop their word choice when speaking and to encourage accurate grammar when speaking.
Allows children to comprehend and critique what they read, and to write creatively and accurately regardless of genre or topic.
Encourages children to be reflective, motivated and resilient learners.
Offers a rich variety of experiences, inside and outside of the classroom.
Exposes all children to a wide range of high-quality texts that explore different styles, plots, tones and cover many diverse authors and characters.
We will, from EYFS to Year 6, develop children’s vocabulary.
We will develop children’s grammar so that they have a good understanding of the mechanics of spoken and written English.
Phonics will be taught progressively from EYFS to Year 6, using the RWI model, as an effective way of developing children’s reading and spelling skills.
The teaching of spelling will be taught across the school in a progressive way allowing children to learn spelling rules, exceptions and irregular spellings.
The teaching of handwriting will be taught to develop legibility and fluidity and to encourage all children to take pride in the presentation of their work,
Children will be given the opportunity to read and write a variety of genres: different fictional styles, poetry, non-fiction. They will learn to adopt the appropriate tone and ‘voice’ for each genre.
Children will be encouraged to reflect upon their writing, edit and improve.
When reading, children will be taught to read with fluency and expression. The curriculum will develop their ability to comprehend, analyse and critique different texts.

Implementation of English

Implementation
These aims are embedded across our literacy lessons and the wider curriculum. We have a rigorous and well organised English curriculum and framework, that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. We use a wide variety of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children. Teachers also ensure that cross curricular links with concurrent topic work are woven into the programme of study.

The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

Read easily, fluently and with good understanding.
Develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.
Acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language.
Appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage.
Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas.
Are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

At Esh Winning Primary School, we identify children who need support and provide intervention in the most effective and efficient way that we can. We run intervention reading groups. We help each child maximise their potential by providing help and support where necessary whilst striving to make children independent workers once we have helped to equip them with the confidence, tools and strategies that they need.

Marking is rigorous in English and across the curriculum, with regular ‘Response Times’ and spelling corrections to help children correct and consolidate their work.

We love to celebrate success of all learners and strive to help all children achieve their goals. Reading is celebrated in classrooms and around school at Esh Winning Primary School, where our bright and colourful displays celebrate children’s writing, their favourite books and whole class reading books. In addition, throughout the school year our literacy curriculum is enhanced through World Book Day and visits to the local library.

Impact of English

Impact

At Esh Winning Primary School, we believe that our English curriculum will equip our children with skills that will carry them through life.

We develop confident individuals who can talk effectively in order to express themselves and their opinions, read to obtain information and for pleasure and with a level of writing ability that allows them to be successful in further education and their adult lives. Due to teacher’s level of personalised learning, all groups of abilities will make good progress.

Children will explore the creativity of writing techniques, take risks with their choices and solve problems in both reading and writing. Through applying a consistent expectation of English across the whole curriculum and the whole school, children are encouraged for all of their work to be the best that it can be.

As all aspects of English are a primary part of the curriculum, cross curricular writing is excellent and skills taught in English lessons are transferred into other subjects; this shows a consolidation of skills and an in-depth understanding of how and when to use specific grammar, punctuation and spelling objectives.

We hope that as children move on in their educational journey their creativity, passion for English and high aspirations continue so that they can continue to grow to be the very best that they can.

Subject Progression

Useful Subject Information

Oxford Owl reading A range of free eBooks and also support for reading and phonics.
Alphablocks The Alphablocks are 26 living letters who discover that whenever they hold hands and make a word, something magical happens.
ICT games A range of interactive games across the curriculum.
Ed Shed A range of spelling and SPAG games and activities.
Topmarks Fantastic educational resources set the level for your child
Numberblocks Learn all about numbers with the Numberblocks!
Crickweb A range of free resources across the curriculum
BBC Bitesize for the EYFS Lots of fab learning programs for the little ones
Fiction Express - www.fictionexpress.com
RWI - https://www.ruthmiskin.com/
BBC Bitesize Grammar - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

Long Term Plans

Cultural Capital, SMSC & British Values

Spiritual

English supports the spiritual development of children at Esh Winning Primary School by providing children with opportunities to extract meaning beyond the literal, consider hidden meanings whilst engaging with ideas in fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama. Children are able to explore how the choice of language used and style affects implied and explicit meaning.

The children learn how to use language in imaginative and original ways, drawing on their reading knowledge; considering how words, usage and meaning change over time.

Moral

Moral development is aided by the teaching and learning of English, by exploring stimulus for thinking about the consequences of right and wrong behaviour; children can speculate and apply their learning to their own lives. When they do this, they are developing their speaking, listening and higher order thinking skills.

Also, through drama, by expressing what it feels like to be wronged and what remedies might make things better for the injured

Social

English teaching and learning is there to promote social skills by allowing; participation, creativity, reflection and independence are encouraged in all English lessons. Children are provided with opportunities to read texts that portray issues and events relating to contemporary life or past experience in interesting and challenging ways.

Furthermore, children explore current influences on spoken and written language, examine attitudes to language use, and consider the vocabulary and grammar of Standard English and dialect variations. Discussion work, in pairs and larger groups, alongside studying a whole range of literature, including novels, plays and poetry, helps and encourages the children’ social and moral development.

Cultural

Our culture capital is championed through the use of short stories and plays, selected to encourage children to empathise with the feelings and experiences of others to help develop their understanding of other people’s attitudes, ideas and behaviour.

Within classrooms, texts and authors are selected to expose children to literacy heritage of the UK and the wider world. Children are taught to recognise the cultural and historical context of texts and how this is reflected in the thoughts and actions of characters.

At Esh Winning Primary School, children develop a sensitive awareness of, and the ability to respond constructively to, backgrounds, experiences, concerns, feelings and commitments of others through a range of different narratives.