English

Our subject leader is Mrs Nicola Moorhouse

Intent 

At Thornton-in-Craven we aim to develop a love of writing and reading through providing rich and meaningful literature experiences. We believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. This starts with reading and the systematic teaching of synthetic phonics. We know that to access all the curriculum, children need to read widely and fluently. From the second week in reception, we start teaching sounds through a daily phonics session using our chosen phonics scheme Little Wandle.

We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often. Through choosing quality texts, we intend to develop a love of reading and allow children to recognise the pleasure they can get from their reading, as well as an understanding that reading allows them to discover new knowledge, revisit prior knowledge and understand more about what they learn, fuelling their imagination for ideas to use in their own work.  

Children are exposed to writing with purpose to engage children in the process of writing. Children write in the style of different genres, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Where possible, cross-curricular links are encouraged to facilitate links between English work and other areas of the curriculum. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning. We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. 

Implementation 

English is planned for, following the EYFS Framework and KS1 and KS2 national curriculum. English is planned for following the schools Literacy LTP which includes a wide range of high-quality selected texts.  

Reading 

The systematic teaching of phonics through Little Wandle has a high priority throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Phonics is taught daily to all children in Foundation Stage and Year 1. Phonics books are closely matched with children’s abilities. We follow a 3 read programme, focusing on decoding, prosody and comprehension.

The school uses Accelerated reader programme. Children are checked 6 times a year to ensure they are reading at their correct level. All classes have a broad range of books chosen to inspire and provide high quality text choices to demonstrate a wide variety of writing styles, topics and rich vocabulary. All classes have reading areas with subject specific books and other age-appropriate reading for pleasure, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry books. 

All classes have a class reader book selected to engage and inspire reading chosen from a variety of non-fiction, fiction and poetry texts.

Home Reading – all children are expected to read at home and take home ‘home’ reading books. All children in Reception and Year 1 take home a reading book weekly that has been read 3 times in school given the child confidence with their reading ability.

Writing

Writing planning is linked to quality reading texts. The long term plan is designed to build on writing skills from R to Year 6. Opportunities for children to apply their writing are planned and links to the wider curriculum are made when doing this. Writing is assessed at appropriate times when key skills can be applied in a meaningful way and next steps identified by the teacher and through self and peer assessment. 

Spelling

Teachers follow the spelling objectives for their year group outlined in the National Curriculum. In addition to these spellings, children work through the high frequency words for their year group. Children are encouraged to use different strategies to help them spell correctly, including phonics, use of word lists or mats and dictionaries. 

Pupils in KS2 are taught Spelling 3 times weekly where key spelling rules and patterns are explored and effective strategies for learning, remembering, understanding and applying are taught. 

Speaking and Listening

All children are encouraged to develop their speaking and listening skills throughout their school journey with opportunities to public speak in assemblies, nativity and summer shows. Children are given a wide range of opportunities to use and develop their Speaking and Listening skills to help them with the writing process across all areas of the curriculum 

Impact 

As a result we have a community of enthusiastic readers and writers who enjoy showcasing their developing literacy knowledge and skills. They are confident to take risks in their reading and writing, and love to discuss and share their ideas. Our phonics screening scores improved in 2022.