English

English Intent and Implementation Statement

Intent

We aim for our children to develop into lifelong learners who speak, read, (both for purpose and pleasure) and write with confidence. We aim for our children to have the skills to do so at the highest level of attainment. We understand the importance of developing children’s understanding and knowledge of the English language to enable them to access all the subjects taught within the Primary Curriculum.

The aims of our teaching of English at Westcott:

to enable children to speak clearly and audibly, and to take account of their listeners;
to encourage children to listen with concentration, in order to understand the main points of what they have heard;
to show children how to adapt their speech to a wide range of circumstances and demands;
to teach children effective communication, both verbal and non-verbal, through a variety of drama activities
to help them become confident, independent readers, through an appropriate focus on word-, sentence- and text-level knowledge;
to develop enthusiastic and reflective readers, through contact with challenging and substantial texts;
to foster the enjoyment of reading and writing, and a recognition of their value;
to encourage meaningful imaginative and thoughtful writing, and an awareness of the reader;
to develop accuracy in grammar and punctuation in line with National Strategy expectations
to improve writing through planning, drafting and editing;
to enable children to read, write and spell confidently through a variety of strategies which will include a systematic phonics programme.

Implementation

We use a variety of teaching and learning styles in our English lessons; for example, a whole-class reading or writing activity, a whole-class focused word or sentence activity, a guided group or independent activity. In addition, we also work together as a whole school on a writing task once a term.
Children have the opportunity to experience a wide range of quality texts, and to support their work using a variety of resources, such as dictionaries and thesauri.
Children use ICT in English lessons to enhance their learning, as in drafting their work and using multimedia to study how words and images are combined to convey meaning.
There is an expectation that children will use and apply their learning in other areas of the curriculum wherever possible.
Children in all our classes have a wide range of abilities, and we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the need and ability of the child.
Success criteria, quality next steps marking and differentiated targets help to provide a range of learning opportunities and guide children to know how to make progress.
We use teaching assistants to support some children, and to enable work to be matched to the needs of individuals.
Teachers model good use of English in their own speaking and writing.

English Curriculum Planning

English is a core subject in the National Curriculum. We use the New Framework National Curriculum 2014 as the starting point for implementing the statutory requirements of the programme of study for English. Early Years follow the guidance laid out in the EYFS Framework document using the communication and language section and the literacy sections.

English curriculum planning throughout the school is carried out in three phases (long-term, medium-term and short-term).

The National Curriculum programmes of study guides what we teach in the long-term. We have created an overview of writing skills and genres, ensuring coverage and progressions. Our yearly teaching programme identifies the key objectives in English that we teach to each year.

Our medium-term plans give details of the main teaching objectives for each term. These plans define what we teach, and ensure an appropriate balance and distribution of work across each term. The subject leader is responsible for reviewing and updating these plans.

Class teachers develop their own (short-term) plan for the teaching of English which lists the specific learning objectives and expected outcomes for each lesson, and gives details of how the lessons are to be taught. It also includes details of any differentiation and use of resources including the use of any classroom support.

Reading Vipers

At Westcott we use Reading VIPERS to support the children with their reading comprehension skills. These are the key areas which we feel children need to know and understand in order to improve their vocabulary and comprehension of texts and to become confident, analytical readers. Each of the letters stand for the skills that will be taught explicitly each week during whole class reading sessions:

Vocabulary
Infer
Predict
Explain
Retrieve
Sequence/Summarise

During Key Stage 2 reading lessons, sessions include teachers modelling reading and children reading the texts together either as a class or in pairs which supports the development of confidence, fluency and expression.

In Early Years and Key Stage 1, the reading emphasis will continue to be on phonics following the Read, Write Inc scheme and developing decoding skills. VIPERS will be introduced orally during some story times. The emphasis is on vocabulary and understanding of the text and key reading skills are embedded through questioning and discussion. This gives all children across the school a common language to discuss their reading knowledge and understanding. Please have a look below at some example Key Stage 1 VIPERS questions.

In the front of children’s reading records (KS2) parents have been given a bank of possible questions to enable them to support when reading at home.

Please see the attached PDF below for more information about each VIPERS skill.