“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” (W.B Yeats)
Intent
At Sutton in Craven Community Primary School, the teaching of English forms the foundation of our curriculum. Our aim is to ensure that our children leave primary education literate in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening. We aim for them to make progress across the Key Stages and to become passionate readers and writers, eloquent and confident speakers and engaged listeners. English at Sutton CP School isn’t only a daily discrete lesson, but is at the cornerstone of the entire curriculum. It is embedded across all subjects, within all our lessons and we strive for a high level of immersion in written and spoken English for all.
Through using high-quality texts from a wide range of genres, immersing children in vocabulary rich learning environments and ensuring curriculum expectations and the progression of skills are met, the children at Sutton CP School will be exposed to a language enriched, creative and continuous English curriculum. This will not only enable them to become primary literate, but will also ignite within our pupils a love for reading, creative writing and purposeful speaking and listening.
A high quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas, opinions and emotions to others, and - through their reading and listening - others can communicate with them. The children will have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually and to celebrate the diversity and worth of themselves and others. In doing so, our learners will grow and flourish; they will develop a love of the spoken and written language and will become the best readers, writers, speakers and listeners they can be through the subject of English.
Implementation
We believe that well-planned, consistent and well-taught English is the bedrock of a valuable education. At Sutton in Craven CP School, we ensure that the teaching of English is purposeful, robust, shows clear progression and allows for experience of a wide range of reading and writing genres for all children.
Pupils experience a range of reading opportunities such as reading for pleasure, child to adult reading, reading at home, small group guided reading, whole class guided reading and teacher-modelled whole class reading of a text. Children encounter inference, high-level vocabulary, a range of grammar and punctuation and characterisation, as well as varied and stimulating plotlines. Texts are purposefully selected in order to promote a love of reading, engagement and a good standard of writing from each child. This exposure to a range of high quality, vocabulary rich texts and reading experiences, other stimulus (such as video clips, images and television advertisements, for example) - plus opportunities for speaking and listening - inspires and informs the writing process.
Opportunities to examine texts, discuss ideas, plan their work, observe modelled examples, draft their writing, respond to feedback, edit their writing and produce ‘polished’ pieces enable pupils to produce their very best writing. In line with the National Curriculum, we ensure that each year group is learning and applying the explicit grammar, punctuation and spelling objectives required for that age group. This learning is then embedded throughout the year in cross-curricular writing opportunities and ensures most children are achieving the objectives at the expected level, with some children achieving a greater depth of standard. Those pupils who are working towards expected standards in any year group receive timely and appropriate intervention and support.
Impact
We hope that the impact of our English curriculum on our children will be clear: progress, sustained learning and transferrable skills. We hope to see our children becoming more confident writers so that by the time they are in Upper Key Stage 2, most genres of writing are familiar to them and the teaching can focus on creativity, writer’s craft, sustained writing and the manipulation of a greater depth of grammar and punctuation skills. As all aspects of English are an integral part of the curriculum, cross-curricular writing standards will also improve and skills taught in the English lesson are transferred to writing in other subjects; this shows consolidation of skills and a deeper understanding of how and when to use specific grammar, punctuation and grammar choices. We hope that as children move on from us to further their education and learning that their creativity, passion for English and high aspirations travel with them and continue to grow, flourish and develop as they do.