English
Intent
At Joseph Turner Primary School, we shape our English curriculum to ensure that pupils are exposed to high quality texts and language to develop their own writing. During their time at Joseph Turner, children will gain a secure knowledge of the 44 phonemes which will enable them to spell and read fluently. We follow the Kinetic letters handwriting skills which starts with the foundations of full body strength in EYFS to make a sound foundation for pencil grip and posture so that children can form letters correctly.
Our teaching intends to equip pupils with the following skills:
- To read easily, fluently and with good understanding.
- To develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.
- To immerse children in a wide range of quality texts and expose them to high level vocabulary.
- To acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language.
- To develop children’s speaking and listening skills through role play, performance, debates and discussion; being able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas.
- To write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
We believe that having a secure foundation in literacy skills is essential to a high-quality education and will equip our children with the skills they need to participate in the wider society.
Implementation
Early reading is supported through the Read Write Inc scheme. Regular training and development days ensure that staff are equipped to teach with the expertise and skills required to promote excellent progress, as well as a love of reading. In KS2, when children have completed the RWI programme, they develop deeper reading skills following VIPERS to ensure that they comprehend what they read. Each class’s timetable is organised to enable weekly access to the KS1 and KS2 library, with an up-to-date selection of books to provide quality reading materials for all children to promote reading for pleasure.
Our writing curriculum follows the following cycle for each learning journey to create a consistent learning approach and show a clear progression of skills.
Purpose | Children engage with the text type they are going to explore having discussions around the purpose, audience and text type. Children are aware of the 4 main purposes of writing and explore how the writing meets its audience and purpose. |
Explore as a Reader | Exposure and exploration of high-quality texts/models through activities focusing on structure, content, plot, grammar and language. Features of the text type/genre should be explored to create a tool kit. |
Explore as a Writer | Explicit writing teaching and modelling (including the teaching of grammar). Teacher uses plot points to develop writing through sharing their own writer’s voice and thinking with the children. Grammar is integrated into this stage of writing. |
Edit | Editing skills to be taught and modelled in a ‘my turn/your turn’ approach. Edit for a variety of grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and content errors. There will also be a focus on impact of the writing – does it meet the purpose? |
Exhibit | Final written piece in publishing book after improvements have been made. Teacher summative assessment point to identify progress and skills to develop in next planning sequence. |
Impact
The English curriculum at Joseph Turner Primary School will ensure that all children have a coherent knowledge and understanding of the English language. They will also develop knowledge of a wide range of vocabulary which will enable them to express themselves effectively and fulfil their true potential. Their spoken language skills will have been developed through role play, performance and discussion. This will ensure that they will be able to thrive in Key Stage Three and beyond, and enable pupils to contribute successfully to their wider community.