English

The key skills of English language learning are at the heart of our curriculum. We develop the skills and knowledge that will enable our pupils to communicate effectively and creatively through spoken and written language and equip them with the skills to become lifelong learners.

Article 28 – Every child has the right to a good quality education.

Article 29 – Education should help children to develop their talents and abilities.

Subject Co-ordinator

Dipika Patel, English Lead overall

L Hogan - EYFS Lead

Link Governors

Ms Helene Galdin-O'Shea, Mr Hemen Shah

Progression Document

Reading Literature Spine

literature spine overview 2023 24 single age sequence.pdf

Writing Long term sequence Y1-Y6

cusp writing long term sequence 2023 24 single age sequence.pdf

Vocabulary, Punctuation, Grammar and Spelling

cusp vgps programme of study.pdf

Intent, Implementation and Impact

Curriculum Intent

At Glebe Primary School we believe in a rich, diverse and balanced English curriculum to instil a love and confidence in reading, writing and discussion. English is at the heart of all pupils learning. The English curriculum is designed to enable pupils to develop the skills and knowledge that will enable pupils to communicate effectively and creatively through spoken and written language to equip them with key skills to become lifelong learners. We have an ambitious curriculum that provides many opportunities for pupils to explore language rich texts from which to anchor purposeful opportunities for reading and writing. Our pupils enjoy and appreciate literature and its rich variety. The English curriculum adopted by the school is CUSP (Curriculum by Unity Schools Partnership) which embeds the National Curriculum.

Curriculum Implementation

Phonics

At Glebe Primary School we believe that all children should have the skills to support the building blocks to independent reading. We promote and value reading as an enjoyable activity and a key skill for life long academic

achievement.

All schools are required to adopt a systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP). We have selected the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Programme to teach children phonics, early reading and spelling which meets all the expectations of the National Curriculum.

Daily phonics lessons are timetabled for all pupils in Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Phonics skills are an essential first step to the development of early reading. Children are taught to identify the letters and sounds of the alphabet at the earliest part of the learning journey within the nursery. Children begin to decode words using the Little Wandle sequence as a first step to early reading.

In phonics, we teach children that the letters of the alphabet represent a different sound, that these can be used in a variety of combinations and can blend together to make words. The children learn to recognise all of the different sounds and combinations that they might see when they are reading or writing.

These skills enable the children to read any unfamiliar words that they might discover. We also model these strategies during shared reading and writing sessions across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on the development of language skills for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

How we teach phonics

Children in the Nursery follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised ‘Foundations for Phonics’ guidance. The focus is on daily oral blending and language development through high quality stories and rhymes.
In Reception and Year1, children follow the progression within Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme. The lesson consists of revision of previously taught sounds, teaching new sounds, including oral blending followed by practising and applying the sounds learnt.
Phonics is taught daily for 30 minutes and there is a review session on a Friday.
By the end of Reception, children will have been taught up to the end of phase 4.
By the end of year 1, children will have been taught up to the end of phase 5.
In Year 2 phonic lessons are taught daily to children where appropriate – following the model of the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme but plugging specific gaps identified through assessment.
In KS2 there are planned phonic ‘catch-up’ sessions following a set model to address specific reading/writing gaps. These are short, sharp sessions lasting 10 minutes in length and taking place three times a week.

Reading practise sessions

Children across Reception and Year 1 apply their phonics knowledge by reading a matched decodable reader within a small group reading practice session.
These sessions are 15 minutes long and happen three times a week. There are approximately 6 children in a group.
The sessions follow the model set out in Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.
The children then take the same levelled book home the following week to practise skills at home.

Reading

We want pupils to enjoy and appreciate literature and its rich variety. Pupils learn that reading is an enjoyable activity and a life skill. Pupils develop comprehension strategies that allow them to practice key reading skills and engage with text in a variety of ways to suit their different learning styles.

Reading within the Early Years aims to be an enjoyable and essential skill for our youngest children. The enjoyment of language rich texts is supported through daily story time sessions and role play activities. Key texts are selected to promote a love of reading and the development of early comprehension skills. High quality texts incorporating wide ranging vocabulary, diverse characters and topics are prompts for purposeful talk and role play which successfully raise engagement and attainment in reading and writing.

The reading lesson structure for Year 1 to Year 6 is structured as follows:

Explicit vocabulary instruction
Deliberate fluency instruction and prosody training
Explicit teaching of comprehension strategies
Clear focus on what pupils should know, be able to do and remember.

Library

Our school library is a very well-resourced and a stimulating learning environment that encourages a love of reading. All pupils are timetabled to visit the school library and choose a library book to take home each week which engage, interest and further their knowledge from a wide range of literature. A variety of contemporary and traditional literature are available for pupils to explore. The School Librarian and Reading Ambassadors promote reading for pleasure and suggest texts.

Writing

We promote writing and look for ways to inspire and motivate pupils so that they see themselves as ‘writers’. Teachers establish the purpose and audience for writing and make teaching objectives explicit to pupils so they know why they are studying a particular text type, the kind of writing activities they need to undertake and what the expected outcome will be.

Our CUSP curriculum for writing is sequenced to link closely to units covered within History, Geography and Science. Pupils’ benefit from depth of knowledge and skills when studying core texts within the literature spine. Pupils are able to build on prior learning to apply purposeful skills and knowledge to become competent writers.
Key subject knowledge is carefully woven into each writing module which gives pupils the opportunity to systematically build on key knowledge and skills. Pupils edit and review their written pieces prior to publication.

Spelling

We have adopted the CUSP systematic approach to spelling, which is balanced and progressive. The underpinning principles are:

Spelling concepts
Pattern seeking
High Volume engagement with print
Systematic revisiting
Additional time time given to complex concepts and common errors
Zoom in to the composition of words
Spelling and word meaning intrinsically linked
CUSP principles of instruction

Pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 will be taught 16 x 2 week blocks. In Year 1 the children will be taught 6 x 2 week blocks.

Curriculum Impact

Children identified in Reception and Year 1 as not making the expected progress are identified and ‘keep up’ intervention sessions are timetabled to support children. In Reception and year 1, the children are assessed at the end of every half term using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessment tracker. The children in Year 1 sit the Phonics Screening Check in June in the summer term. Children who do not pass the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1, will re-sit this in Year 2. Children who are in Year 2 – Year 6 and need further ‘catch up’ sessions are assessed through teacher’s ongoing assessment.

English skills, concepts and knowledge are mapped for each year group in line with the National Curriculum. The age related expectations for pupils in each year group provide teachers with clearly defined end points for progression in learning for speaking, listening, reading and writing. Teachers use bespoke assessment to regularly assess pupils’ learning in reading and writing against specific criteria.

Teachers assess all key strands of English against learning intentions in lessons which are derived from the medium-term plans based on statutory National Curriculum expectations for each key stage. Weekly lesson plans aim to incorporate the key skills and cover specified knowledge.

Spellings are routinely assessed through the CUSP spelling programme.

Teacher’s marking of written work informs pupils of next steps and consolidation of skills. Frequent formative and summative assessments are carried out, recorded and used to inform areas of development and next steps.

Termly pupil progress meetings with teachers and the Assessment Leader enable staff to analyse pupil progress data in relation to expectations and against targets set.

Pupil Voice – Opportunities for pupils to share their ideas and reflect on texts. The development of Pupil Reading Ambassadors in key stage 2 promote and model reading for pleasure. The school librarian to recommend texts for Reading Ambassadors to promote throughout the school.