English
St Edward’s Values: Thankfulness, Forgiveness, Compassion, Perseverance, Courage, Friendship
‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’ (John 10:10)
English Curriculum at St Edward’s
Intent
English Curriculum at St Edward’s
Intent
At St Edward’s we recognise that English has a vital place in education and the wider community.
A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and ensure that others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are therefore at a disadvantage.
At St Edward’s, English is taught to all children, whatever their ability and individual need. We provide learning opportunities that enable all pupils to make good progress, and adapt these accordingly. We strive to meet the needs of those pupils with special educational needs, those with disabilities, those that are gifted and talented, and those learning English as an additional language, and we take all reasonable steps to achieve this. It is our aim for children with SEND to develop their communication and language skills, acquire a love of reading and communicate their thoughts through written ideas
Coverage
Through a curriculum of breadth and ambition we promote high standards of language and literacy. We equip pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word and we develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. Our curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:
- read fluently and with good understanding
- develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
- acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
- appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
- write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
- use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
- are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
A Curriculum for Our Children
We have identified some core barriers that the children of our school face when they are accessing the curriculum, and we intend to deliver the English curriculum with an approach that addresses these:
- Limited vocabulary – we ensure that texts covered demonstrate a wide range of vocabulary and that lessons are planned with careful and deliberate vocabulary progression.
- Poor communication and team-work skills – Children are given plentiful opportunities to work as part of a team and are encouraged to actively value each other’s ideas and contributions.
- Limited resilience – we design challenging tasks in our English curriculum, allowing children to experience failure and errors in a safe environment, scaffolded by the implementation of growth mindset training.
Our Reading Vision
We want our children to become confident readers to help them to foster a love of learning. We want them to read with fluency and coherence, whilst being able to choose texts which not only allow them to develop skills, but enable them to escape to another reality as they enjoy reading for pleasure. We want our children to become engaged readers to help them to lessen any socio-economic disadvantages which they may face. With this in mind, reading is our priority. Reading skills are taught every day at St Edward’s and a range of texts are explored. Our children are also given the opportunity to read independently and be read to every day, regardless of their age. Our children are encouraged to talk about the books and texts that they have read, whilst developing new vocabulary. We want our children to give opinions about the authors’ choice of language and consider how they could adopt these skills to use in their own work. We want our children to be passionate about books and think of them as something special, sharing their love for them with adults and other children. Our children are taught using consistent approaches, and teachers model a love of reading to them. Reading is thought of as a positive experience and this is promoted to parents. Reading at home is encouraged daily to help parents to practise reading skills with their children. We set high expectations for all of our children and challenge them to comprehend different types of texts. We want our children to be brilliant readers, so that they become brilliant writers.
Our Writing Vision
We want our children to be able to write confidently, accurately, at length, and within a range of genres. As a result of this, developing writing at St Edward’s is our priority. Children are given the opportunity to write in English lessons and across the curriculum, on a daily basis. The aim is to get the fundamental basics right in the early years, so that these can be built upon as the children progress through school. We do not want anything to prevent our children from being able to compose sentences, so teachers model how to do this and support the children who need more guidance, responding accordingly. We want our children to use their love of reading to inspire their writing, so that they are able to express themselves creatively on a page. Lessons include speaking and listening opportunities, enabling the children to orally rehearse what they want to write. Children are expected to answer in full sentences, and vocabulary is developed as children are challenged to improve their use of language. We want our children to write like authors, considering what effect they want to have on the reader. Children are taught to focus carefully on their spelling, handwriting, punctuation and grammar, and teachers demonstrate how to carry out the planning, drafting and editing process. We want our children to think like writers, verbalising their sentence ideas as they go. We have high expectations of all of our children, and provide scaffolds and feedback that aim to challenge their thinking. The children at St Edward’s learn how to answer questions concisely, linked to what they have read. We want our children to be proud of the written work that they produce. Writing is a positive experience for our children, and one in which we would like them to take risks. We want our children to be brilliant writers, as a result of what they have read.