English

English Policy 2022

Vision for English

Our vision at Frenchwood Community Primary School is for children develop their skills in reading, writing and spoken communication (Oracy). Using competent English skills enables children to express themselves to communicate with others effectively, confidently and imaginatively. These skills, we believe are vital, in their journey to becoming successful, confident young adults.

Aims and Objectives

We aim for our Frenchwood children to be able to:

• read smoothly, fluently and with good understanding.
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.

acquire and use a wide vocabulary.

• appreciate our rich and varied literacy language, and see themselves reflected in the texts we read.
• write clearly and accurately, adapting their language and style for a range of purposes and audiences.
• be competent in Oracy, taking part in exploratory discussion and use talk to present ideas.

Oracy

Aim: To teach children to become effective and confident communicators in a range of contexts

Frenchwood are part of the Voice 21 Programme and two Oracy Champions lead this across school. Children are encouraged and supported to greet one another, use good manners and communicate with children and adults around school.

Children take part in Oracy activities in English, maths and across the curriculum subjects. Teachers model the use of sentence stems and use the Oracy framework to assess children’s spoken communication in physical, linguistic, cognitive and social strands. Children are encouraged to use self and peer assessment in a child-friendly manner using ‘Talk Detectives.’

Phonics

Aim: To use a systematic, synthetic phonics programme for teaching early reading focussing on early intervention to develop reading fluency

At Frenchwood, we use Read Write Inc to teach early reading. Read Write Inc is a systematic approach to teaching, reading, writing and spelling.

Children are taught letters in small groups, appropriate to their level of challenge. We develop reading accuracy and fluency through phonics speed sound lessons and match decodable books to each child’s level of competence.

Fully trained staff members support children to develop the foundation of writing in activities based around the texts the children are reading.

Children at supported to read at home through online videos shared on Class Dojo and by reading books they are familiar with to develop fluency and confidence.

Reading

Aim: To develop children’s love of reading as well their understanding of a diverse range of text types

Across school, we endeavour to develop a love of reading for all children. Reading is an essential skill underpinning our curriculum and this love of reading is promoted by the sharing of class stories and novels, library time, book fairs, ERIC (everybody read in class) time as well as events such as World Book Day and reading clubs such as FBA (Fantastic Book Awards).

In addition to our early reading programme using Read Write Inc, children are immersed in a range of stories, poems and non-fiction at story time and as part of our wider curriculum.

After graduating from Read Write Inc, children begin to develop their comprehension skills during guided reading time in the morning. Whole class guided reading takes place across Key Stage 2 for an hour per week.  Children read a variety of traditional and contemporary extracts, song lyrics, poems and non-fiction. Children develop vocabulary, retrieval, inference and summarising skills whilst linking these texts to the wider world.

Reading at home is an important aspect of developing reading fluency and a love of reading. Reading at home is a fundamental part of our home learning. In Key Stage 1, children take home phonically decodable books which they have pre-read. In Key Stage 2, children are matched to a book band in line with their reading ability. They can also access ‘free readers’ when they have reached Year 4 expectations. Each child is provided with a reading record and we ask parents and carers to sign to say that their child has read.

Writing

Aim: To develop children’s written accuracy and competency so that they can write with confidence and increasing flair

Children acquire early writing skills as part of our RWInc phonics programme. For instance, developing correct letter formation and punctuation is an essential part of communicating using standard written English. Across the key stages, children often read, imitate and innovate on a chosen text which allows them to begin to use their creativity by inventing their own versions.

Progression of children’s writing skills is developed through the teaching of age-related expectations linked to the National Curriculum. Writing naturally takes place during English lessons but also throughout the wider Frenchwood curriculum. Cross-curricular writing outcomes are taught in science and theme lessons such as history and geography.

Each half term, Key Stage 2 children complete an independent piece of writing. Children are provided with a stimulus such as a short film clip, an image or a story starter and asked to write a creative piece. This is assessed using marking ladders which focus on the writing objectives for each year group. Over the course of the year, children become increasingly familiar with these objectives and as they progress through the key stages, can begin to take ownership for their own writing targets. Writing moderation takes place termly within Key Stages.

Finished pieces of writing are often shared and showcased across school. We recognise the importance of writing for a specific purpose so final copies of writing may be made into a book, performed to a class, shared in an assembly or given to peers to assess and offer feedback.

Handwriting

During phonics, as a new sound is introduced, children are taught how to form each letter. Towards the end of Key Stage 1, children are taught how to form letters using a pre-cursive style. Cursive handwriting sessions take place once a week in Key Stage 2 with discreet teaching throughout the day.

Spelling

In KS2, five spellings (eight spellings in UKS2) are sent home on a weekly basis, taught and then tested on a weekly basis. Spellings are tailor made to each phase informed by the spelling appendix in the National Curriculum, theme words and regular misconceptions appropriate to the class.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

The Foundation Stage teachers and support staff follow guidance to plan an engaging curriculum for the needs of our children. All Foundation Stage Children are working towards achieving Communication, Language and Literacy Skills. Parents are regularly informed and included in their child’s learning through Class dojo and encouraged to continue interest at home. Assessment is through the use of the Reception Baseline, teacher baselines and the Sonar tracker.

Communication and Language

Due to our diverse intake communication, language acquisition is a priority.  Learning takes place through adult led activities and through continuous provision such as role play, puppets, stories, small world and adult modelling.

Listening, Attention and Understanding                                                                         By the end of Reception class, all children are expected to reach a good level of development by listening attentively and responding to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to, during whole class discussions and small group interactions. They should also make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding. A good level of development will show children holding conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers.

Speaking                                                                                                                            As part of our Oracy framework, effective spoken language is modelled and taught throughout the curriculum. We focus on the physical strand of Oracy first. Children are taught and encouraged to participate in small groups, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary. Children develop their ability to offer explanations for why things might happen, making good use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction books, rhymes and poems when appropriate. Children are encouraged to express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present, and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support.

Comprehension

By the end of Reception class all children are expected to reach a good level of development in comprehension. Children join in with the retelling of stories and narratives, using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary. Children will use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction books, rhymes and poems and during role-play.

Reading

By the end of Reception class all children are expected to reach a good level of development in reading. This will be achieved by children saying a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs. Children will demonstrate reading words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending. They will also read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.

Writing

By the end of Reception class all children are expected to reach a good level of development in writing. This will be achieved by children demonstrating they can write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed. Children then demonstrate they can spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters. They will also demonstrate they can write simple phrases and sentences that can be ready by others.

Physical Development -  gross and fine motor Skills

By the end of EYFS, all children are expected to reach a good level of development in writing. This will be achieved by the children demonstrating their good postural control which is needed in handwriting.

Children need to be able to demonstrate they can hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing by using the tripod grip in almost all cases. They need to use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery and begin to show accuracy and care when drawing. Opportunities to develop writing skills through fine motor activities throughout the day. For example threading activities, playdough and equipment to grip.

Monitoring and Review

The quality of English teaching is monitored by the English Subject leaders and SLT through lesson observations, walkthroughs, and mentoring. Termly progress is monitored using Sonar Tracker and Pupil Progress Meetings.

Regular staff training takes place across the school calendar. The focus for 2022 is Oracy.