English

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

Our English subject leader is Mrs Freeman.

Intent

At St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, English and the teaching of English is the foundation of our curriculum. Our main aim is to ensure every single child becomes primary literate and progresses in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Teachers plan and teach personalised English lessons which focus on the particular needs of each child. English at St Joseph’s will not only be a daily discrete lesson, but is at the cornerstone of the entire curriculum.  It is embedded within all our lessons and we will strive for a high level of English for all. We aim to immerse children in vocabulary-rich learning environments and ensure new curriculum expectations and the progression of skills are met whilst developing a love of reading, creative writing and purposeful speaking and listening. At St Joseph’s, our vision is for the creativity to be at the helm of our English curriculum and for children to learn new skills in a fun and engaging way.

Implementation

Currently we are reviewing the phonics programme that our EYFS, Year 1 and some of our Year 2 children use. We use the Read Write Inc synthetic phonics programme which helps develop reading by segmenting and blending sounds. The children are heard to read daily individually and/or as part of the group. All staff teaching the programme have had training on the programme and the school is revisiting training during the academic year 2023.24 with training provided by an accredited Read Write Inc consultant.  

The Accelerated Reader program is used for those children who are ready to read a variety of real books that are not necessarily linked to the phonic scheme.  Each child is tracked regularly and assessed on a half-termly basis.  Guided reading is given dedicated time throughout the week and taught through a whole class approach.  Resources to support and enhance these lessons are purchased regularly so that pupils may be exposed to a variety of quality texts. In addition, throughout the school year the importance of reading is enhanced through World Book Day and author visits to enrich and complement children’s learning.

At St Joseph’s we ensure that the teaching of writing is purposeful, robust and shows clear progression for all children. In line with the national curriculum, we ensure that each year group is teaching the explicit grammar, punctuation and spelling objectives required for that age groups.  As well as teaching the objectives, teachers are able to embed the skills throughout the year in cross-curricular writing opportunities and ensure that most children are achieving the objectives at the expected level and that some children can achieve at a greater depth standard. The "Pathways to Write" scheme we follow for writing, demonstrates clear progression in vocabulary and writing from EYFS to Year 6 using a mastery approach.

Impact

Our children are developing a love of reading and enjoy the dedicated opportunities throughout the day to read quietly independently, with the class and by the class teacher. Our children make progress , enjoy sustained learning and  develop transferrable skills. 

Following the implementation of Pathways to Write from EYFS to Year 6, children have become much more enthusiastic and independent writers. The high-quality picture books and ‘hook’ lessons in the units provide excellent stimuli for their writing. Children have been able to develop their reading and writing skills and knowledge in tandem and in a purposeful environment through this writing scheme. Due to the logical progression within and across the units, children have regular opportunities to talk about their writing, practise key skills and engage in purposeful writing opportunities. The implementation of Pathways to Write has resulted in writers who are now more confident, able and independent with a good understanding of key grammatical terms.

As all aspects of English are an integral part of the curriculum, cross curricular writing standards have also improved and skills taught in the English lesson are transferred into other subjects; this shows consolidation of skills and a deeper understanding of how and when to use specific grammar, punctuation and grammar objectives.  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 and develop as they do.

At St. Joseph's, we are committed to ensuring our children become fluent, competent readers who develop a life long love of reading.  One of the ways we aspire to achieve this, is through the Accelerated Reader programme.  

Click the link above for more information about Accelerated Reader and how you can help your child at home. 

English at St Joseph's