English

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

Our English subject leader is Mrs MacDougall.

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

EYFS, Year 1 and some of our Year 2 children use the Read Write Inc programme which integrates essential early literacy skills in an engaging fast-paced format. This is our phonic programme and helps develop reading by segmenting and blending sounds. The children are heard to read daily both individually and as part of the group. All staff teaching the Ruth Miskin programme have been trained by Ruth Miskin consultant, Kelly Sallis.  Kelly continues to work with our staff in the setting to ensure the best possible outcomes for our children.

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 weekly and assessed on a half-termly basis.  Guided reading is given dedicated time every day 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/Roald Dahl 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. In this sense, assessment of writing is also more fluid as teachers can assess against a set framework. All year groups use the same format for assessing writing which have been produced in line with the end of Key Stage assessment frameworks as published by the Department for Education.  In the current academic year, staff have been trained by the author (and OFSTED inspector) Jane Considine using The Write Stuff as a proven system for raising standards in writing.

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.  With the implementation of The Write Stuff, children are becoming more confident writers and by the time they are in upper Key Stage 2, most genres of writing are familiar to them and the teaching can focus on creativity, writer’s craft, sustained writing and manipulation of grammar and punctuation skills.

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