Curriculum – English

What will take place before teaching in the classroom? 

The school’s senior leadership team will … 

• Lead the school staff to develop a curriculum intent consistent with school’s drivers and development of all curriculum subjects.  
• Develop a specific English subject intent, which explains our school ethos and curriculum design in detail.  
• Support the subject leader to spend time with staff to share skills.  
• Provide funding to support high quality implementation of the English curriculum.   

Curriculum leader will ...

• Understand and articulate the requirements of the English curriculum. 
• Use this knowledge to support staff in the delivery of English.  
• Ensure skills and knowledge are planned for progressively over time so that children become effective readers, writers, speakers and spellers.  
• Develop a long-term subject plan, which identifies the progression within each phase of knowledge, skills and vocabulary in English  
• Support staff to have a full picture of learning in English at each stage, including EYFS so prior knowledge is constantly referenced accurately. 
• Catalogue and organise an up to date range of resources so children have access to equipment, which supports them to extend their skills as a reader, writer and speller.  
• Establish and nurture links within the local community to real storytellers, writers or those studying English, to give children aspirations.  
• The subject leader will keep up with regular training, reading and research to ensure that knowledge given to staff is up to date and accurate to inform good practice - this will be supported by attending the Durham Network Meetings for English and liaising with other English subject leads from other schools.  

The class teacher will, with the support of the curriculum leader … 

• Work in teams to develop our English medium term planning, which outlines the knowledge and skills to be covered over the course of each term and share our key texts for the term with parents and carers.  
• Use the long-term subject plan to ensure coverage in lessons is sequential, includes a balance between knowledge and skills and references prior learning. 
• Seek out the subject leader if they require support or advice.  
• Ensure lesson resources are engaging, appropriate and plentiful so children can learn knowledge and practise skills across the series of lessons.  
• Plan experiences, trips and visitors, which both enhance learning and place learning into context.  

What will this look like in the classroom? 

Our teaching sequence will be …. 

At Neville’s Cross, we follow the 2014 National Curriculum and this divides English into five strands:

• Speaking and Listening
• Reading
• Writing
• Spelling
• Handwriting.

More specific information for each year group and related content can be located in our whole school progression documents for each strand - Nursery to Y6, as well as our yearly overview for each class.   

 Organisation of English at Neville’s Cross 

Whole class lessons - We teach English as whole class lessons, so that all children have access to the age-related skills and knowledge contained in the National Curriculum. In EYFS we teach a stand-alone English and phonics lesson alongside writing across the curriculum and within the learning environment. We also provide many opportunities for children to develop their communication and language and physical development skills. In Y1 to Y6 we teach daily English lessons alongside Reading Skills lessons and allow additional time in the timetable to teach and practise spelling and handwriting skills. Phonics is taught daily from Nursery to Y2. We value reading and writing in every subject and expect the same standard of work from children in project lessons as well as in English lessons. Children have lots of opportunity to practise their skills in other subject areas.  

Inclusion of all learners - From EYFS to Y4 children are taught in mixed ability class groupings. Children in Y5 and 6 are taught in sets for English and in mixed ability classes for Reading Skills, handwriting and spelling. Within lessons, teachers and teaching assistants target support for ‘slower graspers’ to enable them to achieve at an age-related level wherever possible. This may involve a greater level of scaffolding and access to additional support materials such as toolkits, word banks/mats or a greater level of modelling. ‘Rapid graspers’ are given opportunities to extend their writing in a variety of ways, including through showing greater control in their writing, a deeper understanding of the impact that their writing has on the reader and by using a higher level of vocabulary and grammar features.  

Interventions - At Neville’s Cross we regularly identify children who need additional support and provide intervention in the most effective and efficient way that we can. We run intervention groups with teaching assistants and parent helpers come in to help with hearing individual readers. We help each child maximise their potential by provide help and support where necessary whilst striving to make children independent workers, once we have helped to equip them with the confidence, tools and strategies that they need.  

Regular assessment - Our staff regularly assess the children using both summative and formative methods so they know where each child is and what they need to work on to improve their skills and knowledge. This allows them to provide differentiated questioning and suitable work so children can achieve personal success (see our assessment and English policies for more detail).   

Speaking and Listening 

Beginning in Nursery and continuing up to Year 6, our children develop their capacity to express themselves effectively for a variety of purposes.  

Environment for learning - This is fostered through carefully structured lessons and through our nurturing environment where all children’s ideas and opinions are valued. Working with adults and other children their activities include: listening, giving opinions, replying to instructions and questions and describing experiences and feelings. As the children get older they extend these skills to recount events, take on dramatic roles, report, summarise and predict.  

Poetry - Children are also regularly provided with opportunities to compose, recite and perform poetry. We celebrate World Poetry Day every other year with a ‘Poetry Slam’ whole school assembly and invite poets and authors in to perform to the children.  

Performances - From EYFS to Y6 children are involved in annual public performances which include our wider school community and extended families. Each class takes part in an annual class assembly to share their learning of a recent project. At Christmas time, we host an EYFS singalong, a KS1 nativity and a KS2 carol service where children are able to take on dramatic roles or sing and speak clearly in front of an audience. We also host an Y6 end of year performance and a leaver’s assembly to celebrate their achievements and time at Neville’s Cross.  

Reading  

Children learn not just the mechanics of reading but to become accomplished, comprehending readers, developing the habit of silent reading and a love of reading for life.  

Classroom reading areas - Most classrooms (space-dependent) have a well-designed, inviting reading area for children to explore a wide selection of reading books which helps them to develop an appreciation of our rich, literary heritage. Within these, project specific books are displayed so children can explore their wider project and develop their wider vocabulary.  

Class novel - Every day each class will listen to their teachers read their ‘class novel’. These are selected with the children and provide an excellent model for reading with fluency and expression.  

Reading skills VIPERS - From Reception to Y6 children take part in whole class reading skills lessons, at least four times a week, focused upon a high quality text. These follow the ‘VIPERS’ scheme where children analyse texts and respond to a variety of questions; vocabulary, inference, prediction, explain, retrieval, summarise/sequence.  

Letters and Sounds - From EYFS children are taught to read using a systematic programme called ‘Letters and Sounds’. We use the ‘Read Write Inc’ cards to support this and to give children a ‘hook’ for each letter sound. This scheme teaches children to blend and segment and is continued into Year 1 and Year 2.  

Book banding/ Bug Club reading - Each week children are given access to at least one book from our school reading scheme. This can be in electronic or paper form and incorporates both fiction and non-fiction texts. We aim to read with children at least once a week in EYFS, Y1 and Y2 and at least once a fortnight for KS2 children. We read with children in assembly times and parent helpers also regularly come in to support with individual readers.  

World Book Day/ whole school events - We regularly celebrate World Book Day once per year and we celebrate a whole school reading week biennially with lots of fun activities to inspire reading and explore new authors. We also hold competitions each year for children to complete at home with their families; some of these include making potato or egg book characters and our reading ‘book in a box’ challenge and they are always well-received.  

Book fairs - We host an annual book fair that is organised by the subject leader and the school PTA.  

 Writing  

Planning (cold/hot tasks) - Each year group has a yearly overview of the writing content, spelling and grammar, handwriting and skills that they will teach. These have been planned progressively to ensure correct coverage of the key writing genres and they include a range of high quality texts (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as building on skills from year to year. Each unit of writing starts with a cold task and teacher’s build upon a child’s current skills whilst teaching new appropriate content. Each unit will finish with a ‘hot’ task where children are able to show off their new skills and will be assessed using a set of agreed success criteria or ‘checklist’. Narrative is taught termly to ensure progression. Writing is linked to a carefully chosen text that acts as a stimulus for teaching the identified text, word and sentence level features that children will be expected to include in their extended writing outcome for that unit.  

Grammar and punctuation - Grammar and punctuation knowledge and skills are taught through English lessons as much as possible. Staff follow our medium term planning and adapt this to ensure that the skills and abilities of all learners are met. Teachers plan to teach the required skills through the genres of writing that they are teaching, linking it to the genre to make it more connected with the intended writing outcome. Teachers sometimes focus on particular grammar and punctuation skills as stand-alone lessons; if they feel that the class need additional lessons to embed and develop their understanding or to consolidate skills. 

Spelling   

Twinkl Scheme -Spellings are taught according to the rules and words contained in Appendix 1 of the English National Curriculum. Teachers use the ‘Twinkl’ spelling scheme to support their teaching and to provide activities that link to the weekly spellings.  

Spelling activities and tests - In KS2, children are given up to 10 spellings to learn each week and are given a spelling test the following week.  

In the moment marking/ spelling ladders - When marking work, teachers identify words that children have spelt incorrectly through our ‘margin marking’ policy and they write some common words on a spelling ladder for children to refer to. Children are then encouraged to identify these incorrect spellings in their own writing and correct them themselves.  

Common exception words, high frequency and tricky words - From EYFS children are taught to spell and remember the ‘tricky’ and ‘high frequency words’ from the Letters and Sounds programme. In KS1 children are taught the common exception words alongside these. Throughout Y1-Y6, children are tested on their ‘common exception word’ spellings three times a year and regularly practise these in class, looking at how different strategies can be useful to help them remember them.  

Displays - each class features a spelling display with the words and pattern that they are focusing on that week.  

Handwriting 

Penpals - At Neville’s Cross we follow the progressive ‘Penpals’ scheme of handwriting from Nursery to Y6 which works towards children joining with a consistent, cursive script.  

Pen licence - When children are joining their writing consistently, they will be awarded a pen licence in our awards assembly and will be given their own pen to work in all books across the curriculum.

Our classrooms will… 

• Provide a nurturing environment for learning where children, whatever their age can work individually, in pairs and cooperate in small groups. 
• Contain age-appropriate equipment specific to English for children to use and refer to.  
• All classrooms will include age-appropriate dictionaries and thesaurus for children to easily access alongside appropriate word mats. 
• All classes have a reading display around their reading area (space-dependent). This includes age-appropriate VIPERS posters, project-specific books to explore and a range of free reading books (fiction, non-fiction and poetry). 
• From Nursery to Y2 all classes include a phonics display, displaying the relevant phonemes that children are working on. 
• All classes from Y1 to Y6 have a display of their current spelling words and patterns for the week alongside their year group common exception words. Tricky words will be displayed in EYFS related to their current phonic phase.  
• All classes include a handwriting display which includes the relevant ‘Penpals’ font, resources and materials for children to refer to - e.g. letter families for EYFS and Y1, joins for Y2-Y6.  
• Display the ‘non-negotiables’ suitable to their phase -- KS1, LKS2, KS2 both on the wall and in word mat form for children to access and use.  
• Some evidence of children’s English work - whether that is from daily English lessons or within a cross-curricular learning display (e.g. History fact file, Science report). This could include photos of speaking and listening opportunities - e.g. shows or performances.  
• Each class will have a relevant grammar and vocabulary display - for some classes, this will consist of reminders for different types of punctuation alongside some editable bubbles/ post it notes which include vocabulary to help with writing. Some members of staff will keep this on their interactive whiteboards to display.  

Our children will be … 

• Enthused by their learning because coherent learning experiences give them the confidence to reach beyond their grasp. 
• Engaged by the challenge within lessons to demonstrate their knowledge.  
• Encouraged by specific feedback given by their teacher to reflect on their work and areas to improve using the marking policies consistently.  
• Nurtured to show confidence in contributing to their learning through sharing thoughts and ideas.  
• Develop English skills and confidence over time due to carefully planned, sequences of high quality lessons over time.  

How will this be measured? 

Pupil voice will show … 

• Enthusiasm and confidence in discussing their learning and enjoyable experiences in English. 
• A clear understanding of the skills and knowledge relating to English - including VIPERS, phonics, spelling patterns, genre styles and specific grammar and punctuation.   
• A progression of the vocabulary used to articulate their learning and experiences as a reader, writer, linguist and speller. 
• Children will be able to give examples of how they are scaffolded and supported by staff to achieve their personal goals and next steps in English.  
• Children will demonstrate a secure long term memory for skills and knowledge in English; they will be able to remember their knowledge and work from previous years and use this to further their current learning (e.g. revisiting and improving reading skills or writing styles).  
• Pupils will enjoy writing across a range of genres and be able to articulate differences in styles and techniques.  
• Children will be able to articulate their strengths and areas to improve in English when asked.  
• Children will articulate how parents and carers support them with English, spelling and reading at home and how this impacts their daily learning.
• Children will be able to talk about the non-negotiables that they are working on and explain how they have improved their recent work.  

Displays around school and books will show ...

• Pupils have a balance of planned learning experiences including practical evidence in photographs on Seesaw, written work in books and work on display. This will be shown across the curriculum, not just in children’s English books.  
• A varied and engaging curriculum - across the curriculum - which develops a range of English skills.  
• Clear progression of skills in line with those identified on the English long term plans and progression documents.  
• That pupils, over time, develop a range of skills and knowledge across all parts of the English curriculum 
• Our high standards of presentation and basic skills - following the school’s policy on handwriting style - ‘Penpals’.  
• Evidence of marked English work and pupil progress - children following their ‘non-negotiables’ and teacher feedback enabling children to improve, edit and draft their work. 
• Our love of high quality texts and the children’s own personal responses to these.   
• Consistency of expectations from staff and evidence of next steps marking in English books.  

The curriculum leader will … 

• Lead termly show case events to celebrate the success of children as readers, writers and linguists at Neville’s Cross.  
• Collate a portfolio of evidence, which reflect children’s deepening knowledge and experiences in all areas of English over time.  
• Monitor standards of teaching, lessons and work half termly through learning walks, book scrutinies and by looking on class seesaw accounts - looking for sustained learning, high standards and enjoyment in all areas of English.  
• Monitor cross-curricular English opportunities - ensuring that English skills are planned for in medium-term subject planning and reflected throughout the curriculum - look in other subject leaders’ portfolios, in seesaw and in books.  
• Monitor termly data and provide support for teaching staff to close potential gaps in attainment - ensuring that children are achieving at age-related expectations, greater depth or their own personal targets for progress.  
• Conduct regular moderation with the staff team to promote consistent, accurate judgements - ensuring that similar year groups work together closely.  
• Ensure that staff are marking for and encouraging ‘non-negotiables’ throughout the curriculum to ensure the progress of basic skills.  
• The subject leader will provide relevant CPD opportunities including mentoring and coaching for staff 
• Host and support regular parent workshops and events - examples include phonics for EYFS and Y1, Y2 SATs and Y6 SAT workshops.