Rationale

At Cherry Fold Community Primary School, English is at the heart of the curriculum as we believe that reading and writing are key life skills. Through language, story and text, we will help children develop the skills and knowledge they need to enable them to convey meaning orally and write creatively. Our English curriculum will allow children to read with accuracy, speed, confidence, fluency and understanding, to prepare them for the next stage in their learning journey to become life long learners.

Literacy is central to children’s intellectual, emotional and social development so it has an essential role across our curriculum and helps pupils’ learning to be coherent and progressive.

We place a heavy emphasis on developing children’s vocabulary. By the time children leave Cherry Fold in Year 6, the often limited word bank they arrived with in Reception will have grown considerably, giving them the language they need to understand more complicated texts and express themselves in a variety of contexts.

SEND

When supporting children with SEND, teachers focus on helping them to access the curriculum, in the long term, by making sure that they develop a secure knowledge of important content and concepts. Support for pupils with SEND is focused on the core knowledge identified in the curriculum, and targeted support is given to make sure that they understand the most important content. Teachers regularly check this by using formative assessment.

Children who are identified as having SEND may have specific needs and therefore adaptive and targeted support will be outlined in short-term planning. This may also be reviewed through the child’s EHCP and/ or Pupil Progress Meetings where elements of adaptation may be recommended by professionals. It is also important to recognise that children identified as having SEND may not always be the least able in English and could excel in the subject. Pupils’ attainment will be assessed in a subject-specific manner and based on their strengths rather than barriers.

Adapting the curriculum for pupils with SEND in English:

Adaptive teaching takes place. For sensory or physically impaired pupils, English learning may necessitate enlarging texts, using clear fonts, using visual overlays, or audio description of images. In-print is used to support sentence construction and provide visual aids.

Dyslexic pupils may benefit from well-spaced print. Teachers identify and break down the components of the subject curriculum into manageable chunks for pupils who find learning more difficult, particularly those with cognition and learning needs. These may be smaller ‘steps’ than those taken by other pupils to avoid overloading the working memory. A variety of additional scaffolds may be used in lessons, such vocabulary banks, additional visual stimuli or adult support. For children who struggle to communicate through written outcomes, staff can scribe for children and use questioning techniques to deepen understanding.

Intent

At Cherry Fold Primary School, we aim for all pupils to become articulate speakers, inspired writers and avid reader, who can apply their knowledge of English, to communicate successfully in an ever changing world. We believe that a quality English curriculum should develop a child’s love of reading and writing. We are following the National Curriculum which ensures sound coverage of knowledge and skills so that children at Cherry Fold can adapt their writing to suit a range of different purposes and audiences. We want our learners to appreciate the importance of writing as an essential form of communications which builds on spoken language and what has been read. Through our logically sequenced and progressive English curriculum, we aim to develop a Cherry Fold child who is highly literate in spoken language to communicate with confidence and further their learning. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children can take pride in their writing. We believe that a secure base in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.

Reading

At Cherry Fold we understand that reading is fundamental, therefore, we want all children at Cherry Fold to develop a life-long love of reading. Proficiency in reading, writing and spoken language is vital for pupils' success.

Making sure children are engaged with reading from the beginning of their school life can make a difference to their life chances whatever their socio-economic background. With this in mind, we aim for children to learn to read as fluently as possible and be motivated to continue to read. At Cherry Fold, the journey of reading begins in our nursery class from enjoying and sharing books, exploring songs and rhyme, tuning into sounds around us, listening and remembering sounds. We are determined that every pupil will learn to read, regardless of their needs or abilities.

We are passionate about early reading and strive to help every child learn to read early and quickly. We endeavour to achieve the best reading culture with children talking positively about their reading experiences and aspirations, leading to a life-long love of reading. We have reading areas around school and in classrooms to provide opportunities for children to sit, relax and read in a calm comfortable environment having the chance to escape.

Writing

The fundamental purpose of the teaching of writing is to secure a life-long love and understanding of language which will enable children to participate fully in society.Teachers are able to use our long-term plans to provide a progressive and detailed curriculum. Children are immersed in the different high quality texts types, becoming aware of the different features of words and sentences. Grammar and spelling expectations are interwoven into English lessons as well as being taught discretely. We use strategies that include modeled writing, shared writing and talk strategies to develop compositional skills.

Each child at Cherry Fold has an independent writing book which is used to showcase their independent English skills. Children take pride in their written pieces and it allows them to go through their learning journey and see the progress they have made, boosting their self-esteem and confidence. These English books ensure subject leaders can vigorously monitor the progress of each child, in each year group across the school.

Our English Curriculum

Our English curriculum is a bespoke curriculum. It is designed to provide high quality experiences for all pupils. Children are encouraged to see the links between what we teach in English to future jobs and citizenship. We share high levels of academic ambition with the intention of giving children the knowledge needed for a successful and happy future. We recognise there are gaps in vocabulary due to limited experiences for some of our children. It is with this in mind that we take every opportunity to have an emphasis on teaching vocabulary. We strive to give children opportunities to fulfill their potential in any lesson and at all times in their school journey.