Our English Curriculum
St Paul’s C.E. Primary School
English Curriculum Statement 2022-2023
I
Intent
At St Paul’s we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often. We believe that all children should have access to a wide variety of books from different genres and different periods of history. We also believe that all children should have the opportunity to become the best reader that they can be and to develop a love of reading, whilst also developing their comprehension skills.
We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and to use discussion to communicate and further their learning. We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our children the tools they need to access all other areas of the curriculum and to participate fully as a member of society.
Implementation
These aims are embedded across our English lessons and the wider curriculum. We have a rigorous and well organised English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. Our curriculum closely follows the aims of the National Curriculum for English 2014.
In addition to daily English lessons, children excel in early reading through the use of the RWI programme from EYFS – Year 2.
In KS1 & KS2 the children are taught a weekly reading lesson and given the opportunity to explore a variety of quality texts. They develop their comprehension skills through discussion of the text and planned follow up comprehension activities, based on the text. They also access planned Guided Reading sessions each week, which are used for assessment and targeted questioning by the teacher. In KS2 children who still need one-to-one reading receive it, following the Oxford Reading Tree scheme. All children also have access to the school library.
Impact
As a result we have a community of enthusiastic readers and writers who enjoy showcasing their developing literacy knowledge and skills. They are confident to take risks in their reading and writing, and love to discuss and share their ideas. The children are aware of the rich Literary culture of our country, as they have had the opportunity to access a wide variety of texts from different genres and periods of history. All children will be confident readers and they will be able to access all areas of the curriculum, using their reading skills. The children will be well prepared for the KS3 curriculum once they leave St Paul’s.
Miss G Abbot - English Lead