English

“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” – Martin Luther King

Our Subject Leader for English is Mrs Murray.

At Fishburn Primary School, it is our aim to make our children effective, confident communicators and good listeners. Through a range of teaching methods, our children will be able to plan, draft and edit their written work, and will have a positive attitude towards all areas of English, including reading, writing, and speaking and listening. We aim to ensure our pupils read fluently, with good understanding, and develop a love of reading a range of texts for pleasure. We aim to give our pupils Opportunities to develop their vocabulary, and give them a solid understanding of English Grammar. They will be able to work enthusiastically, co-operatively, with perseverance and self-confidence, and will be able to think independently. We want our children to experience a sense of achievement regardless of age or ability and have equal opportunities regardless of race, gender or ability. We want our children to be aware of the uses of English skills beyond the classroom, and be able to use them to access all areas of the curriculum.

Reading

Reading teaches people how to think. It opens up worlds and gives children experiences they could not otherwise experience. There is something magical about reading books as a child. In our school, we want to immerse children in a literary rich environment which provides high quality reading material from a wide range of genres.

The teaching of reading from Early Years to year 6 incorporates the following:

• Children are exposed to a wide variety of texts and technologies.
• Children have opportunities to practice reading at their own level via a range of texts including fiction, non-fiction, poetry books and reference materials.
• Daily teaching of phonics in discreet ability-based groups from nursery to year 2 and beyond if needed.
• Reading regularly in school (as shared, guided or individual reading sessions).
• The expectation that children will be supported by parents and carers and read at home, which is monitored through home-school reading records.
• Children will read for a wide range of reasons, including to find information and for pleasure.
• Dedicated reading teaching sessions on a weekly basis focussing on skills such as skimming and scanning, reading out loud, inference training, etc.
• Catch-up and targeted reading programmes for children who need more support in each year group.
• Children have access to reading corners and a wealth of texts through the school levelled system.
• Children are exposed to a range of authors through school and are able to discuss their own preferences.

Writing

At Fishburn Primary, we aim to inspire a love of writing by exposing children to a wide variety of existing texts to spark their imagination and develop their vocabulary. We aim to read work by a range of authors to develop the children’s own creativity and give them the building blocks they need to develop their own ideas.

The teaching of writing from Early Years to year 6 incorporates the following:

• Writing is taught in a purposeful, robust way showing clear progression throughout school.
• SPaG objectives are taught explicitly in all year groups.
• High emphasis is placed on developing children’s vocabulary.
• Learning to write involves a wide range of stories and texts as a stimulus.
• Drama and role play is used to develop ideas and improve story language.
• Drawings and story mapping techniques are used to develop a narrative structure.
• Children are taught to write for a range of audiences and purposes.
• Children are encouraged to work independently and collaboratively to demonstrate good practise.
• Writing frames are used to support less confident writers.
• Teachers model writing, and neat handwriting and presentation skills are highly valued.
• Classrooms display key words linked to topics, and children are encouraged to use dictionaries and thesauruses to improve spelling and vocabulary.

As part of the cycle of teaching, Reading and Writing is assessed and feedback and targets are given regularly. On-going assessment is completed based on learning and is recorded on the school’s tracking system.

In addition to the above, our English curriculum is designed to ensure:

• Staff are provided with the necessary training and support to develop their subject knowledge and confidence.
• Technology is used to enhance the teaching of English.
• Staff work with other schools to ensure accuracy of assessments, as well as to share best practise.
• Children are given the opportunity to develop and apply their literacy skills in all curriculum areas.
• Planning includes provision for each ability group including SEN and More able and Talented children.
• Teacher modelling is an important part of lessons.
• Teachers are enthusiastic, and deliver a challenging and enjoyable English curriculum
• Classrooms are organised to encourage and facilitate independent learning.
• Effective questioning is used to draw out children’s knowledge.

We measure the impact of our curriculum by ensuring that all children at Fisburn Primary School will:

• Enjoy reading and writing, and will thrive in other curriculum areas because of this.
• Succeed, regardless of their ability level due to the appropriate scaffolds in place.
• Have a rich vocabulary and a good understanding of the audience they are writing for.
• Effectively apply the spelling and grammar rules they have been taught.
• Be able to edit and improve their work as well as refer to their own targets to be able to control their own learning.
• Actively discuss their own learning and enjoy celebrating their successes

Cultural Capital and English at Fishburn: