English

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island" - Walt Disney

"I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn" - Anne Frank

Intent

It is our intention when teaching the English curriculum that our pupils acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to become lifelong learners and linguists. We strive to ensure that all our pupils receive a well-rounded learning experience when reading, writing, speaking and listening which will equip them with the fundamental tools to achieve in Emmaus and beyond. It is our intention to immerse pupils in the wonders of quality texts to instil a love for reading, a passion for discovery and a confidence to explore their imagination.

English is a core subject of the National Curriculum and a prerequisite for educational and social progress as it underpins the work undertaken in all other areas of the curriculum. The acquisition of language skills is of the utmost importance to us here at Emmaus and therefore the teaching of all aspects of English is given a high priority within school. Confidence in basic language skills enables children to communicate creatively and imaginatively, preparing them for their future journey through education and beyond. There is a clear and ambitious progression of vocabulary from Early Years to Year 6. 

Our aim is to:

• Ensure that every child becomes a reader, a writer and confident speaker by the time they leave Emmaus Primary School.
• To promote and instill a love for reading, writing and high-quality literature into pupils at all ages.
• To derive an English curriculum which is sequenced to develop the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

In order to provide a range of opportunities for our children to develop as independent, successful learners with high aspirations, our English curriculum is also intrinsically linked to our whole school curriculum drivers:

• Gospel Values
• Cultural Capital
• Diversity
• Independence
• High expectations

Gospel Values

As a joint denominational school, Christian values are at the forefront of daily school life at Emmaus. The values of ‘Hope’, ‘Trust’, ‘Friendship’ and ‘Love’ are actively promoted throughout lessons. English supports spiritual development by engaging children in poetry, fiction and drama.  The children are encouraged to explore feelings found in a wide range of genre.

Cultural Capital

At Emmaus, we believe that a rich and broad curriculum builds cultural capital and we thus provide our children with a vast range of experiences and opportunities to help them progress and achieve success. Throughout our English curriculum, we organise visits from theatre companies, authors and arrange drama workshops to further enrich the children’s learning. Children who are members of the school parliament make trips to the Town Hall for debate sessions.  The study of non-fiction texts provides students and teachers with the opportunity to address topical issues and consider different social, political, religious and cultural attitudes and contexts.

Diversity

At Emmaus, we know that diversity, inclusion and belonging matter. They matter in the literature we consume and the books, poetry and plays we put in front of our young people. The books that we share with our children at Emmaus offer a well-rounded view of the world. We share picture books and novels throughout the school which touch on topics such as immigration ‘King of the Sky’ by Nicola Davis; racism and unfairness ‘Journey to Johannesburg by Beverly Naidoo and democracy ‘Nelson Mandela- A long Walk to Freedom’.

Independence

Our English curriculum heavily promotes independent learning. Our aim is that by the time our children leave Emmaus, they are independent, fluent and enthusiastic readers and writers. We give children choice and encourage critical thinking. We encourage them to ask their own questions, debate given topics and express their own point of view.

High Expectations

In line with all areas of our school curriculum, we have high expectations for all children to achieve their potential in English - regardless of their starting points. The English curriculum and assessment system at Emmaus is developed to ensure that we motivate pupils, monitor progress and achieve consistently high standards. There are high expectations for children to use appropriate vocabulary to articulate their thoughts and ideas.

Implementation

English is a core subject in the National Curriculum. English is planned both discretely and as a vehicle for learning in other areas. We base our school medium-term plans on the Ready Steady Write scheme which is derived around a sequence of high quality age-appropriate texts. Early Years are exploring the Drawing Club scheme of work. These plans define what we teach and ensure an appropriate balance and distribution of work. English lessons are complemented by regular Basic Skills sessions which include grammar, handwriting and spelling sessions. Adaptive teaching will take place to ensure that all pupils can access the planned lessons. 

The skills that children develop in English are linked to, and applied in, every subject of our curriculum. The children’s skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening enable them to communicate and express themselves in all areas of their work in school. 

Time allocations for English:

Foundation Stage

Daily Read, Write Inc phonics

Handwriting, including physical handwriting taught as part of phonics teaching.

Guided early writing activities.

Early writing activities and opportunities provided daily – writing table, role play area.

Guided reading completed weekly.

Drawing Club sessions

Key Stage 1

Daily Read, Write Inc phonics

Guided Reading sessions (intervention groups)

Handwriting practice explicitly through Ready, Steady Write sessions

Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling  taught explicitly through Ready, Steady, Write sessions and Spelling Shed scheme.

Incidental writing activities taught through Ready, Steady , Write sessions

Extended writing taught across the curriculum.

Key Stage 2

Whole Class Shared Reading 

Guided Reading sessions ( intervention groups) 

Handwriting practice explicitly through Ready, Steady Write sessions

Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling  taught explicitly through Ready, Steady, Write sessions and Spelling Shed scheme.

Incidental writing activities taught through Ready, Steady , Write sessions

Extended writing taught across the curriculum.

Phonics interventions / whole class focus where needed - games to consolidate and reinforce.

Impact

We strive to ensure that our children's attainment is in line or exceeds their potential when we consider the varied starting points of all our children. We measure this using a range of materials, whilst always considering the age-related expectations for each year group. Children will make at least good progress in Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening from their last point of statutory assessment or from their starting point in Nursery. We intend the impact of our English curriculum will ensure our pupils are academically prepared for life beyond primary school and throughout their educational journey.

Promoting British Values through the English Curriculum

Throughout their time at Emmaus Primary School, children are introduced to a range of texts from our literary heritage, encouraging them to further explore the works of British writers. The study of non-fiction texts provides students and teachers with the opportunity to address topical issues and consider different social, political, religious and cultural attitudes and contexts. A wide variety of novels, news reports, magazine articles, non-fiction texts and internet sources are used which lend themselves to promoting our fundamental British Values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and tolerance and mutual respect.

This Year, the whole school focused on different versions of the Traditional Tale Red Riding Hood. Look at some of the books that we read and the wonderful work that we produced.

World Book Day 2022

This year, the whole school looked at the wordless picture book 'Tuesday' by David Wiesner .  Look at the fantastic work that the children did across the school.

We will be celebrating World Book Day on Friday 4th March 2022.  Get your character costumes ready.

WORLD BOOK DAY 2021

For World Book Day this year, the whole school have been looking at the wordless picture book 'Flotsam' by David Weisner.  Look at the fantastic work that the children have produced based on this book.

BOOK WEEK 2019

 This year, the whole school will be looking at the fantastic picture book 'Journey' by Aaron Becker.  English lessons will come alive with fun activities that are linked to this book to promote reading for pleasure.

Introducing our Reading Ambassadors

Hello, we are the Emmaus Reading Ambassadors and we have an important job to do in school. We all love to read and our job is to encourage others to read too. 

We meet each half term and discuss ways in which we can promote reading for pleasure, including sharing ideas and opinions from our class mates.

Our first job is to judge the reading class areas.  This will take place on Tuesday 22nd October.