At the Sherwood we believe firmly in a literature based English curriculum. We have developed the curriculum to include a range of good quality texts that we hope will inspire and motivate the children. We use the Merton Assessment Procedures to track progress, next steps and attainment and moderate this regularly to ensure we are adapting our teaching and planning to meet the needs of our children as much as possible.
Within writing, children are taught the features and grammatical techniques of a range of genres and are encouraged to write across a variety of subjects. We value the children’s writing highly; each term children complete a ‘Big Write’ task which is set across the entire school. The best examples of these are then chosen to be displayed which inspires others as well as recognises the achievements made.
In guided reading we focus heavily on the comprehension and understanding of texts. We use a mixture of ‘Jolly Phonics’ and ‘Letters and Sounds’ to teach reading but also understand the importance and value of children being able to discuss books. Children are given time to think and talk about their favourite authors, themes and plots within texts as well as the vocabulary used and the impact on the reader. This use of discussion within reading time has developed skill in writing as children are more able to understand and therefore, mirror the techniques of a range of authors.