According to the 2014 National Curriculum, a high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society
English at Caedmon
At Caedmon Primary, we believe that literacy and communication are key life skills. Through the English curriculum, we will help children develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate effectively and creatively through spoken and written language and equip them with the skills to become lifelong learners. We want children to enjoy and appreciate literature and its rich variety.
Literacy is at the heart of all children’s learning. Literacy enables children both to communicate with others effectively for a variety of purposes and to examine their own and others’ experiences, feelings and ideas, giving these order and meaning. Because literacy is central to children’s intellectual, emotional and social development, it has an essential role across the curriculum and helps pupils’ learning to be coherent and progressive.
The time allocated for English is in line with recommendations for Key Stages One and Two. This amounts to approximately 7 hours per week at both Key Stages.
In addition, it is expected that cross-curricular links will contribute to pupils’ effective learning in speaking and listening, reading and writing. This is reinforced through our delivery of the curriculum.
The new National Curriculum forms the basis of teaching and learning. All children receive at least the minimum entitlement of a daily English lesson. Teachers work towards independent learning and plan for different working groups, employing a range of teaching strategies. Teachers use the National Curriculum as a starting point for creating their literacy plans. Clear objectives are set for each session and are shared with pupils. Teachers differentiate according to the needs of the pupils and use intervention programmes for targeted support.
For writing sessions, teaching staff use a range of prompts (novels,picture books, videos, songs, still images, content from topic lessons) to act as a stimulus for writing, allowing for the development and effective use of the age-specific objectives specified within the National Curriculum.
Within reading sessions, most classes take a whole class approach through shared exploration of a text followed by the teaching of discreet skills (such as drawing inferences or making deductions), including a session where children are able to independently apply these skills through answering carefully selected questions.
Read Write Inc. is used to teach early reading in our school - more information can be found here.
Spelling rules specified within the National Curriculum are taught in weekly sessions, with the expectation that a set of spellings following that week's rule are learned at home to be tested the following week.
Literacy is encouraged and developed across our curriculum and links with other subjects are made where appropriate.
ICT is used where it enhances, extends and complements literacy teaching and learning. Additional adults are used to support the teaching of Literacy. They work under the guidance of the teacher with small groups of children or individuals.
All children receive quality first literacy teaching on a daily basis and activities are differentiated accordingly. In addition, where identified pupils are considered to require targeted support to enable them to work towards age appropriate objectives, intervention programmes will be implemented. Teachers and teaching assistants plan programmes together and monitor progress of these pupils.
There will be a third wave of support for pupils who have additional needs.
The range and types of texts covered support our teaching of the fundamental British Values, as children read, prepare and write texts linked to these themes where they are relevant. This includes, for example, work in Year 5 around how election materials seek to persuade voters within our democracy by using specific types of language and layout features. Older children may read texts which allow them to explore and discuss issues related to responsible citizenship, such as the Diary of Anne Frank, exploring the impact of sustained persecution on an individual's liberty and the circumstances around this.
Children in all year groups are given a weekly homework task to consolidate what has been covered in class. Children also have access to a number of online services to support their learning.
We offer regular Read, Write Inc. workshops for parents who require additional information about how we teach phonics in school.
Please see (at the bottom of the page) our attached year group booklets which provide detailed information on how you can support your child at home.
Children are assessed in many ways, both formally and informally using a combination of on-going teacher assessments and formal tests. The results of these assessments are used to measure progress, enable teachers to plan appropriately and inform parents of their child’s achievements. Teacher assessment is carried out on a day-to-day basis and is an integral part of the teaching process. Class teachers use many different methods to find out about each child’s skills, knowledge and understanding; for example talking and listening to children, marking work and observing children as they work and play.
Teacher assessment for writing is moderated internally on a termly basis and (in Years 2 and 6) sometimes externally via the local authority.
Year 1 pupils undergo a national phonics screening check to help ascertain that individual children have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard.Additionally, all children undergo nationally organised National Curriculum tests at the end of Key Stage One and Key Stage Two. Marked externally, the results from these tests is used to judge the impact of teaching in school and to make comparisons with other local schools or similar schools nationally.
Information about all assessments is shared with parents during consultation evenings and in the annual school report.
Subject Leader: Miss Donnelly