English Curriculum Intent (school vision)

We believe English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. 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; with these tools pupils have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and cultural capital to succeed everyday life. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.

Our Aims

The overarching aim for English in the Primary National Curriculum and at Holy Trinity CE Primary School is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.

At Holy Trinity CE Primary School the intent of the English curriculum is to ensure that all pupils:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding;
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information;
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language;
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage;
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for range of contexts, purposes and audiences;
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas;
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

How is the Writing Curriculum implemented in our school?

At Holy Trinity CE Primary School we currently teach to a phase called ‘The Writing Cycle’. Pupils immerse themselves in a given text type through model texts, independently gaining a first-hand understanding of the language and structural features of the text. Drama plays an important part in ensuring pupils are ‘in role’ to write from a given perspective with a particular audience in mind. Once pupils have an understanding about what they are writing about and what it should look like and contain, they then plan and write before self-editing through the use of teacher, self and peer feedback before presenting a final, published copy. 

Pupil’s writing is supported by shared, guided and paired writing and a variety of resources including images, word mats, plans, talk mats, dictionaries and thesauruses.

At Holy Trinity CE Primary School pupils read and write a variety of different narrative and non-narrative genres both independently and through taught guided reading sessions. Pupils use ‘Accelerated Reader’ to test their understanding of texts read independently and are taught key ‘reading skills’ through daily guided reading and whole class reading sessions.

There are pupils of differing ability, disability, race, gender and social origin in all classes at Holy Trinity CE Primary School. We recognise this fact and provide suitable learning opportunities for all pupils by matching the challenge of the task to the pupil. We achieve this through a range of strategies to meet the individual learner. 

For the teaching of writing we use objectives from the National Primary Curriculum to plan exciting and engaging learning experiences for all pupils.

We carry out the curriculum planning in English in three phases (long-term, medium term and short-term). The National Primary Curriculum programme of study for each year group details what we teach in the long-term.

Our medium-term plans, give details of the main teaching objectives, text types covered and aims for each term. These plans define what we teach and ensure an appropriate balance and distribution of learning across each term. 

Class teachers complete a weekly (short-term) plan for the teaching of English. This lists the specific learning aims for each lesson and gives details of how the lessons are to be taught. The class teacher keeps these individual plans, and the class teacher and subject leader often discuss them on an informal basis. 

English punctuation, grammar and spelling is taught explicitly in standalone sessions and discretely through writing sessions. Vocabulary is taught through a vocabulary instruction cycle. Pupils are exposed to vocabulary in context, given a clear definition and taught how and when to use the word. Vocabulary is re-visited to ensure it is embedded into pupils long-term memory. 

Handwriting is taught explicitly at Holy Trinity CE Primary School in a cursive style to ensure pupils can produce fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting. It is out intent to make handwriting an automotive process that does not interfere with creative and mental thinking. 

How is the Reading Curriculum implemented in our school?

In Years 3-6, Reading is taught through daily, planned whole class reading sessions. Pupils are grouped relating to the current attainment levels and are set meaningful and challenging reading related tasks. All tasks relate to a specific reading content domain. These include: Vocabulary, Retrieval, Inference, Summary, Prediction, Comparison.

At Holy Trinity CE Primary School we aim to share a range of texts with our pupils across an academic year including both fiction and non-fiction texts as well as poetry and media clips. Our class teachers use a variety of stimuli in the reading sessions including poetry, song lyrics, video clips and objects when it comes to developing the pupils’ inference skills.

During a Reading lesson, you may see an adult read aloud to the class in order to model expression and tone. You may also see pupils reading independently, in pairs, groups or out loud to the rest of their class. There may be one or more of these strategies used in a session.

Other strategies that we use to implement our Reading Curriculum:

• Timetabled daily story times in each class, so children can listen to their teacher and hear modelled expression and tone.
• Reading Spines in each year group which contain a wide range of Pie Corbett recommended texts as well as traditional texts, and texts containing characters from BAME and neuro- diverse backgrounds.
• We take part in World Book Day every year. 
• Librarians ensure that books are replenished and tidy so that others are encouraged to do the same.

Pupils at our school use Accelerated Reader to support their understanding of a text once it has been read. Pupils take a STAR Reader Test in September, April and July. This assesses their reading age and suggests the level of books that are suitable for them to read. Following this pupils can read books at their selected levels and take quizzes on them through the Accelerated Reader website. By doing this Pupils can gain points and move up through the different levels.

To access the website for Accelerated Reading please click here: Welcome to Renaissance Place (renlearn.co.uk)

At Holy Trinity CE Primary School we believe that all pupils deserve the opportunity to develop a love of reading; to cultivate this pupils are read to daily.