At Leigh Academy Tree Tops, we deliver an English curriculum that develops a love for reading, writing and discussion. We strive to immerse pupils in rich and varied texts and write for a variety of purposes. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where pupils take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. Regular opportunities for pupils to develop their speaking and listening skills and use discussion to communicate and further their learning are incorporated into learning. As well as fostering their creativity and inspiring their imagination, to engage those reading and listening.
We believe that pupils need to develop secure knowledge and understanding of Literacy skills, building on these as they progress through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure understanding of literacy skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our pupils the necessary tools they need to thrive in today’s society.
Aims:
The National Curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Read easily, fluently and with good understanding
- Develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and acquiring information
- An understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
- Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a 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
- Competent in speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debates.
Where necessary, staff (including support staff) will receive training in English.
- Carefully designed schemes of learning in English ensure consistency and progress of all learners.
- Vehicles drive learning throughout the term. Therefore, where possible, there are links between English and the vehicle.
- English skills may be taught individually but play a key role in the achievement of the learning aims of the vehicle. The application of said skills will be evident in extended pieces of writing.
- High expectations of quality and quantity of work in every English lesson are set in order to guide children to achieve their potential. This ensures work is demanding and matches the aims of the curriculum.
- High quality teaching responds to the needs of children. Spiral learning is a key focus of all formative and summative assessment with teachers actively marking work/feeding back in lessons in order to identify misconceptions early.
- High quality input from experts and educational resources complement the delivery of specialist learning admirably. Children understand how English is used in the wider world including careers.
- Learning is adapted and tailored to meet the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND, through adaptive teaching; including guidance from the EEF (Education Endowment foundation). Educators incorporate explicit instruction, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, scaffolding, flexible grouping and use of technology into daily classroom practice to ensure access for all.
- Children are happy learners and confident to use English skills within their work. They experience a wide-ranging number of learning challenges in English and know appropriate responses to them.
- Visits within English have enriched the lives of the children and they are able to discuss how the experience impacted their knowledge and understanding.
- Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in English, reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey. Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in English and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education.
- There is a proven track record of test success that reflects the impact of deep learning.
- Clear outcomes focus and guide all English development plans and drive improvement.
- Children are confident, resilient and actively engaged in the wider society.
- Fundamental British Values are evident in English and children understand how English can celebrate difference.
- Through wider reading in English, children will develop a love for reading, expanding their minds and curiosity of the world in which we live. Through this exposure, children will produce work that is influenced by the best.
- Children will develop excellent phonic knowledge and skills.
- Children will develop Fluency and accuracy in reading across a wide range of contexts throughout the curriculum.
- Children will develop an extensive and rich vocabulary.
- Children will learn the skills to gain an excellent comprehension of texts.
- Children will develop a love of reading and the motivation to read for both study and for pleasure.
- Children will develop an extensive knowledge through having read a rich and varied range of texts.
- Children will gain the ability to write fluently and with interesting detail on a number of topics throughout the curriculum.
- Children will develop a vivid imagination which makes readers engage with and enjoy their writing.
- Children will grow a highly developed vocabulary and an excellent knowledge of writing techniques to extend details or description.
- Children will present well-organised and structured writing, which includes a variety of sentence structures.
- Children will engage excellent transcription skills that ensure their writing is well presented in a neat, cursive joined form that is well punctuated with accurate spelling.
- A love of writing will grow within our children and an appreciation of its educational, cultural and entertainment values.
- Children will use a rich and varied vocabulary that gives clarity and interest to conversations.
- Children will speak clearly so that can be easily understood by a range of audiences.
- Children will develop an excellent grasp of the rules used in English conversation, such as tenses and the grammatical structure of sentences.
Each lesson will include live marking (as per the Marking and Feedback Policy). High quality teaching responds to the needs of children. An assessment grid (the foundation skills assessment) is used to formally record an overview of progress of each child, as well as the use of national testing.