English

Intent

• At SMRP we believe the curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, enhance their vocabulary and broaden children’s skillset to be confident writers.​
• We have an English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. ​
• We aim to engage our children by using a range of high-quality texts as the stimulus to their learning.​
• We aim to provide purposeful and meaningful writing opportunities for all our children.​
• We aim to develop children’s moral, social and cultural understanding through high quality texts that represent our community.​
• We value the importance of talk, therefore, children will begin by orally retelling and exploring language in EYFS.​
• By the end of year 6 we aim for the children to have become confident, creative writers who can write coherently for a range of purposes and audiences and are able to apply grammar and spelling rules.

Implementation

• From the Early Years Foundation Stage through to Upper Key Stage 2, we have worked to ensure children are exposed to a vast range of high-quality texts each term. Where possible texts are aligned with topics to allow for immersion and further exposure to topics.​
• Teaching blocks focus on fiction, non-fiction or poetry, in line with the 2014 National Curriculum. We ensure children are taught to write to entertain, inform, persuade and argue through a rich variety of writing outcomes.​
• Lesson sequences themselves build progressively towards an extended piece of writing and children are exposed to examples (WAGOLL) and modelled writing to support them.​
• Teachers plan opportunities for children to apply their writing skills across the curriculum.​
• Assessment for Learning is embedded in lessons and children are active in editing and revising their work and responding to feedback to improve their work.​
• Daily spelling lessons teach explicit spelling rules and key words.​
• The children follow our Handwriting Policy whereby they begin with mark making and then progress to develop a cursive handwriting script.

Intent

• To raise standards in writing across the school.
• To have a consistent approach across the school when teaching handwriting and presentation of work throughout the school.
• To adopt a common approach towards handwriting by all adults when writing in children’s books, on the whiteboard or on displays / resources.

For pupils to: 

• Achieve a neat, legible style with correctly formed letters with correct orientation in cursive handwriting.
• Develop flow and speed, so that eventually they are able to produce the letters automatically and in their independent writing.

Implementation

Handwriting is taught regularly through sessions and may be linked with spelling, grammar or phonics objectives. Teaching occurs outside English lessons. Importantly, shared and guided writing and teachers’ written comments in books also provide additional opportunities for the modelling and monitoring of handwriting. In addition individual teaching and practise time is provided for children who are experiencing difficulties.