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English Intent Curriculum Statement

'English has a pre-eminent place in education and 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 reading and listening, others can communicate with them.' The National Curriculum

At Chesterton CE Primary School, English is at the heart of our curriculum. We want our children to be able to read fluently and widely, and be able to express their thoughts and feelings about what they read. Reading gives children the opportunity to develop their knowledge of the world around them and build upon what they already know. The experience of sharing books together and reading a range of literature helps children to build their vocabulary, feed their imagination and develop their cultural and social understanding. We hope to foster a love of reading so that our children find pleasure as well as purpose in it.

Building on a strong foundation of reading, we aim to help our children become confident and effective writers who can use the written word to express themselves in a wide range of contexts. By using high quality written texts and literature as models, we want our children to learn how to structure and develop their ideas, whilst experiencing the enjoyment and impact of expressing themselves through the written word. Grammatical accuracy, a good understanding of spelling, a fluent handwriting style and development of a wide range of vocabulary will enable our children to communicate effectively across the curriculum.


Implementation
Phonics and Spelling
We recognise that knowledge of the alphabetic code and the ability to hear, identify and manipulate the sounds used in the English language gives children a solid foundation for learning. Therefore the teaching of phonics, as well as spelling rules and patterns, is a vital element in our English Curriculum.
We teach Phonics and spelling using the following approaches:

• Phonics lessons: In order to help children learn the correspondence between sounds (phonemes) and the spelling patterns that represent them (graphemes), we use Bug Club Phonics which is a validated Systematic Synthetic Phonics scheme. Phonics lessons are taught four times a week from Reception up to Year 2. These sessions have an emphasis on revising previously learned letter-sound correspondence, learning new ones, practising reading and writing them and then applying what they have learned in sentence-level work. For more information about the phases and sounds in our Phonics scheme, please see our Phonics Information Page.
• Spelling practice: To support our children in learning the Phonics and spelling patterns, and applying them, they are given a set of words to practise reading and writing at home. These words are then used in a weekly dictation task in which the children can apply what they have learned.
• Reading books: Children are given access to Phonics-linked reading books as part of their reading homework. These books allow them to apply their Phonics knowledge and skills.
• Consolidating Phonics and developing knowledge of spelling rules: As the children move through Key Stage One and into Key Stage Two, there is a continued focus on consolidating Phonics knowledge and skills where necessary, as well as beginning to explore and learn about key spelling rules and patterns.
• Learning 'common' and 'common exception' words: Not all words in the English language comply with the rules of Phonics and spelling, so we also teach the children 'Tricky' words and 'High Frequency' words. Their application of these words is assessed regularly throughout the year.
  

Reading
One of our priorities at Chesterton is to promote and enable a life-long love of reading, and develop the necessary skills that underpin this. We endeavour to achieve our aim through a variety of approaches:

• Use of quality texts: We plan our curriculum to include the use of high-quality texts in English lessons. We place an importance on encouraging our children to experience a range of different books, from traditional stories and books written by well-known authors, to modern tales and texts with links to real-life issues. We include poetry throughout our curriculum and we use high-quality examples of non-fiction texts. English units of work begin with a focus on reading and enjoyment of each text, reading them as a writer would to explore structure, meaning and ideas. To see the use of texts in our English Curriculum, please see our English Curriculum Maps.
• Teaching the skills of reading: In order to develop confident, fluent readers, we use a full programme of teaching to develop the skills of reading. This begins in the Early Years, with regular 1-to-1 reading of phonics-linked books and a range of other banded books, selected to meet the children's reading ability and level of Phonics learning. Moving into Key Stage One, our children continue to read regularly on this 1-to-1 basis, with Shared and Guided Reading being introduced as appropriate. Guided Reading at Key Stage One takes place once a week and focuses on the further development of decoding skills, application of phonological knowledge, development of vocabulary and comprehension. Key Stage Two, sees an increase in Guided Reading sessions, which include a focus on developing comprehension skills further through the use of inference and deduction, thereby unlocking understanding of a whole text. Where appropriate, individual reading will continue, alongside Phonics and reading interventions, to support those children with developing decoding skills and vocabulary knowledge.
• Home reading system: We have a range of popular and well-established reading scheme books, largely from Oxford University Press, which we carefully match to each child's reading ability. Children are encouraged to read these books regularly at home, something that is supported by our Home Reading diaries, which promote and celebrate numbers of Reading Nights. For our youngest children, this encourages positive reading habits from their very first days in school and helps parents in supporting their child. As they develop as readers over time, the focus on regular reading promotes reading stamina, enabling them to read longer and more developed texts.
• Social Reading environments: Each class has its own book area or library which offers the children a rich range of books and other reading materials to learn from and enjoy. The children have access to these throughout the day and each class has sessions in which they can read freely. We have book selections which are linked to our Topics and children use these for information gathering and enjoyment.
• Rewarding reading successes: Children are encouraged to make reading a regular part of their day and this is recognised through our Reading Diary sticker awards. When children reach certain milestones, such as reading for 25 nights, they are given a Reading Raffle ticket and House points are awarded to celebrate their reading achievements. We have a Reading Raffle draw every Friday during our Celebration Worship and book prizes are presented.
• Story Sharing: All classes have dedicated time where they can listen to or share a class story. For younger children, 'Story Time' may involve the teacher reading a few different books each day, but as they get older, the children will begin to experience longer stories and novels as a class. 'Story Time' includes the opportunity to discuss the story and characters, ask and answer questions, explore new vocabulary and enjoy joining in with parts of the book as a whole class. Some story sharing time, may take place in pairs or small groups. This includes, role-playing and story retelling in Reception, small group book talk time in Key Stage 1 and 'Take One Book' units of work in Key Stage 2, where whole class book discussion takes place.

Writing
At Chesterton, writing forms an important and regular part of every day. In order to develop confident and effective writers, our English Curriculum includes the following:

• High-quality books and written texts: These are used as a model that the children can be inspired by and can learn from. We also use video clips to engage children in the writing process.
• Teaching the full writing process: Within our units of work, we support the children in learning the whole writing process. This includes engaging with high quality books or texts, exploring themes and writing structures, planning, practising creating effective writing and editing and improving our own writing.
• Teaching a range of genres: We plan an English Curriculum that covers a range of different genres. Each unit of work is broken down into clear steps in learning which allow the children to understand how a particular genre should be structured. We use quality texts and written models to inspire pupils and to scaffold their own ideas for writing.
• Embedded grammar and punctuation: Throughout the Early Years, Key Stage One and Key Stage Two, grammar and punctuation is embedded into our English units of work. Our children are taught about these key principles, laying a firm foundation and ensuring that pupils have a secure grasp of the structural and technical knowledge and skills needed to be an effective writer.

Early Years Progression: Understanding the World - Communications and Language
Reading Progression
Writing Progression

Curriculum Maps
Reception: Maple
Year 1: Beech
Year 2: Ash
Year 3: Chesnut
Year 4: Hawthorn
Year 5: Rowan
Year 6: Oak