English

Vision

At Churchill School we believe that literacy underpins the broad and balanced curriculum we provide to ensure that every child makes outstanding progress during their time with us.

Through talking, listening, reading and writing we express ourselves and communicate with others; therefore it is essential that we give children the skills to use language with clarity and creativity throughout primary school and beyond.  We are committed to developing a lifelong love of books and literature, which we believe is fundamental to an inclusive and inspiring English curriculum.

Aims

We aim for all pupils to be able to:

• articulate their ideas and feelings in ways which take account of their listeners;

• read a range of rich and varied texts with interest and enjoyment;

• develop a curiosity about words and their meanings which contributes to a growing vocabulary in spoken and written forms;

• write with accuracy and meaning for a range of purposes.

Our curriculum is underpinned by quality children’s literature which motivates and engages the children leading to quality writing outcomes. The 2014 National Curriculum is followed and delivered through meaningful learning activities.

Reading has a very high profile. A passion for reading is fostered with a range of stimulating texts and we take real pride in our book corners and reading area.

Phonics

Phonics is taught daily and systematically in Foundation Stage and Year 1. We follow the Letters and Sounds programme and use a whole range of resources to support the teaching of phonics. Children are also encouraged to use their decoding skills in their reading and writing.

Reading

We use a range of schemes including Collins Big Cat and Oxford Reading Tree to support early reading in Early Years and Key Stage 1. Across the school, children are encouraged to read at home every day as part of their homework. Independent readers are asked to complete a Reading Passport which consists of eight reading challenges. Children can also take home a book of their choice from their class library.

Writing

Children learn different styles of writing through a whole text approach. They read the text and produce writing based around the topic. Extended writing opportunities are also planned for in our foundation subjects and we aim to provide cross curricular writing opportunities wherever possible.

The children and staff are lucky to benefit from the educational consultants at The Literacy Tree. Texts are carefully chosen to engage children and encourage them to be critical thinkers, readers and writers. You can find out more about The Literacy Tree here:

http://theliteracytree.co.uk/

Children are taught cursive handwriting from Foundation Stage to Year 6.

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Grammar Guide for Parents

Please see our document below for details of the grammar requirements and terminology used throughout the school.