- Home
- Learning and Curriculum
- Key Stage 1 and 2 Curriculum
- English
English
The National Curriculum for English states:
Purpose of study
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. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.
Aims
The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. 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 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 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
- are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate
Our essential learning objectives for English at Barrow Hedges Primary are to enable children:
Speaking and Listening
- To be able to communicate confidently and clearly
- To listen with interest and engagement
Reading
- To be able to read words accurately.
- To be able to understand texts.
- To develop a love of reading.
Writing (Composition)
- To be able to write with purpose.
- To be able to use imaginative description.
- To be able to organise writing appropriately.
- To be able to use sentences and paragraphs appropriately.
Transcription (Handwriting)
- To be able to write and present neatly.
- To be able to spell accurately.
- To be able to punctuate accurately.
- Analysis and presentation
- To be able to analyse writing.
- To be able to present writing.
Use the tabs to the left to find out more about how we teach writing, reading, phonics, spelling and handwriting at Barrow Hedges.
See below for documents published by the Department for Education for English.
Teacher Assessment Framework for Key Stage One
Teacher Assessment Framework for Key Stage Two
Mrs M Wilson is the Subject Leader for English
Writing
At Barrow Hedges, we encourage children to become expert writers by becoming immersed in different text types and through the exploration of the thinking and creative processes involved in being a writer. Our teaching always ensures that writing is fun, engaging and motivating for children.
A new unit of work will always start with an exciting and engaging stimulus. This will often be through reading, sharing and enjoying a text together as a class. It could also come from personal experience, for example a trip to the Tower of London or an alien spaceship landing on our school playground. Other stimuli could include: a short film, photograph, picture book or research on a significant figure. We then immerse ourselves in this stimulus through oral rehearsal and often generate a ‘Talk Map’ to internalise an extract of a story or experience.
We continue to take children on a magical journey as we, alongside them, explore what it is to be a writer. At the start of our learning journey, children study the text type and the purpose for this text, for example to entertain, persuade or inform the reader. We become detectives by looking at an example of the text type and ask ourselves "What makes this good?" and "How has the author written this to fit the purpose?" We take these grammatical and structural features and plan how we could use them in our own versions. It has been found that children struggle to write well because they are juggling so many different elements of transcription and composition. By talking the text, they begin to internalise the common language patterns of narrative and non-fiction, freeing up more cognitive space for composition. We help the children to learn to talk, discuss and think like writers.
Children meet their full potential when they are given the opportunity to share and discuss ideas. We encourage discussion and "magpie-ing" during the planning stages of writing and ask children to reflect on the learning journey so far to make their writing most effective. During the planning and writing process we always encourage children to use our learning powers of being reflective and resourceful by using everything available to them within the classroom, such as thesauruses, descriptosaurses, word banks and the English 'working wall'.
Examples of English Working Walls in Year 1 and 4.
Teacher modelling is such a vital step in externalising the composition process: generating ideas, “magpie-ing” from the shared text(s), selecting 'best' ideas, organising and putting them on the page. During shared writing our teachers will scribe whilst the class contributes to the collection of ideas, words, phrases or how ideas go down onto paper. This is also the perfect opportunity for teachers to address whole class misconceptions in grammar and spelling. By modelling the process and 'thinking out loud' the teacher is giving the children the tools they need to work independently.
During the independent writing process, teachers may provide intervention for small groups of children based on their assessment of previous work. They will move around the room, guiding children to improve on individual targets, highlighted in previous writing, or give instant feedback from the current piece of writing. Finally, children are explicitly taught how to edit and improve their work using their green polishing pens.
English is usually taught every day in all classes. Teaching of English is not only delivered as a daily stand-alone lesson, but also embedded in other parts of the curriculum and real-life events to motivate, engage and inspire the children, giving a real sense of purpose to their reading, writing, speaking and listening. Children have the opportunity to practise and develop English skills linked to their topic for example: practising their letter writing skills as a World War II evacuee (History).
As part of our daily English teaching there will be a specifically planned focus on spelling, grammar and punctuation. These will be linked to the National Curriculum, texts the children are using and class/ individual needs. Children are given 'pitch stickers', checklists for writing that are generated from the year group expectations outlined in the national curriculum and the assessment framework, to support them in their self-assessment.
See below for 'Pitch Sticker Progression Document' to see the progression of expectation from Y1 to 6.
Pitch Sticker Progression: Y1-6
Please find useful documents attached at the bottom of the page to support your child's writing.
Phonics
At Barrow Hedges we are passionate about the importance of reading, and we know that this starts with giving children the tools to crack the phonetic code. For this reason, we have created our own robust systematic synthetic phonics programme using Pearson’s Bug Club Phonics progression of sounds and decodable books. We prioritise the importance of teaching phonics by starting with Phase 1 in Nursery and consolidating Phase 6 spelling patterns in Year 3. We have created a phonics progression planner and individual year group ‘Road Maps’ which clearly show our learning journey of Phonics. We believe phonics does not stop once children are confident from Phase 1 to Phase 6, it is a continuous journey our children continue to develop throughout their time with us in Key Stage 2.
We use a multisensory approach to enable our children to know more and remember more by bringing the learning to life through our use of songs, stories, videos and physical props to enhance our teaching. Our programme enables children to make links to previously learnt knowledge and see the similarities and differences between the alternative spellings of the same sound. For example, ‘ai’ as ‘rain’ and ‘ay’ as in ‘play’.
We aspire for all our children to become confident and independent readers with a secure knowledge and understanding of phoneme-grapheme correspondence (sound to the letter). Children have an awareness of technical vocabulary such as phoneme, grapheme, digraph, trigraph, phoneme buttons and phoneme lines. We place great emphasis on phoneme buttons and phoneme lines throughout the school to support children in their decoding and breaking down words for spelling.
Our programme is proven to be extremely effective in helping children to become confident and independent readers and writers by equipping children with the necessary skills to become fluent readers.
Children start learning phonics in Nursery with Phase 1 games and physical objects to discriminate between sounds. In Reception children learn Phase 2 phonemes and by the end of Reception most children are confident to read many Phase 3 phonemes and tricky words. In Year 1, we build upon children’s prior knowledge and continue to consolidate Phase 3 phonemes whilst teaching Phase 4 and Phase 5. This is done in preparation for the Year 1 ‘Phonics Screening Check’ in the summer term. In Year 2 phonics teaching is consolidated further as children are taught Phase 5 alternative spellings, spelling rules and are challenged to apply this knowledge in their writing. Children also learn Phase 6 suffixes and alternative spelling patterns. In Year 3 children consolidate their knowledge of alternative spellings and progress on to further Phase 6 spelling rules and patterns. In KS2 phonics is revisited and children are encouraged to use sound buttons and make links to the spelling rules they have previously learnt. It is also reinforced during whole class writing sessions to support spelling of unfamiliar words.
Whilst we know that phonics works for the majority of children, we also strive to facilitate learning for those with barriers to reading. We pride ourselves in finding these barriers early, quickly putting into place intervention both inside and outside the classroom. For each child, this provision will be personalised to meet their needs.
How can you support your child/ren at home?
- Our phonetically decodable books have guidance on the inside of the front cover that will consolidate and support phonics at home. Please look through this with your child before reading.
- Our phonetically decodable books have activities on the back cover which will support comprehension and fluency.
- We encourage daily reading and reading for pleasure.
- Play games little and often, especially if your child/ren is in Reception, as this proves more effective in helping to consolidate prior learning.
- Practise segmenting and blending a range of words with your child/ren to help their fluency in decoding texts.
Useful Websites
www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/literacy.html
Useful Documents
Year 1 Phonics Screening Information Session
Phonics Progression - Nursery to Year 3
Phonics Screening Information for Year 2 Parents
Decodable Reading Scheme
We use Pearson’s Phonics Bug reading books and Bug Club to support our children with their reading. Early readers take home books each week to read with their parents. We also have online access to Bug Club.
We hope that you and your child/ren can have fun learning to read!
Mrs Bennett is the EYFS and KS1 Phonics Leader and Mr Shaw is the KS2 Phonics Leader at Barrow Hedges. Mrs Garrod-Wilson oversees this as English Leader.
Watch us teach!
Here are some videos that show some of our phonics learning with Mrs Bennett.
Spelling
As a school we understand that spelling is a skill that must be explicitly taught, not just tested, in order for improvement and retention. Using the correct spellings is an important life skill and regular practice is essential.
In Key Stage One, and where children are working towards retaining spellings within phonics phases 2 - 5, children will be given words containing graphemes and spelling rules based on the learning within their daily phonics lessons that week. They will also be given common exception words outlined as statutory for their year group within English Appendix 2 of the National Curriculum. Due to our rigorous and systematic phonics planning, we have ensured that all statutory spelling rules are covered throughout the year.
In Key Stage Two, we follow the Rising Stars Spelling Scheme, which covers all spelling rules and common exception words, as outlined in Appendix 2 of the National Curriculum, for each year group. Each test has a spelling focus which is often a spelling rule or group of rules, or a focus on reviewing learning or words from across the curriculum. Teachers use a 'Review, Teach, Practise and Apply' structure to teach spelling rules explicitly and a range of different spelling strategies, such as Mnemonics, to learn common exception and statutory words.
Children working out of year group will be given personalised spellings that help to close the gap between themselves and their peers, however, they will still be exposed to their year group's programme of study by listening to books, hearing and learning new vocabulary and grammatical structures, and having the chance to talk about these.
Teachers use every opportunity to review and practise spelling, particularly during modelled writing, and teach children the skills to apply this independently and correct mistakes effectively.
Please see below for resources to support spelling, including tests for Years 1 to 6.
National Curriculum Spelling Lists for Y1-6
Handwriting
As a school we teach a cursive curriculum and set high standards for presentation in all work.
In Key Stage One, children work towards becoming a Handwriting Hero. This award, along with a very special pencil, is given to children that have worked diligently towards improving their handwriting and can subsequently come away from using handwriting guidelines in their written work.
In Key Stage Two, children work towards receiving their pen license. Once a child has shown that they can consistently join their handwriting, keeping their presentation skills at a high level, and maintain this in all lessons, they receive this license and are given a handwriting pen to use rather than pencil.
Please find below, our handwriting policy and useful resources to help support your child's writing.
Reading
At Barrow Hedges, we understand that reading is an essential life skill which unlocks the curriculum to all children. We are committed to ensuring that every child in our school becomes a fluent reader as we know that children who leave primary school without this skill, are disadvantaged later in life.
Through our robust and rigorous phonics programme we provide children with the tools to crack the phonetic code. However, we understand that this is just the beginning of their journey to becoming fluent and confident readers. For more information on our phonics curriculum, click on the 'Phonics' tab to the right of your screen.
Our teachers deliver a strong reading curriculum that enables children to learn to read and in turn read to learn. We are proud to say that our teachers are experts in both early reading and the development of reading fluency and comprehension. We provide training opportunities for all staff and are proud to have members of staff with specific expertise in supporting reading, which we regularly draw upon. We have a whole school curriculum map for reading (see below), which has been created using the Early Years statutory framework (2021) and the National Curriculum expectations. Teachers use this resource to support planning and assessment, particularly for children that are working within a different year group. We encourage teachers to use stories, poetry and non-fiction texts across the curriculum as we understand that children, and adults, remember more when information is heard through a story.
We are passionate about developing children's love of reading. We nurture this through our engaging environments and by exposing children to a rich and diverse tapestry of literature. We provide ample opportunities for children to listen to stories both inside and outside the classroom. We celebrate books and strive to ensure the literature we share with the children is of the highest quality, including the children in the decision-making process when updating our book corners and reading areas around school.
We committed to our intention of getting all children reading, and so we use regular assessments to ensure that no child is left behind. Where a child is struggling with reading, we find this early and swiftly put into place personalised support for that child in order to address their barriers to learning.Reading provides children with a wide and contextually rich vocabulary that spans across the curriculum. It exposes children to vocabulary that is not heard in everyday speech and subsequently enriches their own knowledge of words and their meanings. From the moment children join us in our Early Years setting, they are exposed to and a vocabulary rich environment which supports their acquisition of language and this does not stop as they move through the school. Our children have fun with language, exploring etymology and meaning in all different contexts and areas of the curriculum.
How do we teach reading?
We teach reading in a variety of ways, appropriate to a child's stage of their reading learning journey. Reading learning will include:
- Daily timetabled story times by teachers.
- Daily phonics lessons in Early Years and KS1.
- Explicit phonics and spelling rule lessons in Year 3.
- Exposing children to stories, songs and rhymes from Nursery to develop story telling and facilitate conversations around stories.
- Guided reading lessons in Years 1 - 6 which develop fluency and comprehension as follows:
- Year 1 guided reading lessons are conducted in smaller groups, whilst other children complete wider reading activities.
- Year 2 guided reading lessons are mostly structured as a whole class, focussing on explicitly teaching fluency and comprehension. Teachers will also timetable smaller group guided reading sessions throughout the term.
- Year 3 - 5 guided reading lessons are structured as a whole class, in which all children have a copy of the class text. Teachers structure the learning around the novel, developing children's fluency and comprehension whilst allowing children to become fully immersed in the story. Children will also be exposed to non-fiction and poetry within guided reading lessons throughout the year. We are very proud to confidently say that every child will leave our school having read at least 10 high quality novels from start to finish.
- Year 6 guided reading lessons are whole class. For at least one term children will work through a class novel, as Years 3 - 5. During the spring term, lessons continue to develop our children to become confident, well-rounded readers with a focus on fine-tuning all the tools and reading skills needed to be successful in the end of year assessments.
- Vocabulary lessons.
- Weekly Story Time Assemblies by the senior leadership team.
- Phonics and reading interventions, when appropriate.
- Regular assessment using PiXL (online learning tool which is used widely throughout the school for teaching, interventions and assessment).
- 1 to 1 reading with children as regularly as possible.
- Target children work with our Specialist TA for Inclusion, who specialises in reading and dyslexia.
Reading List - Year 1 and Year 2
Reading List - Year 3 and Year 4
Reading List - Year 5 and Year 6
How do we support reading at home?
We know that reading is a skill that must be practised in order to be mastered. For this reason we ensure that learning does not stop once children have left the classroom. The children consolidate learning in the following ways:
- 'Phonics Bug' decodable books matched specifically to the phonics learning of each child. The progression of these books is exactly matched to the progression of our phonics scheme. These are changed twice a week. Children will stay on these decodable books until they are secure in their phonics.
- Once children are secure in their phonetic knowledge they move onto Scholastic book banded books which carefully match their reading level.
- Struggling readers in KS2 are given books appropriate to their reading level and interest levels, for this we use Project X books, Dandelions and Barrington Stoke books.
- Once children have worked through the book bands they become 'free-readers' and are able to choose the book they borrow from school from a collection of high quality texts that match their age and interests.
- All children are encouraged to take a book from their class book corners to read for pleasure with their families.
- Children in Year 1 - 6 are set weekly English homework which may consist of reading comprehension or grammar activities.
- Parent workshops, ran by teachers and leaders at school, on supporting children at home.
- All children have access to their own Bug Club online library from home.
Other Enrichment Activities
As a school we take every opportunity to celebrate reading, and so we take part in a number of reading enrichment activities, including:
- National celebrations such as World Book Day, National Storytelling Week, Roald Dahl Day and many more.
- The Travelling Book Fair visits our school every term, allowing us to build rewards to spend in school.
- During national lock-downs and COVID-19 restrictions, we continued to spread our love and joy for reading using videos of teachers reading, The Masked Reader challenge and other engaging activities for children to enjoy (see below).