English Curriculum Statement

Brookfield Primary School

– Be the best you can be!

"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader." -Margaret Fuller

Intent

At Brookfield Primary School we know that English skills are vital for the life opportunities of our children. Teachers develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary range as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching; for pupils, understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum. Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects.

The importance of reading for children cannot be underestimated. Reading for pleasure benefit a child’s education, social and cognitive development, their wellbeing, and their mental health. Numerous pieces of research conducted and commissioned by the Book Trust have discovered the profound benefits of reading for a child’s development. One study details the effects of reading on later literacy skills, facilitating social interaction between adults and children, and encouraging children to engage with the world around them. It also states how reading can be a ‘stable source of information’ throughout a child’s life.

This stability allows them to access text in a constant fashion and can be especially beneficial for children growing up in challenging circumstances. With this in mind, we place reading at the heart of our curriculum and believe that all of our children can become fluent, confident and able readers who have a love of reading!

Learning to write is one of the most important things that a child will do at primary school. Almost all other areas of the curriculum are assessed through writing, so strong writing is one of the keys to academic success. Good writing also gives children a voice to share their ideas with the world which is what we strive for at Brookfield!

Implementation

The Literary Curriculum

Our English curriculum is fundamentally based around The Literary Curriculum which places rich, high-quality texts at the heart of our curriculum. This is then supplemented by resources from Herts for Learning to ensure that our children cover a wide range of text types to meet the objectives set out in the National Curriculum.

Key features of our English curriculum:

• High quality texts at the heart of our curriculum, based around The Literary Curriculum

• All planning written using a wide range of literature that will engage children to be critical readers whilst becoming confident and informed writers

• All National Curriculum requirements are embedded, making the grammar purposeful and there is always a mixture of shorter and extended writing outcomes where the audience and purpose is clear and exciting for children!

• Phonics is taught through Little Wandle Letters and Sound Revised (see Phonics and Early Reading Curriculum Statement)

• Spelling is taught using discrete taught sessions and Spell Shed

• Handwriting is taught using Letter Join

Impact

By the time our children leave Brookfield Primary School we want them to be confident in using and applying the English language. We want them to be confident, fluent readers who have a love for reading. They should have the skills to write in a range of genres for a purpose and convey meaning appropriately.

Our ultimate aim is that all pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.