Bradfield Dungworth Primary School
Small school, Big ambitions
English
The English Curriculum is delivered using the National Curriculum 2014 and the Early learning Goals are followed to ensure continuity and progression from the Foundation Stage through to the National Curriculum.
Focus English - putting Literature at the Heart of the Curriculum
At Bradfield Dungworth we use Focus English and Science to act as our core schemes for teaching English, History, Geography and Science.
Focus English is a literature-based English curriculum from Focus Education.
Its aim is to support teachers and leaders with planning to guarantee there is continuity and progression in the teaching of English and to support pupils in mastering and deepening learning.
The curriculum is based on the use of high-quality texts which provide the driver for the unit. Texts are selected from classic to current authors to ensure that pupils experience a wide and rich reading curriculum to promote a life-long love of reading. Similarly, a range of poetry is fully integrated.
Each unit is broadly 6 weeks with flexibility built in to extend, adapt activities or introduce alternative activities based on rigorous on-going assessment. Outcomes and objectives are clearly identified, and activities planned to ensure that they are based on the age phase.
Attention has been paid to looking at progression within each objective, breaking them down into steps towards achieving the end of year learning.
There is a sharp focus on reading and the units offer questions and activities which may be used in whole class or guided reading lessons. The beginning of each unit concentrates on understanding, responding to and deepening understanding of the text. This focus continues with on-going reading activities matched to the identified reading objectives. Word detective work should be a focus throughout.
Suggested writing opportunities are identified throughout which includes working with vocabulary and sentences as well as responding to the text so that children have many opportunities to practise and consolidate writing skills.
Grammar work is clearly identified with all grammar being taught purposefully, in context so that it can be used in the identified outcomes.
Focus English provides clarity and direction for all teachers and releases them to focus on preparation and assessment.
How It Works
Overview of the learning journey towards each end of year objective: For each year group, every objective - reading, writing and grammar - is broken down into steps which indicate the knowledge and understanding required to master the end of year learning. These ensure that learning is pitched appropriately, and that progress is evident from unit to unit of work
Unit overviews: Six-week units, one for each half-term:
- High quality text identified which links to science/geography/history topic
- End of unit written outcomes identified - one narrative and one non-narrative and poetry as applicable
- Opportunities for application of prior learning identified
- Objectives identified for the unit with progression evident from term to term so that there is a clear process in which children acquire, practise and apply and deepen learning.
SPEAKING AND LISTENING
The Four Strands of Speaking and Listening: Speaking; Listening; Group Discussion and Interaction and Drama permeate the whole curriculum. Interactive teaching strategies are used to engage all pupils in order to raise reading and writing standards. Children are encouraged to develop effective communication skills in readiness for later life.
READING
We use the Read, Write Inc. (RWI) programme to teach phonics in EYFS and KS1. This is a systematic teaching of synthetic phonics and is a highly successful way of developing children’s reading, spelling and language.
The five key principles that underpin all the teaching in all Read Write Inc. Programmes are:
- Participation – our teaching strategies ensure that all children participate fully in the whole lesson – there is no chance for children to lose concentration and miss key elements of the teaching
- Praise – children work together, as partners, taking turns to teach and praise one another and they are motivated by the focused praise they receive from teachers and teaching assistants
- Pace – a lively pace keeps all the children fully engaged
- Purpose – teachers know the purpose of every activity and how it leads into the next
- Passion – it is easy for teachers to be passionate about their teaching because they see their children make such rapid progress.
In Foundation Stage and at KS1 the children reinforce their reading at home by taking books from the RWI Programme and from books grouped together according to their difficulty level. Children are regularly assessed and will change groups or receive an intervention as a result of these assessments.
The opportunities for the teaching of reading are as follows
- Shared reading
- Whole class author or novel study
- Guided reading for targeted groups
- Individual practise
Teachers read class novels and model reading for pleasure. It is important that children enjoy reading and also have the opportunity to experience books from classic and modern classic authors such as Michael Morpurgo, Roald Dahl and Joan Aiken among others. Reading events raise the profile of reading including our 'Extreme Reading' competition and our Book Advent Calender
A range of intervention programmes are used to ensure that all children’s needs are catered for:
- RWInc 1 to 1 tutorials
- Paired reading for comprehension
- Buddy reading with older pupils
- Fisher Family Trust wave 3 Literacy Intervention
- IDL Literacy programme for pupils with dyslexia
• Resources – A book banded reading scheme operates across the school which comprises of a range of different schemes. Children work their way through the Key Stage One and Two schemes and then become free readers.
• Links to parents – Each child has a reading record book which logs books they have read and comments about their reading. Parents and teaching staff write in this book.
• Reading at home: Children are encouraged to read at home every day. This is monitored and children are rewarded with certificates and prizes
WRITING
Opportunities, organisation and provision for the teaching and learning of writing are as follows:
• Spelling: Pupils are taught spelling using the RWInc Spelling scheme which is a programme for Years 2/3 to 6. Using a proven approach underpinned by phonics, fast–paced lessons and an online subscription, Read Write Inc. Spelling prepares children for the higher demands of the statutory spelling assessments in England. Children from Years 1 to 6 are given lists of spellings each week to learn at home. Children are tested on these words weekly. The school holds an annual Spelling Bee
• Emergent writing: In Reception, children are given regular opportunities to write freely within a particular genre and across the curriculum. This gives them the opportunity to become emergent writers.
• Shared Writing: Within each teaching sequence pupils have the opportunity to immerse themselves within a topic, read examples of high quality writing in a particular genre (WAGOLL - what a good one looks like), learn specific grammar and vocabulary they can use and participate in shared writing sessions.
• Guided Writing/Independent Writing: Each teaching sequence ends with an opportunity for guided and independent writing. There are also frequent opportunities for independent writing throughout the other curriculum areas.
• Extended writing: Throughout the term, there are opportunities for extended writing. On a termly basis samples of these extended writing outcomes are used for assessment purposes.
• Handwriting: The school has adopted the Sheffield cursive handwriting script and this is taught and reinforced regularly in Key Stage 1. As children move through the school opportunities to practice handwriting continue and when the class teacher feels a child is able to join fluently they are encouraged to write in pen.
Work is marked and assessed in line with the Marking and Assessment policies and three yearly meetings involve teachers moderating the assessment of this work.
The findings of the assessment are used to inform planning to help the teaching and learning process. In line with the New National curriculum requirements and the raised expectations that this document requires teachers also assess termly whether a child is working at/below or above the level expected for their age.
A range of evidenced and proven intervention programmes are used to support pupils with their writing, spelling and handwriting.
- Fisher Family Trust Literacy Intervention Y1
- Quest Writing Y2
- Write dance, Gross motor skills programme, Write from the Start, Speed Up handwriting
- Pirate Writing Crew Y3
- IDL Literacy intervention Y3 - Y6
- Individualised spelling zappers
Resources for Parent / Carers
RWInc Phonics
Watch this video which will give you more information about RWInc phonics
https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
Take a look at this introductory video to help you with the pronunciation of different sounds:
http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/resources/sound-pronunciation-guide/
100 Books to Read before you leave Primary School
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/our-recommendations/100-best-books/
Spelling Games and Websites
Early Reading and Phonics Policy
