English permeates every aspect of Lower School life whether solving mathematical word problems, recording scientific investigations or role playing life in a Victorian School, excellence in English is essential to success.
Our Aims
Through the teaching of English, we aim to:
- develop our children’s imaginations
- foster a love of language and literature
- equip our young people to become independent thinkers and good communicators
The journey starts with learning to become a confident speaker, reader and writer and ends with the ability to use reading to learn and language to express ideas in speech and writing.
Curriculum
English is delivered as a spiral curriculum, allowing skills to be developed as children move through the school. Our young people are encouraged to plan and evaluate their work so they have a clear idea of their achievements and how they need to progress.
Schemes of work are based upon the 2014 National Curriculum, with the foundations laid for 11+ and Common Entrance preparation.
Speaking and Listening
- Participation in school concerts and assemblies
- Year 5 prepare and present a piece of performance poetry/ prose adjudicated by a panel of English specialists
- Hot seating characters, role play and debates
- Year 5 current affairs discussions
Reading
- A levelled reading scheme covering fiction and non-fiction genre to support reading fluency, accuracy and understanding in Years 2 and 3
- Reading comprehension is taught as a specific skill in each year group
- Class readers and weekly timetabled Library slots to share books
Writing
- Children are taught to plan, check, revise and evaluate their work
- Key elements for creative writing are taught through poetry, stories and descriptions
- Applied writing styles covered include: reports, explanations, persuasion, diaries, instructions and letters
- A joined, cursive handwriting script is taught
SPaG
- Patterns, rules and strategies are taught to help children spell groups of words and common exception words
- Accurate sentence structure, grammar rules and punctuation are taught
Enrichment
Beyond the classroom, Lower School children experience the creative diversity of English through:
- Workshops
- Themed days including: World Book Day, National Poetry Day, Roald Dahl Day
- Theatre trips
- Public Speaking Club (Year 5)
- Historical Writing Competition (Year 5)
Lower School English – Lisa Burns
