Sail to success. English Policy. Date Written Date for Review Author

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1 Sail to success English Policy Governor Sub Committee Teaching and Learning Date Written Date for Review Author September 2015 September 2018 Dean Robertson St Paul s C of E Junior School, Princes Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT2 6AZ admin@plj.rbksch.org Head Teacher: Kevin Edmonds Deputy Head Teacher: Nicola Luker Chair of Governors: Daphne Gibbs

2 Mission Statement At St Paul s Church of England Junior School, we are educated for life with the love of God and Christian values at the heart of our school. Our mission is to: enable all children in this school to develop and reach their full potential by laying firm foundations for a lifetime of learning; promote mutual care and consideration amongst all our members with the Christian faith evident in every aspect of the school s life; maintain strong links between school, home, church and the wider community; manage our human, physical and financial resources with maximum effectiveness to provide a stimulating, safe and welcoming environment. Guidance Our English Policy has been written with due regard to the following guidance: Promoting fundamental British values Department for Education November 2014 The Prevent duty Department for Education June 2015

3 RATIONALE At St Paul s Junior School, we accept the fundamental principle that a good understanding of English is the key to improving learning and raising standards. English underpins the school curriculum by developing pupils ability to speak, listen, read and write for a range of purposes, using language to learn and communicate, to think, explore and organise. Helping pupils to express themselves clearly, orally and in writing, enhances and enriches teaching and learning in all subjects. We aim to develop our pupils ability to express themselves clearly both orally and in writing so they become confident and articulate communicators. AIMS OF THE POLICY To raise pupils own expectations of achievement and develop their confidence and selfexpression. To enable all pupils to reach their potential in the key English skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. To promote knowledge and understanding of the pupil s standards of achievement and assessment in speaking and listening, writing and reading and to identify of any areas of strength and weakness. To adopt a whole school approach to English across the curriculum in keeping with the principles and practices established in the National Curriculum and Assessment for Learning. To raise staff awareness of key strategies through INSET and the dissemination of outstanding classroom practice. To encourage staff to take responsibility for the development of English in their subject areas through the inclusion of appropriate schemes of work and lesson planning. To support the development of English using a range of resources in the school, including ICT To identify specific roles and responsibilities within the school with regard to the development of English. AIMS OF SPEAKING AND LISTENING: We aim to develop our pupils confidence and competence in speaking and listening so they are able to: clarify and express their ideas and explain their thinking; adapt their speech to a widening range of circumstances including paired and small group discussions and speaking to a larger audience; used varied and specialised vocabulary; speak for a range of purposes e.g., to narrate, to analyse, to explain, to reflect and evaluate. listen with understanding and respond sensitively and appropriately; AIMS OF READING We aim to develop the reading skills of all our pupils so that they are able to : Read fluently, accurately and with understanding. Become independent and critical readers and make informed and appropriate choices. Select information from a wide range of sources and texts including print, media and ICT and to evaluate those sources. Apply techniques such as skimming, scanning and text marking effectively.

4 AIMS OF WRITING We aim to develop our pupils confidence, competence in writing so they are able to: write in a widening variety of forms for different purposes, e.g. to interpret, evaluate, explain, analyse and explore; to develop pupils ability to use organise and structure sentences grammatically and whole texts coherently; to present their writing clearly using accurate punctuation, correct spelling and legible writing. STRATEGIES: SPEAKING AND LISTENING: TO DEVELOP POWERFUL COMMUNICATORS Across the curriculum, teachers will provide activities for pupils to: listen and carry out instructions; explore and develop ideas with others, through talk; ask questions as well as answer them; work collaboratively with others. READING: TO DEVELOP CONFIDENT AND FLUENT READERS Across the curriculum teachers will provide activities for pupils to: engage pupils in wider reading and reading for enjoyment; support struggling readers; read and follow written instructions; read to explore and develop understanding; learn how to extract information from a text and take notes. Teachers will provide reading material of high quality and high interest, including classic texts, relevant and appropriate for the age and ability of the pupils. WRITING: TO DEVELOP PUPILS WRITING SKILLS Across the curriculum teachers will provide activities for pupils to: support struggling writers and challenge more able writers; plan purposeful writing opportunities to develop pupil skills; use writing to plan and organise; plan, draft, discuss and reflect on their writing using ICT where appropriate; write for a range of purposes and audiences including writing to explain, describe, recount, persuade and instruct; make notes in a variety of formats, e.g. thoughtshowers. Teachers will set writing tasks that are objective driven and which are appropriate and differentiated for the ages and ability of the pupils concerned. Teachers will teach pupils how to structure their writing using a variety of sentence structures, paragraphs and punctuation. Where pupils are expected to write in a particular genre, e.g. a newspaper report, teachers will ensure that pupils are familiar with the appropriate style and conventions.

5 We will provide good models for particular kinds of writing: provide frameworks where appropriate; provide dictionaries and teach pupils how to use them; display Key Words and other useful prompts in classrooms; teach subject specific vocabulary and spelling; teach punctuation and grammar; encourage high standards of presentation. What and how do we share information about English with parents and governors? St Paul s website is the primary tool to share about English teaching and learning. Occasionally, Parentmail will be used to parents with important news and messages about English. In accordance with the Whole School Development Plan (WSDP), the English leader will share developments in the curriculum area. Example of aspects which are posted on the website: PDF document containing photos and information from the previous academic year Competitions Local and national English events Current photographs from year group to show English in action Quotations from children Ideas of English-related activities which children can do at home Links to websites