Hilton Primacy School English Policy

2016 Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon Hilton Primacy School English Policy

Hilton Primary School English Policy At Hilton Primary School we believe that English is an essential life skill that allows us to participate fully as a member of society. Providing pupils with a well-balanced, enriching and engaging literacy curriculum will ensure our children become confident speakers, listeners, readers and writers, preparing them for KS3 and beyond. 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. 1 Aims At Hilton we aim to instil a love of literature in all of our children. We promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping children with a strong command of both written and spoken English and develop enjoyment in books through widespread reading. We aim to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum and ensure our children: Read easily, fluently and with good understanding Develop a 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 English 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. Subject Organisation Teaching of English will follow the English Programme of Study (September 2013) using units from The Literacy Framework as a basis for medium term planning. A minimum of 50% of these units will be text based to allow children to encounter a wide-range of different authors and text types during their time at Hilton. Texts are selected by year groups in conjunction with the Head of English. In our Early Foundation Stage our children will have a daily phonics game or song to develop quality listening skills and in Later Foundation Stage our children will take part in daily discrete phonics session for twenty minutes. They will also take part in one formal writing session per week either in a small group of 1:1 where they will be encouraged to apply their phonics skills. Carefully planned continuous provision throughout the foundation stage offers the children opportunities to use their literacy skills across the curriculum in a variety of 1 English Programmes of Study Key Stage 1 and 2 September 2013 Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 1

ways, in addition to this there is always a dedicated writing and literacy table in each classroom and free-flow area and outside which allows children to mark make and write. The children have the opportunity to practise fine and gross motor skills throughout the day as well as taking part in formal handwriting practise once every week. Every classroom has a well-stocked book area and all children visit the school library once a week and take home an extra book to share with parents. Reading stories and storytelling is a regular part of the curriculum. In KS1 all children will take part in five one hour English lessons a week. In Year 1 children will have five 20 minute discrete phonics session; in Year 2 the children will take part in phonics sessions if they have not passed their screening check and will start spelling sessions once they are secure in phase 6. English lessons will incorporate all aspects of the English curriculum including handwriting. English skills are consolidated across the curriculum and teachers always expect high standards of reading, writing, handwriting and spelling. Children are taught in mixed ability classes where work is differentiated to both support and challenge all children. Children who require additional support will receive intervention programmes that are closely monitored and tracked to ensure progress. In KS2 all children will take part in five one hour English lessons a week and one guided reading session. Y2-Y6 children will also take part in 15 minutes of spelling every day. English lessons will incorporate all aspects of the English curriculum including handwriting. English skills are consolidated across the curriculum and teachers always expect high standards of reading, writing, handwriting and spelling. Children are taught in mixed ability classes where work is differentiated to both support and challenge all children. Children who require additional support will receive intervention programmes that are closely monitored and tracked to ensure progress. (Code X in Year 3 and 4 and tailored interventions in Y5 and 6.) Special Educational Needs Children with Special Education Needs are taught within the daily English lesson and are encouraged to take part when and where this is appropriate. Children s Provision Maps are taken into account when teachers plan lessons in addition to this, children may follow additional intervention programmes and have extra adult support to ensure progression. Gifted Children Children who are gifted in English (working in the next year group s ARE) should be catered for with suitably challenging learning activities. Additional provision for these children will be detailed in the school s Gifted and Talented policy. Staffing and Resources Children should know where to find dictionaries (including phonics and grammar dictionaries) and thesauruses within their own classroom or atrium and should be encouraged Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 2

to access these independently to edit their work. As well as this, children should be confident in using classroom displays, particularly the working walls, to support their writing. All staff should understand the current AREs, objectives and next steps for the children they are working with. There should be regular discussion between the class teacher and support staff to ensure children are making expected or better progress. Learning Environment Whole School Children s written work should be on display in classrooms and shared areas. Sentence posters relevant to your year group should be displayed and accessible to children. Children should have a way of recommending books to their friends. English working wall to support teaching and learning. Foundation/KS1 Phase sounds relevant to your class should be on display Alphabet in lower and upper case should be on display Tricky words should be displayed ORT characters should be displayed KS2 Synonyms for common words should be displayed Range of connectives should be on display Spelling rules / red words should be on display and changed regularly Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 3

Homework In Foundation Stage and KS1 children are expected to read with an adult for 10 mins every day. All children in KS1 will have sounds from the phase they are currently studying in phonics to practise as well as a list of tricky words. In KS2 children are expected to read every day and to share a book with an adult twice a week. Formal English homework is set which the children will be given a week to complete. Spellings are not set for tests; however the children will bring home their spelling log with words they personally mis-spell to practise. They will also be set a spelling challenge once a half term and will be expected to learn to spell between 50 100 words. External Examinations It is a legal requirement that we deliver the SATs at the end of KS1 and KS2 and the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1. Children who are working well below the level of the test may be disapplied. Phonics Screening Check The test is carried out annually in June. Year 1 children are tested on their decoding and blending ability by reading 40 words (including some non-words). The Government requires children to be secure in Phase 5 phonics by the end of Year 1. Any children who do not pass the test in Year 1 will need to re-take in June of Year 2. KS1 SATs In June of Year 2 all children will take part in SATs tests in Reading and Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling. The children are expected to reach the National Expectation (100). Writing is teacher assessed and moderated within school and within the local cluster. KS2 SATs In May of Year 6 all children take part in SATs tests in Reading and Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling. They are expected to meet the National Expectation (100). Writing is subject to teacher assessment. Teachers will be asked for their formal assessment at the end of May and will form this judgement based on an average of each child s marked piece of writing from February to May. Writing is moderated within school an within the local cluster. Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 4

Role of Subject Leader The English Leader is responsible for improving teaching and learning in English and ensuring all children make progress. To monitor teaching of English by carrying out learning walks and formal lesson observations in conjunction with the Head and Deputies. To monitor the progress of every child and all vulnerable groups of children across the school through data analysis and Pupil Progress Review Meetings. To train and support teachers and teacher assistants to ensure consistent, accurate, engaging delivery of English across school. To lead the development of the English curriculum across school. To monitor the planning of English to ensure progression throughout school and appropriate levels of support and challenge for all children. To monitor the marking of English to ensure children are rewarded for their work and shown how to improve using next steps. To moderate assessment in reading, writing and grammar to ensure accuracy and consistency across school. To work alongside the Learning Support Manage to ensure the effectiveness of all intervention programmes. To remain up to date with developments in the English curriculum, assessment and testing. To manage the English budget and purchase resources to improve teaching and learning. To support parental involvement and home-school learning. Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 5

Reading Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 6

Reading Teaching and Learning Pupils will have regular opportunities to engage in independent and shared reading. In Reception all children will be read to a member of staff twice a week. In KS1 it is expected that all children will read to a member of staff once a week independently and once a week during Guided or Reciprocal Reading. In KS2, children falling behind in reading will be listened to by a member of staff weekly and all children will be heard during English and Guided or Reciprocal Reading sessions. At Hilton most of our English lessons are text based. This ensures our children encounter a wide range of authors, text types and styles of writing. Children have the opportunity to both read aloud and listen to adults modelling good reading. They will take part in oral questioning and written comprehension activities (minimum of fortnightly) to ensure their understanding of each text. In addition to English lessons, all classes choose their own class story which they will listen to at the end of the day. Guided Reading/Reciprocal Reading The aim of Guided Reading is to enable learners to become independent, able readers, who understand and appreciate texts on their own. Each child should take part in twenty minutes of Guided Reading with a member of staff each week. This session will allow staff to listen to a child s decoding and fluency and to assess their comprehension skills in each assessment focus. Staff will use a combination of the Rigby Guided Reading scheme, the text currently being studied in class and other texts linked to their current topics to ensure children are introduced to a range of text and encouraged to read widely. Reading Books Children will be given a reading book in Reception once they have mastered set 1 of their set words. All children will follow the Oxford Reading Tree scheme which incorporates a range of different series until they are ready to move on to book banded real books. Every child in school has the opportunity to visit the library where they can choose their own second book. Once a child can confidently read and comprehend to a high standard their teacher will allow them to take part in Accelerated Reading. Children in KS2 follow the Accelerated Reader Programme.. ach half-term the children take a STAR Test to identify their current ZPD score. From this they choose a reading book of appropriate difficulty. Once they have finished a book, the children take a quiz on it in which they are expected to score at least 85%. The class teacher monitors regularity and accuracy of quizzes. Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 7

We value the input of parents at home in helping their child to learn to read. Research has shown that children who read well achieve better across the whole curriculum, find enjoyment in learning and are happier. At the beginning of each year, parents will receive recommendations for books to share at home and all children will have a reading diary to make a note of when they have read to an adult at home. Every parent has access to their child s Accelerated Reader account where the child s average quiz score, ZPD score and a list of completed books can be read. Assessment Staff will continually assess children s progress against the Age Related Expectations and change their questioning and planning based on each child s needs to ensure both challenge and support. Staff will formally input a reading assessment at the end of each term. Staff should use both the Age Related Expectations and the half-termly Rising Stars Test to make a judgement. Skills should be assessed orally in Guided Reading sessions and in written comprehensions. STAR reading tests will be carried out in KS2 at the beginning of each half term to identify each child s ZPD score. Phonics assessments take place each term in FS and Y1 to identify gaps in learning. Teachers use these checks to inform planning, create focus groups and move children on to the next phase. Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 8

Writing Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 9

Writing Teaching and Learning We aim to develop the children s ability to produce well structured, detailed and interesting writing that is grammatically accurate across a range of genres and intended audiences. Through the use of text-based cross-curricular teaching our lessons are exciting and engaging and provide the children with inspiration and purpose for every piece of writing. Grammar The year group Age Related Expectations for Writing detail what grammatical skills should be taught across the school and when. It is divided into year groups and shows when skills should be taught. Teachers should ensure that children understand and can use the skills in previous year groups as well as those in their own. Staff and children are expected to use the correct terminology. The skills should be taught through guided & modelled writing and consolidated in starters. Sometimes it will be appropriate to teach stand-alone grammar lessons before expecting the children to use these skills in their extended writing. Sentence posters are to be used to support teaching of different sentence structures (appendix D). Word class and tense posters are also available to use in classrooms. Staff will formally input a grammar assessment at the end of each term. Staff should use both the Age Related Expectations and the half-termly Rising Stars Test to make a judgement. Skills should be assessed discretely. Application of grammar is assessed in writing. Handwriting Handwriting is taught daily in KS1; for a total of 45 minutes per week in Years 3 & 4 and where appropriate in Years 5 & 6. The school follows the Cambridge Pen Pals scheme. When a child reaches Year 4, if their handwriting is joined and neat, their teacher will allow them to apply for a pen licence. Pen licences are awarded by the English Leader to children who consistently (across all subjects) use neat, joined handwriting. Spelling In Foundation Stage and KS1 children are taught phonics using Letters and Sounds. In Y2-6 children who have passed the Phonics Screening Check, follow the Read Write Inc spelling scheme. Children will spend 15 minutes a day working from the scheme. Teachers should supplement the scheme where necessary including ensuring all children can spell the National Curriculum set words. Spelling tests are not a part of the scheme: children take part in the spelling challenge half-termly (including rules covered and common mistakes in writing books). Children who have not passed the Phonics Screening Check by the end of Year 2 will follow a phonics intervention and not take part in the spelling scheme until they are ready. Marking Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 10

Staff are expected to assess children s extended writing a minimum of once a fortnight. Feedback should be given based on the children s step grids using the format below to ensure children are rewarded for including new skills and have a next step to help them make progress. Children should then act on their next step in their current piece of work and address it in the following piece as well. Spellings the children should know are corrected in their work. Teachers will identify and appropriate number of mis-spelt words which the children must correct themselves or copy out the teacher s corrections. Assessment Staff will continually assess children s progress against the Age Related Expectations and change their questioning and planning based on each child s needs to ensure both challenge and support. Staff will formally level each child s writing a minimum of fortnightly using the Age Related Expectations. In KS2 this will be recorded on a child s work; in KS1 each assessment will be kept on file. At the end of each term, teachers will take an average for the term s work and input it onto the tracking system. Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 11

Speaking and Listening Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 12

Speaking and Listening Teaching and Learning The quality and variety of spoken language that pupils hear is vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding of reading and writing: it underpins everything. Discrete speaking and listening skills: drama, poetry recital, presentation, performance and debate, will be taught throughout the curriculum, however, speaking and listening is developed throughout all lessons and opportunities to do so will be planned into all lessons. Assessment Staff will continually assess children s progress against each assessment focus and change their questioning and planning based on each child s needs to ensure both challenge and support. Year 6 staff will formally assess children in June. Hilton Primary School English Policy Julia Coxon April 2016 Page 13