Successful learners, success for life English and Literacy Policy Mission statement At St Andrew s First School we believe that all children are entitled to quality education. We aim to set standards of excellence in the quality of teaching and learning experiences that we offer to our children. The children will always be at the heart of the educational process and we celebrate success in all areas of achievement. Children will be encouraged to develop enquiring minds, initiative, confidence in themselves and respect for each other laying down a Christian foundation and preparing them for life in a multi-cultural society. Aims At St Andrew s First School we aim to develop pupils abilities within an integrated programme of speaking and listening, reading and writing through quality first wave teaching. Pupils are given opportunities to interrelate the requirements of English within an embedded curriculum as well as consolidate and reinforce taught English skills. At St Andrew s we strive for each child to be a Primary Literate Pupil. By the age of ten we aim for a child to be able to: Read and write with confidence, fluency and understanding, orchestrating a range of independent strategies to self monitor and correct Have an interest in books and read for enjoyment Have an interest in words, their meanings; developing a growing vocabulary in spoken and written forms Understand a range of text types and genres; be able to write in a variety of styles and forms appropriate to the situation Be developing the powers of imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness Have a suitable technical vocabulary to articulate their responses Statutory requirements Statutory requirements for the teaching and learning of English are laid out in the National Curriculum English document (2014) and in the Communication & Language and Literacy section of the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (2014).
Foundation Stage (Reception) children should be given opportunities to: Speak and listen and represent their ideas in activities Use communication, language and English in every part of the curriculum Become immersed in an environment rich in print and possibilities for communication Key Stage One (Years 1&2) children should: Learn to speak confidently and listen to what others have to say They should begin to read and write independently, with enthusiasm They should use language to explore their own experiences and imaginary worlds Key Stage Two (Years 3-5) children should: Learn to change the way they speak and write to suit different situations, purposes and audiences Read a range of texts and respond to different layers of meanings in them Explore the use of language in literary and non literary texts and learn how the structure of language works The Governing Body Regular reports are made to the governors on the progress of English provision and to our English Governor, Lisa Bennett. This policy will be reviewed every three years or in the light of changes to legal requirements. Subject Organisation The English Curriculum is delivered using the National Curriculum. The Early Learning goals are followed to ensure continuity and progression from the Foundation Stage through to National Curriculum. Pupil provision is related to attainment, with a view to age related expectations. In Years 1 to 5, English lessons are planned for and delivered 5 days a week. In Reception, daily English occurs but not always as a discrete lesson. Lessons are delivered in mixed ability classes. Groups are generally organised by ability. Long term English planning is used to plan medium term plans. Teachers may complete medium term planning in a way they find manageable and allows them to plan and deliver affective teaching. A three phase model or sequential grid are examples that can be used (See Appendix 1). Approaches to 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. In all classes in Key stage 1 and 2 children have a talk partner. Paired and group activities are planned when appropriate. Children have further opportunities for Speaking and Listening during class led assemblies, worship and exhibitions of work.
Children are taught how to use higher level language through SPaG activities. Children must also be given opportunities to demonstrate they can read their work aloud in a clear voice with KS2 focusing on correct volume, intonation and expression. Approaches to Reading Shared reading: There is provision for shared reading during English lessons and across other subjects. Guided reading: All children are grouped into ability groups within classes and are taught by the teacher, in their group, at least once weekly. All teachers follow a matrix of reading activities, which includes comprehension. All activities must focus on the development and/or application of reading. Guided reading is taught every day. Each class has a Guided Reading folder which contains records which are linked to Classroom Monitor Assessment. A range of book banded and levelled book schemes are used in school. Independent reading: Children have free choice reading as one of their planned matrix activities. All classes have a class library, with a range of free choice books. Phonics: Phonics is taught through the Letters and Sounds programme in Reception to year 2 and where appropriate in years 3 to 5. Phonics and spelling rules are taught in KS2 by following statutory spelling patterns within the National Curriculum. Resources: All guided reading and home reader books are colour book banded. Home Reading: All children are provided with a reading diary, book bag and book banded reading book. They follow the Oxford Reading Tree scheme of books, progressing through the stages. A child will only move level when assessed to be competent by the class teacher or class TA. A reward scheme operates for home reading and parent responses. Class Reader: All teachers timetable class story time. Teachers model reading a range of books to their class. 1:1 Reading: We aim that all children be listened to reading, once a week, by an adult. Younger, less able or disadvantaged children are prioritised. 1:1 reading is carried out by volunteer helpers. Library: Each class is expected to timetable library sessions as and when they require it. During this session library skills and information English will be taught. Approaches to Writing (An additional document which gives specific subject guidance is called Approaches to Writing and is on the school share area.) Spellings: Letters and Sounds, as an integrated reading, writing, spelling and speaking and listening programme, is used to teach spellings in EYFS Year 1 and finished in early part of Year 2. Within Year 2 and KS2 teachers follow, and adapt for their class needs, No Nonsense Spellings. Years 1-5 have weekly spelling tests. Common key words are tested three times a year in KS1 and afl informs teaching. End of Key Stage expectations are as follows:
Reception: By end of phase 3- spell phase 2 and 3 decodable words and phase 2 tricky words, 44 words. By end of phase 4- spell phase 2 and 3 decodable words and phase 2 and 3 tricky words, 56 words. Year 1: By end of phase 5- spell 91 words which includes all 100 keywords excluding phase 5 tricky words. Key Stage 1: Write and spell the first 100 key words Key Stage 2: Write and spell age specific word list Emergent Writing: EYFS children have daily opportunities to access a range of media to facilitate emergent writing. This includes use of the outside area. Within the classroom environment, there is an area specifically provided for emergent writing. Shared Writing: Shared and modelled writing is used in English lessons and across curriculum subjects. Guided/ Independent writing: Teachers make provision for all children to be involved in guided writing, within their English groups and across other subjects. Children have opportunities for independent writing within English sessions. At the end of each unit of work, pupils will write independently on an extended piece of writing a Hot Task. This will serve as evidence for progress in writing when comparing a Cold Task and Hot Task. Handwriting: A manuscript style of handwriting is taught and modelled in reception and year 1 with an emphasis placed on correct letter formation. A cursive style of handwriting is introduced in year 2 and taught and modelled throughout Key Stage two. There is a full handwriting policy on the school share area of the school network. Talk for writing: A talk for writing approach is used within English following a simple process of the three I s. Imitation, Innovation and Invention. Through this process children will be exposed to high quality modelled writing to improve their vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure. They will also be allowed to orally rehearse their work, text map and use drama activities to submerse themselves within a text which will cater for different learners. Cross Curricular English Opportunities Teachers will seek to take advantage of opportunities for cross curricular links. They plan for pupils to practice and apply the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired through English lessons to other areas of the curriculum. Our curriculum policy gives additional information about this. Opportunities for extended learning are planned for by teachers when appropriate; i.e drama workshops, theatre visits. Use of ICT Opportunities to use ICT to support learning and teaching in English are planned for and used as appropriate. Multimedia texts, such as: short films, DVD s and other software are used regularly as part of an approach to visual English.
Assessment and Target Setting Work is assessed in line with the assessment policy. In addition to this: teacher assessment is used for reading and writing using Classroom monitor, this shows children s next steps in their learning which is then used to inform planning. For reading, every term a Rising Star reading assessment will be carried out as well as an online SPaG test. Targets for reading and writing, directly linked with Classroom Monitor assessment are set and marked off three times (once at the point of teaching and twice at the distance of the point of teaching) over the year Key Stage One and Two. Targets should correlate to the children s year group, however for SEN children previous Year group targets can be given. Teachers identify when children have met a target and this is clearly signposted to the children on the target sheet. Groups of under achieving pupils are identified through half termly pupil progress meetings and these pupils form focus groups and receive additional provision from class teachers which is monitored in the Pink Folder. Children from reception to year 2 are assessed on their ability to spell common key words. This is used as formative and summative assessment. In Key stage 2 children are tested on their ability to spell year specific word lists. Attainment at the end of Key Stage One is used to set targets for attainment each subsequent year and at the end of year 5. Inclusion Children with SEN and/ or learning difficulties or disabilities Where possible, through the use of appropriate support and differentiation, children with SEN will be working towards the same learning objectives as their peers. Occasionally, those working well below the level of the whole class may be working towards related objectives chosen from the relevant progression strand from an earlier year. Those children with special needs may have specific targets relating to English on their IMP, where appropriate. They may be given additional support or extra teaching in small groups to help them achieve these targets. Children who are more able in English Children who are working well above the overall level of the class will be given a range of experiences designed to broaden or deepen their learning while working on the same learning objectives as their peers. This may be done by providing more demanding questions or higher level expectations and targets. Children with EAL We recognise that EAL children have a wealth of experience and ability with language. However, children learning English as an additional language may need support in developing some concepts in inference and deduction as well as support with grammatical structuring of sentences. Care is taken to ensure pupils are grouped
appropriately, given support and differentiated work, so that they experience the same cognitive challenge as their peers. Intervention Programmes TAs support children s learning and plan and deliver interventions. TAs and teachers liaise with the SENCo in identifying underachieving children needing interventions and these are timetabled daily or weekly as appropriate see Pink Folder guidance. Equal Opportunities All children are provided with equal access to the English curriculum. We aim to provide suitable learning opportunities regardless of gender, ethnicity or home background. Role of Subject Leader The subject leader is responsible for improving the standards of teaching and learning in English through: Monitoring and evaluating English:- Pupil progress Provision of English Quality of the learning environment Taking the lead in policy development Auditing and supporting colleagues in their CPD Purchasing and organising resources Keeping up to date with new developments in English Target setting Parental Involvement Parents are asked to support their child through home reading, learning key words and homework set by class teachers. Parents are regularly invited into school to work alongside their children. New reception parents are invited to a meeting where they are informed about how they can support their child at home. Parents are invited to termly parents evenings. Conclusion This policy is in line with other school policies and should be read in conjunction with the following school policies: Teaching and Learning Policy Assessment Policy Marking, feedback and Presentation policy SEN policy ICT policy Equal opportunities Policy Health and safety policy Curriculum Policy
Appendix 1 Guided reading Note key language writers use for different purposes e.g tension, build up, problem, suspense. Poem of the week looking over quality language and how it can be used for affect. Evaluate texts and recommend them to peers. Role Play and Drama Hot seating characters from How to Train your Dragon. Acting out scenes in the story and creating their own ending. Word & Language Games Creating silly sentences and evaluate them against them capipos and try to improve them. Story Telling Discuss and create short stories verbally about a child in Anglo Saxon times. Story Making (innovate) After reading and analysing text and writing a story very similar to how to train your dragon. We will look at underlying patterns and try to stray away and be more creative. Writer Talk Daily feedback and evaluation, how could we improve, yesterday someone wrote this how could we make it even better, generate ideas and evaluate them for quality. Focused marked work. Year 5 Autumn Term 1 Narrative Raiders! (Anglo Saxons) Speaking Sustain conversation, explain and give reasons for their views or choices. Listening and responding Follow up others' points and show whether they agree or disagree in whole-class discussion. Challenging and evaluating each other s ideas. Drama Use some drama strategies to explore stories or issues. Act out what they would do and CAPTURING Understanding and interpreting texts Explore how different texts appeal to readers using varied sentence structures and descriptive language. Engaging and responding to texts Share and compare reasons for reading preferences, extending range of books read. Identify features that writers use to provoke readers reactions. TEACHER DEMONSTRATION Creating and shaping texts Select and use a range of technical and descriptive vocabulary. Sentence structure and punctuation Compose sentences using modal verbs or adverbs to indicate degrees of possibility and using semi-colons, colons or dashes to mark boundaries between independent clauses Presentation Write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed. Discrete handwriting lessons and handwriting intervention for those who struggle. LEARNING OUTCOMES (differentiated) Less Able children will be able to write a short story with a beginning middle and end about a child in Anglo Saxon times closely hugging the studied texts. More Able children will be able to write a story with a clearly defined climax and solution, using original ideas of their own. Big Picture Topic on Anglo Saxons, using How to train your dragon as main text, story of Viking boy s hunt against dragons. We will do a short story. Builds on: Story work in the first 2 weeks. Cross-curricular links Topic work on the History of the Anglo Saxons. Looking at defence and attack of their settlements. PSHE how they would have felt living in that time and comparing it to our world. GGR: look at features of writing in reading books, noting key features and rich language. Incidental Writing Mini writing lessons to teach particular skills while introducing children to the island of capipos. Shared and guided writing scaffolded to provide features of the story mountain while sharing good examples of writing. Also doing extended writing of the story of a child in the Anglo Saxon time. Word Level/Sentence work Recognising vocabulary and structures appropriate for formal speech and writing, including subjunctive forms. Assess the effectiveness of their own and each other s writing noting areas to improve. Assessment opportunities Final piece of extended writing Hot Task