English

Our Curriculum Intent Statement

At Eynesbury Church of England Primary School, our curriculum has been designed to ensure each and every child can ‘live life in all its fullness’ by offering stimulating and awe inspiring learning experiences  with Christian values at  its heart. We aim to deliver a curriculum that provides our children with rich knowledge and skills. It gives them the opportunities to develop into well rounded individuals  ready for each stage in their learning journey.

'OUR PUPILS LEAVE EYNESBURY AS RESPECTFUL, GOOD CITIZENS WITH GOOD MEMORIES, A THIRST FOR LEARNING AND LIFE AND ALL IT HAS TO OFFER.'

Intent of our English curriculum

Our curriculum is aligned with the National Curriculum for English 2014 and is designed to develop children’s love of reading, writing, discussion and performance. At Eynesbury Church of England Primary School, we believe that our English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. One of our priorities is helping children read and develop their all-important comprehension skills. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately for purpose and audience, and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening, who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning. We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in English, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in English skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.

ENGLISH:

An ability to communicate effectively is essential if children are to achieve their potential throughout their school and adult life. Therefore, we view the acquisition of language skills to be of the utmost importance and so the teaching of all aspects of English is given a high priority. The literacy curriculum is taught through all subjects, although one hour each day is set aside for specific language skills and concepts to be taught. 

English is a central part of the whole school curriculum and vital to the learning process. Our aim is to enable pupils to develop their ability to understand language and use it with confidence. The National Curriculum divides the study of English into five main areas.

Speaking and Listening

Children are encouraged to develop their auditory and oral skills by listening to others and expressing their opinions; by reflecting upon and describing events, feelings, places and situations (real or imaginary). These skills will be developed through discussions, games, songs, rhymes, poetry, stories, drama and play. There will be opportunities for children to present and share their work with the whole school community.

Reading

We aim to give children a love and respect of books and with your support encourage them to develop the habit of reading. Early readers are encouraged to select books to take home and ‘share’ with members of their family.

We teach children to read from a variety of structured schemes enabling them to develop the ability to read, understand and respond to different types of text. Our aim is for all children to become confident, independent readers.

In addition to well stocked class libraries we have an extensive central school library where a wide selection of books is available to all children for their enjoyment and research.

Our phonics scheme of work is the 'Essential Letters and Sounds' programme.

We have a wide selection of phonically decodable books which are sent home with the children appropriate to their individual phonic knowledge.

Our reading scheme of work is the 'Oxford University Press Decodable Readers' which have been carefully matched to every aspect of the 'Essential Letters and Sounds' programme .

In KS2 our children use Accelerated Reader to support their reading.

Writing, Presentation and Spelling

Children have frequent opportunities to write in different contexts and for a variety of purposes and audiences. Examples of the kinds of writing undertaken include: stories, news, captions, labels, diaries, invitations, letters, poems, records and a range of personal creative writing. We teach the children the structures of writing and encourage them to redraft their own work.

Pupils are taught the skills of handwriting in order for them to develop a fluent legible style. They will also have regular access to computer keyboards for word processing. As they become familiar with the conventions of writing, pupils are introduced to the most common spelling patterns. They are taught to spell words for themselves, to use dictionaries and thesauruses. The importance of correct grammar and punctuation is emphasised in individual discussion, group and class teaching. Attention is paid to the quality and presentation of all written work.

We use The Write Stuff to support our teaching and learning in English.

English News and Information

Please see our Reading, Writing and Phonics pages below for more information on what we're up to!

Well done to our Year 6 English team for making it to the final of the Cambs. English Challenge on 27th March!

Reading Club!

12.30 -12.55pm every Wednesday in the library.

Who will be this week's 'mystery reader'?