Rationale

Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow... Lawrence Clark Powell

At Holy Trinity School, we believe that English and communication are key life skills. Through the English curriculum, we will help children develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate effectively through both spoken and written language to become lifelong learners.

English has an essential role across the curriculum and helps pupils’ learning to be coherent and progressive.  We want children to enjoy, appreciate and immerse themselves in literature and its rich variety of vocabulary. Children are enabled to express themselves creatively and imaginatively, as they become enthusiastic and critical readers of stories, poetry and drama, as well as non-fiction and media texts.

English is at the heart of all children’s learning. English at Holy Trinity is taught through dynamic topics and ideas inspired by Cornerstones, ensuring English is delivered, where possible, as cross curricular.  The topics are engaging and challenging for both boys and girls and ensures a range of genres are covered whilst embedding grammar and spellings.

Intent

Our curriculum aims to produce aspirational, confident, well-rounded individuals who are effective communicators and who show tolerance, acceptance and respect for other’s beliefs and values. It instils the requisite knowledge, skills and cultural capital, in our pupils, so they can question and engage with the world; to express their personal opinions and to achieve their potential in the next stage of their education. While the curriculum at Holy Trinity CofE Primary School adheres to the principles and aims of the National Curriculum, the content of it is broader than this, which enables us to excite and motivate our children by making greater use of technology and allowing them to perform their work.

Implementation

Planning is done in year groups using the Cornerstones ILP to inform the series of lessons. Staff have planned in some additional high quality texts to enrich the English curriculum. KS1 and KS2 use writing checklists to assess children’s learning.  This is then moderated internally and externally with other TAMAT schools. Extended writing is deep marked with appropriate feedback given, ensuring opportunities for pupils to reflect.

In EYFS and KS1 the children have daily phonics input following the programme; Letters and Sounds. In EYFS the children have three to four discrete English carpet sessions and an adult guided group session per week. The rest of the school have four to five discrete English lessons per week with additional guided reading sessions. Guided reading is taught in a variety of ways including whole class guided reading sessions, or individual group guided reading once a week usually within a carousel of handwriting, phonics or reading activities. Children at Holy Trinity have weekly spelling lists and patterns to learn, KS1 have their weekly phonic sounds and KS2 are following the Twinkl spelling scheme.

Reading

Reading is a vital skill that will support children’s learning across the whole curriculum. As a school, we will ensure that our children are taught to read with fluency, accuracy and understanding through a variety of discreet and cross-curricular learning opportunities. Above all, we want children in our school to become enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers. Essentially, we want children to enjoy reading and become life -long readers. Please refer to our recommended reading section for a guide of suitable books for each year group.

Handwriting