English

English is an integrated and fundamental component of the whole Primary Curriculum. A good literacy education is pivotal for all learning in every curriculum area. We need communication skills to equip us for everyday life. Good communication skills are required for the most basic routines to enable us to survive and function in a civilised community.

Good language skills are also required for:

• The expression of one’s own feelings, emotions and spirituality, the understanding of other’s feelings, emotions and spirituality, the resolving of misunderstandings and conflicts.
• Ascertaining information to make sense of the environment and infrastructure.
• The acquisition and sharing of knowledge and skills for personal interest and pleasure.
• The acquisition and sharing of knowledge, data and skills to improve the lifestyle of humankind through scientific, medical and technological development.
• The expression of creativity through writing, poetry, singing, composing music etc…
• The majority of occupations in the work place.

At St John’s CEP School we are concerned with the development of the whole child. A child who can communicate effectively has every reason to be confident and have a healthy self-esteem.

We aim to encourage all pupils to:

• Listen attentively, paying attention to detail, to process the information and retain aurally as much detail as possible.
• Speak confidently with intonation, clear diction, accurate grammar and style with regard for their listener / audience.
• Develop the necessary decoding skills in order to read fluently with appropriate expression and intonation.
• Develop retrieval, deduction and inference skills to understand and respond to a wide range of texts in order to carry out research and be able to critically evaluate and analyse.
• Develop cognitive skills, imagination, and personal expression through writing composition using clear, concise language with accurate punctuation and grammar, in a style appropriate for the purposes.
• Make progress along the continuum to becoming an accurate speller, using a neat, legible, cursive handwriting style.
• Make fair critical responses about their own language use and writing composition, that of their peers, and that of popular authors and poets.
• Develop collaborative talk and learning through opportunities to work in groups and in pairs.

The above aims are consistent with our School's philosophy and values, taking account of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study.

Spoken Language

Spoken language has a significant role in the National Curriculum and is taught from EYFS through to KS2. Teaching strategies involve ‘Talk for Writing’, daily discussion and debate throughout the curriculum, performance and recitation, role-play and drama.

Reading

The aims of the teaching of reading at St John’s CEP School are to develop a love of reading. Therefore, classes have well equipped book corners with age appropriate texts as well as an extensive library enjoyed by the whole school. In addition, quality texts have been matched to curriculum topics to enrich the children’s learning experiences.

The discrete teaching of reading is taught in the following phases:

EYFS/ KS1

• Systematic daily teaching of phonics following the DfES recommended programme ‘Letters and Sounds’ with supporting materials of 'Jolly Phonics' and 'Phonics Play'.
• Shared reading/ listening to stories.
• Guided reading.
• Reading at home.

KS2

• Phonics support and intervention.
• Shared reading and discussion of texts.
• Listening to stories.
• Guided reading & book groups.
• Reading comprehension skills.
• Independent reading and research.
• Reading at home.

Writing

The aims of the teaching of writing at St John’s CEP School are to enable children to effectively communicate for a variety of purposes through written language. Through a ‘Talk for Writing’ approach children will create a love of language through poetry, games and storytelling; develop critical thinking skills; generate and select ideas for writing and be able to structure both story-writing and non-fiction. Story-telling and oral rehearsal of text helps to embed language patterns and enables children to write confidently.

The teaching of writing is delivered through the following strategies across the school:

• Whole school cursive handwriting approach.
• Use of phonics to support spelling in EYFS/Y1.
• Teaching and learning of spelling from Y2 to Y6 using the 'No Nonsense Spelling' programme.
• Teaching and learning of grammar and punctuation skills from Y1 to Y6 using the 'No Nonsense Grammar' programme.
• Shared Writing – teacher-modelling / sharing ideas / peer evaluation / proof reading and redrafting
• Guided Writing / supported group writing
• Writing across the curriculum
• Independent Writing / extended writing opportunities
• Developing word processing skills in conjunction with the computing curriculum.
• Target setting for writing from Y1 to Y6.

Handwriting

You can use these resources to support your child in using the cursive letter formation we teach in school.

Please note that the formation of the letter x is correct in the document titled 'Cursive letters A4'; it is not correct in the other handwriting worksheets and posters.

Purpose and Audience Curriculum Map