For more information about phonics at Park House, please see this page.

English Curriculum Statement

Intent

At Park House Primary, we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and oral discussion. We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately, and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and be able to 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 curriculum. We believe that a secure foundation in English skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our children the tools they need for now and in their futures.

Implementation

At Park House Primary, we want all of our pupils to be capable and confident readers, writers, spellers and speakers. Our English sessions link directly to the topic that is being studied each half term and we aim to ensure that the children. A quality text (either fiction or non-fiction) relating to the topic is used to engage the children and provide an exemplar model to refer back to when children create their own pieces of independent writing. A range of approaches are used within units of writing: film/image/text ‘hooks’, drama activities such as hot-seating and freeze-framing, as well as modelled, shared and guided writing. Children are encouraged to take ownership and responsibility for their writing, through regular editing lessons used in conjunction with peer assessment and discussion and their successes are celebrated through attractive classroom and hall displays. Where possible, grammar lessons are linked with the unit of writing being taught, so that children make connections between features of text types (e.g. modal verbs in persuasive writing) and become more confident in how they can transfer these skills across to their writing.

We understand and appreciate the value of a broad vocabulary and are using strategies from Project Read in order to explicitly teach new words and equip children with strategies to help them succeed in all areas of the English curriculum. Phonics is taught on a daily basis throughout Early Years and Key Stage One and staff in these classes deliver Phonics using the DfE accredited "Twinkl Phonics" scheme.  This is supported by the use of "Rhino Readers" phonic reading books, which match the scheme.

We use a wide variety of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children to read. Guided reading sessions in Key Stage One use a carousel structure and whole class reading is used across Key Stage Two. We understand the importance of children hearing stories read to them, no matter what their age, and time is allotted every day to ensure this.

Impact

Children will make at least ‘Good’ progress in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening from their last point of statutory assessment or from their starting point in Nursery.

Children will use and transfer their English knowledge skills in all curriculum areas. This will show consolidation of skills and a deeper understanding of how and when to use specific grammar and punctuation objectives. We hope that as children move on from Park House Primary to further their education and learning, that their creativity and passion for English travel with them and continue to grow and develop as they do.