English

English curriculum intent statement 

 
Through reading, writing and the spoken language, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature plays a key role in such development. Reading enables pupils to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know; writing and spoken language allow them to communicate confidently and well with a range of audiences. At Kimberley Primary and Nursery School, we value both reading, writing and spoken language as key life skills, and are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers and communicators. We believe literacy is the bedrock of success in education.  
 
To support early literacy, we use a synthetic phonics programme called Monster Phonics, which is an inclusive literacy programme for all children learning to read and spell. The scheme is a multi-sensory, fun and engaging programme, which uses scientific linguistic research to colour-code for sounds. This helps children to understand and recall complex phonics and spellings more easily. The colour coded grapheme system is unique to Monster Phonics; each coloured grapheme is paired with a monster character that makes the same sound to give audio-visual prompts that help children ‘see’ each sound within a word and pronounce it correctly. Monster Phonics is designed as a whole-class scheme for children in Reception and Key Stage 1 and as an intervention in Key Stages 1 and 2. 
 
At Kimberley Primary and Nursery School, we use Talk for Writing and Talk for Reading as a methodology. They are powerful because both are based on the principles of how individuals learn. They are fully inclusive methods of teaching both reading and writing, with progressive movement from imitation/introduction to innovation/investigation to independent application, which can be adapted to suit the needs of learners of any stage. Alongside this, Reading for Pleasure is a key driver at our school and all teachers at Kimberley Primary and Nursery School are responsible for promoting this.  
 
Aims  
 
The aim of our English curriculum is to promote the highest standards of language and literacy by equipping children with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature. 
 
We aim for children to be able to:  

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding  
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language  
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage  
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use talk in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas  
• be competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in performance and debate.  

 
Further to this, we work hard to make sure our English curriculum works alongside the intent of our new curriculum introduced in September 2019. This is especially important when thinking about our three main goals for breadth:

1. To give children appropriate experiences to develop as confident, responsible citizens;

2. To provide a rich ‘cultural capital’ embedding key vocabulary and experiences throughout school;

3. To provide a coherent and structured curriculum that has breadth of knowledge which is pertinent to our pupils and leads to sustained acquisition of relevant knowledge, skills and understanding of the world around them. 
 
We have developed three curriculum drivers that shape our curriculum, bring about the aims and values of our school and respond to the particular needs of our pupils and the community. These are Creativity, Possibilities and Diversity. We make sure these are planned for carefully throughout our different subject areas; in English this including such things as annual visits from authors and poets, special events in school such as bookshops and sponsored reads, Theatre trips, pantomime visits for the whole school and library visits in the community.  
 
Creativity – this encourages pupils to think and work in creative ways, whilst exploring the world around them. As a school, we place a high importance on the arts and the value and enjoyment they bring to life. This is reflected in the curriculum and opportunities we offer.
 
 Possibilities

•  this helps pupils to build aspirations and know available possibilities for their future lives – particularly in the community in which they live. Diversity
•  this encourages children to think and experience the way in which diversity of people, cultures, religions, opinions and places shape our community and lives within modern Britain and support tolerance, understanding and respect for others.