At Ash Green Community Primary school, our English curriculum is carefully planned to ensure progression of skills, as well as a broad and balanced coverage of genres so that children are able to grow up as fluent readers and writers.  Our core aim when teaching English is to engage and inspire children in both reading and writing.

For the new academic year 2024-25, we are implementing some exciting changes to reinvigorate our English curriculum – staff are working hard to ensure the new English curriculum follows a whole school, text-led, thematic approach with a sharp focus on exposing children to rich language, ambitious vocabulary and a broad and balanced range of writing.  A thematic approach will allow pupils to make connections across texts and skills - building deeper critical thinking and combining a range of skills.  Our new Autumn one overview is now underway and has been received positively by our pupils; keep an eye out for termly updates to see how the rest of the English curriculum develops throughout the year!

As the school serves a community where there is a high percentage of disadvantaged pupils, we aim to provide them with experiences that they may not otherwise experience in order to spark their curiosity and interest levels.  We have therefore designed a learning experience to include formal learning opportunities, memorable mornings, visits and visitors.

We follow the structure of ‘An Ash Green lesson’ which aims to provide pupils and staff with a familiar structure and approach.  This includes:

• opportunities to recall prior learning through ‘Throwback Threes’;
• the introduction of new learning objectives at the beginning of every lesson;
• the exploration of new vocabulary, as well as opportunities for Assessment for Learning and consolidation of prior objectives. Additionally, there is an emphasis on
• positive behaviour for learning;
• effective staff deployment;
• an inclusive learning environment for all.

New Long-Term and Medium-Term plans will evidence a progressive English curriculum and ensure there is a full coverage of objectives that have been mapped out using year group expectations from the National Curriculum.  This whole school document will allow staff and pupils a greater awareness of what comes before and after their specific year group.

Reading

At Ash Green, we aim to instil a love of reading in our pupils. We recognise that reading is a key tool for life and is the single most important indicator of future success across all subjects. We place a huge emphasis on this with daily rigorous phonics sessions, text led English lessons as well as daily story times. Our aim is to ensure no child is left behind by utilising Assessment for Learning strategies allowing us to provide immediate feedback which then informs groups for same day/next day interventions.

The development of children’s reading skills begins in the Early Years and Key Stage 1 with the use of the Twinkl phonics and reading book scheme which ensure pupils are provided with reading material that is carefully matched to ability.  The Twinkl phonics program continues in Key Stage 2 in the form of a daily intervention.  KS2 pupils on the phonics program are also prioritised for daily 1:1reading as a way of closing the gap and bringing them closer to age related expectation.

A wide range of stories and genres are read frequently in class to inspire and enthuse readers and open doors to unknown authors and themes. From Early Years onwards, children enjoy regular whole class or guided reading sessions using high-quality texts that engage the listener, develop a breadth of vocabulary and support ideas for writing.  Staff model fluent reading to pupils to help them to ‘hear’ what good readers sound like - this is through exposure to texts within English lessons, Story Time at the end of the day as well as opportunities for our younger pupils to listen to members of our Senior Leadership Team reading their favourite stories aloud in the hall.

In Key Stage Two, we aim to create successful, fluent readers who will monitor their understanding of what they are reading and review the text when something does not make sense.  Daily reading sessions are inclusive of skills that develop both the prosody and the comprehension of a text.  All Key Stage 2 classes follow a reading cycle where pupils are explicitly taught strategies linked to the Key Stage 2 reading content domains.  These skills are practised and applied by the pupils with increased independence when interacting with texts across all curriculum areas. Pupils are exposed to a rich and varied reading curriculum with a balanced coverage of texts from Fiction, Non-fiction and Poetry genres.

We ensure that all pupils are continually being encouraged to read for pleasure through activities and events such as mystery readers, author visits, celebrating World Book Day and enjoying reading opportunities and incentives at home.

Writing

Writing is an essential part of our curriculum - English lessons act as small steps leading up to final pieces of writing in which pupils demonstrate the wide range of skills they have learnt. Our lessons take pupils through a learning journey, which equips them with the knowledge they require to become skilled readers and writers, by covering a range of skills: speaking and listening through drama and role-play, analysis of exemplar texts, developing grammar and punctuation in context and vocabulary activities. The work in pupils’ books illustrates a build-up of skills through word and sentence-level work, paragraph-level application, final writing pieces and editing. We aim for our pupils to have the necessary stamina and understanding to write at or above the expected standard.

The writing skills journey is developed through a high-quality text-based approach that links to termly curriculum themes. Pupils develop an understanding of audience and purpose, and they develop the ability to change tone or register from one piece of writing to another. Through peer and self-evaluation, children develop the notion of appropriateness. From ‘hooking’ the children in at the start of a unit and exploring the text to build an understanding of the writer’s craft, pupils develop a deep understanding of the components of writing – planning, drafting ideas, editing, revising and publishing – using the ‘5 Stages of Writing’ approach.  The teaching of spelling, grammar and punctuation is interwoven into daily English sessions so that children can develop an understanding of these key skills in context – and feel confident in applying them to their own writing.

The writing curriculum plans for diverse stimuli for writing which encourages high levels of engagement and enjoyment.  Introducing new writing skills and allowing pupils time to explore the text before applying these skills with greater levels of independence ensures a deeper understanding of why writing choices can vary. Texts are carefully chosen to deepen children’s knowledge of the wider curriculum, while ensuring that they are immersed in our rich and varied literary heritage. 

When teaching English at Ash Green, we intend to provide a curriculum which caters for the needs of all individuals and sets them up with the necessary skills and knowledge for them to become successful in their future adventures. We recognise that the pupils need both a sense of valuing themselves, and developing aspirations for their future, therefore a primary focus of our curriculum is to raise ambitions and dreams, engender a sense of personal and collective pride in achievement, and provide a purpose and relevance for learning we aim to prepare them for a successful working life. We incorporate sustained levels of challenge through varied and high-quality activities.  Within Key Stage One and Two, at the start of a new unit of learning, a front cover is utilised which introduces new vocabulary as well as accompanying images that are representative of the unit of work.

Through discussion and feedback, pupils talk enthusiastically about their English lessons and speak about how they love reading a range of different texts. Pupils are developing their ability to articulate about different authors and writing genres and draw comparisons within their learning.

Implementation:

Please refer to the English Policy and Scheme of Work for a comprehensive break down of how the English Curriculum is implemented at Ash Green from Early Years to Year 6.

Impact:

Leaders in school, including the English Manager regularly measure the impact of our English curriculum through Deep Dives and the monitoring of teaching and learning, assessment and on-going self-review. We survey staff, pupils and parents, undertake learning walks, carry out both formal and informal monitoring in order to sample typicality, and also scrutinise samples of work produced by pupils both in school, as well as remotely. We have an established system of Governor review with a Standards and Effectiveness Committee who oversee our curriculum. Governors on this committee receive regular reports, and discussions are held at this committee meeting on successes and upcoming priorities. Based on monitoring and Deep Dives, clear next step priorities for English are agreed as part of an English action plan. The impact will be that our pupils will be academically prepared for the next phase of their education, are motivated to succeed and achieve, and are equipped with all the personal skills to do this.

Overview

For this new academic year - 2024-25, we are implementing some exciting changes to reinvigorate our English curriculum – staff are working hard to ensure the new English curriculum follows a whole school, text-led, thematic approach with a sharp focus on exposing children to rich language, ambitious vocabulary and a broad and balanced range of writing.  The new thematic approach will allow pupils to make connections across texts and skills - building deeper critical thinking and combining a range of skills.  Our new Autumn one overview is now up and running  and has been received positively by our pupils; keep an eye out for termly updates to see how the rest of the English curriculum develops throughout the year.

Policy and Scheme of Work