Curriculum Intent 

At Claremont Primary and Nursery School, we give a high priority to English, placing English at the centre of the curriculum and the children’s learning. We believe that achievement and success in English provides children with the skills and knowledge required to be successful and independent learners which, in turn, allows them to access the wider curriculum with depth and meaning. The skills we teach through English enables children to express themselves and to support effective communication and collaboration with others.

Oracy

We believe that children should become clear, fluent and confident speakers, and should understand that speaking is a tool for learning. They should develop listening skills to become attentive, open-minded and enquiring listeners. They should encounter a range of situations, audiences and activities designed to develop their confidence and use of speaking and listening skills. We ensure children develop a broad vocabulary in order to articulate themselves clearly.

Reading

Reading is a priority and embedded in our curriculum at Claremont. We are passionate and ambitious in our expectations for reading across the whole curriculum and aim for all children to become fluent, confident and competent readers who read for a range of purposes. We aim to nurture a love of books and reading for pleasure, opening the door to a world beyond the classroom. We create a stimulating environment in which children are actively encouraged to enjoy books, and are motivated to want to read independently.

In EYFS, children are taught to read using the ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds’ phonics programme. In F1 children start ‘Foundations for Phonics’ on entry. They also learn a sound of the week which links to the ‘Book of the Week’. In F2, children are rapidly introduced to phase 2 letter sounds on entry. They are then taught in whole class groups throughout the rest of the year moving through phases 2-4, which gives them good foundations for decoding and reading. Tricky words are introduced alongside decodable words. Strategies for reading with children are shared with parents through weekly ‘Reading Mornings’ during which parents are invited to share books with their child in school.

Children in EYFS and KS1 apply their phonics knowledge through the use of the ‘Little Wandle for Letters and Sounds’ reading programme using Collins Big Cat Phonics books. These books are fully decodable and are matched to children’s reading ability. Children have three practice sessions a week with their teacher or teaching assistant. These sessions focus on decoding, fluency and expression and comprehension.

In Key Stage 1, teachers continue to build on the children’s reading skills through sharing books together and modelling good reading. Phonics is taught from Phase 5 with exceptions for SEN children and EAL children who are new to English. Keep up and Catch Up interventions take place for identified target children. Children are introduced to a range of text types including: multicultural stories, poems, rhymes, fairy tales, traditional tales, encyclopedias, dictionaries, non-fiction texts, picture books and stories by a range of authors. Children are taught how to read for meaning and answer questions about texts. Children are provided with regular opportunities to read aloud, both with teachers, teaching assistants, volunteers and peers through individual and whole class reading sessions. Children are given an opportunity to apply their phonics knowledge and skills through decodable reading books. When children can read fluently, they progress onto ‘Accelerated Reader’ books before they move into Lower Key Stage 2.

In Key Stage 2 teachers are responsible for continuing a phonics support programme (Project X) with children who need extra support in decoding and reading, focusing closely on the lowest 20%. Children are given opportunities for silent reading both independently and individually with an adult during the day. Teachers plan for the use of a whole class reader to immerse children in reading for pleasure. This book is shared daily and used for a range of activities to aid reading comprehension. A range of genres are introduced to children including: autobiographies, letters, diaries, articles, reports, short stories, poems and play scripts. Children are provided with regular opportunities to read aloud, both to teachers and peers through the use of the class book, individual reading time and whole class reading sessions.

Whole Class Reading lessons take place four times a week for children in Years 2-6. The same lesson structure is followed weekly:

• Lesson 1 -   pre-teach new and possibly unknown vocabulary and recall knowledge links prior to reading the text
• Lesson 2 - familiarise children with the text, to check unknown vocabulary, to find and read vocabulary in context
• Lesson 3 - recap learnt vocabulary, to teach oral reading instruction for fluency
• Lesson 4 - children use their knowledge of the text to comprehend meaning sharing their answers with their peers and recording them

Over a half term, children are exposed to a range of text types including: poetry, classic texts, scientific texts, novels, picture books and texts linked to the curriculum.

Writing 

We believe that writing begins with the encouragement of emergent and developmental writing skills which rely on the use of phonic strategies to segment words into sounds. This begins in the Foundation Stage through the teaching of phonics using the Little Wandle programme. Children begin phonics in the first half term in F2 and cover phases 2-4 through the year. In Year 1, children are taught phase 5. Children continue phase 5 in Year 2 where necessary before being taught the Little Wandle spelling programme. Phonics, spelling, punctuation and grammar are taught alongside whole text units throughout the school. This leads to writing sentences and texts with coherence, increasing the complexity of structure, punctuation and vocabulary from year to year following the National Curriculum expectations.

English lessons typically follow a three week unit and are guided by the Teresa Heathcote writing sequence. Initially children are immersed in the genre using a range of high-quality texts before moving onto analyse authorial intent, considering the vocabulary choices the author has made and the effect these have on the reader. Children are then taught specific grammar and punctuation skills that link to the unit which they will be able to apply to their own writing. Children then plan, write and edit a piece of writing that is closely linked to the WAGOLL and immersion texts used at the start of the unit. All lessons build on previous learning. They are interactive, have pace and use a variety of teaching and learning styles to cater for the needs of our children. All lessons offer opportunities for speaking and listening. 

Handwriting 

We place a great level of importance on children taking pride in their own work and developing the ability to present work neatly for an audience. Following the National Curriculum objectives for handwriting, we teach pupils to form the letters of the alphabet using the correct sequence of strokes and joins at an age appropriate level and according to the needs of the individual.

Handwriting is consistently modelled across the school in all areas of writing in the classroom. Handwriting and letter formation are embedded across the curriculum in EYFS, particularly alongside phonics.

In KS1, letters are taught in groups of similar formations with focus on consistent size and spacing. Pupils begin to join in year 2. If a pupil is ready to join before then we encourage them to do so and teach their handwriting session accordingly. In KS2, children are encouraged to apply the handwriting joins taught in all writing they do to allow them to become fluent in their handwriting style. 

Curriculum Planning