English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society.

A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.

Aims

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.

The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• 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 discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

(English includes reading, writing, phonics, handwriting, spelling, punctuation and grammar.)

We use the Jane Considine 'The Write Stuff' resources to teach our main English lessons supplemented with Talk4Writing techniques and the Alan Peat sentence progression. Children begin their phonics and reading journey in EYFS through the Sounds Write program. As well as teacher-led lessons, we use Accelerated Reader as a fun and challenging way to improve reading comprehension and reading engagement.

To help support your child at home with their phonics, please click here to enrol on a free on-demand Sounds Write course which is designed to support parents to:

• help your child take their first steps in reading and spelling;
• understand how to help your child build, write and read simple cvc (consonant, vowel, consonant) words;
• understand how to correct your child when they make a mistake in their reading or writing simple words;
• have a basic understanding of how phonics works.