English
At Chipping Warden Primary Academy, English is an important part of our curriculum which develops the skills of oracy, reading and writing. Children are gaining the skills to read and write, but just as important, they are taught the skills of speaking and listening, including responding to others.
Oracy
Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language. In school, oracy is a vital tool for learning; by teaching pupils to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them.
At Chipping Warden Primary Academy, we believe spoken language to be essential in the development and achievement of our children across the curriculum right from the Early Years Foundation Stage. We strive to develop spoken language skills through the taught curriculum, the hidden curriculum, playtimes and lunchtimes, extra-curricular activities and the whole ethos of the school. Children are taught how to be effective communicators through skills such as storytelling, debating and presenting.
Respectful relationships between all who form part of the school community are to our ethos. We place a high priority on supporting the development of good speaking and listening skills amongst our pupils. Correct spoken language and development of vocabulary is fundamental to learning. Speaking and listening play a large part in a child’s progress in all curriculum areas and teachers plan to develop these skills in a wide variety of ways. We aim to develop and encourage fluent speakers, with rich vocabulary, who are confident to operate in a wide range of situations.
Reading
At Chipping Warden Primary Academy, our aim is to foster a lifelong love of reading in our pupils by ensuring they have access to a high-quality English curriculum which is centred around books. A love of reading will be fostered through access to a range of high quality texts across the curriculum. This will help children develop their use of standard English and gain a wide vocabulary which they can use in both spoken and written work.
Initially, our systematic approach to phonics will teach our children to read. As they progress through the RWI phonics programme they will become confident and fluent readers of both fiction and non-fiction texts.
Additionally, we want children to develop their love of reading at home and so we support families in helping their child to read, through initiatives such as Book and Biscuit. We hope children will develop knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, deepen their curriculum knowledge and further their comprehension skills through their reading of books.
Writing
At Chipping Warden, Children will become ambitious, aware, adept writers by being able to:
Produce and share writing which is planned, coherent, structured and appropriate to its purpose.
Select and record ideas which incorporate effective and appropriate vocabulary, features and techniques taught and drawn on both experiences and their reading.
The children at Chipping Warden will become ambitious, aware, adept writers by being taught specific knowledge and skills within the following areas:
Phonics and Spelling: Spell and transcribe words accurately.
Handwriting: Write clearly and legibly.
Context: Write for a range of purposes drawn from texts they have read.
Planning for writing: Planning and sequencing ideas before writing.
Composition: Drafting writing, using the correct features and language for the purpose.
Editing: Edit and improve their writing by checking for additions, revisions and corrections in grammar and spelling.
Vocabulary: Select increasingly more sophisticated and ambitious language which enhances the writing they produce.
Grammar: Produce grammatically correct writing for its purpose.
Technical vocabulary: Understand specific grammatical language.
Punctuation: Use a range of punctuation correctly in their writing.
Performing: Use their voices to perform their writing effectively.
In order for our children to successfully develop into ambitious, aware, adept writers, the knowledge and skills required for each year group are sequenced across the year and introduced at specific points.
The sequenced knowledge and skills for each year group and class are detailed and mapped out in the English Long Term Planning documents