English

The teaching of English at Homerswood Primary and Nursery School is designed to give pupils the key skills in English that enable them to access material in all curriculum areas, and provide a foundation for their learning throughout their school career and beyond. To achieve this, we are focused on making English interesting, exciting and purposeful by engaging the pupils with the joy and wonder of books and capturing their imagination both inside and outside of school. English is viewed as a fundamental part of the holistic development of the child for inspiring minds through literature and fostering positive behaviours and attitudes towards learning.

Writing at Homerswood

The overarching aims of the writing curriculum at Homerswood Primary and Nursery School are to develop fluent, imaginative writers who can apply their writing skills to a wealth of genres and subjects. At Homerswood, we provide our pupils with many opportunities to develop and employ their writing skills across the curriculum so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions effectively to others.

Our aim is that pupils leave our school able to plan, revise, edit and evaluate their writing to produce quality pieces of work across the curriculum. To do this effectively, pupils will focus on developing effective transcription (spelling and handwriting) and effective composition (articulating and structuring ideas into speech and writing). They will also develop an awareness of the audience, purpose and context as well as an increasingly wide knowledge of grammar and ambitious vocabulary. We know and promote the value of an excellent, wide vocabulary and this is developed and practised across our curriculum. Opportunities to enhance pupils’ vocabulary arise naturally from their reading and writing. As vocabulary increases, pupils are taught how to understand the relationships between words, how to understand nuances in meaning, and how to develop their understanding of, and ability to use, figurative language. Our pupils acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language.

Effective composition also depends on pupils being able to articulate their ideas verbally prior to writing. We teach our pupils to speak clearly, to express their ideas fluently and confidently and to substantiate their ideas by asking probing questions to develop critical thinking. This ensures that they are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate as well as having a well-rounded understanding on which to base their writing. Writing also depends on fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting. Spelling, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation are key parts of the writing process and are taught in each year group to ensure that pupils have all the necessary skills in Standard English to control their speaking and writing consciously to be successful writers.

Progression of writing skills is mapped across the school so that pupils develop key spelling and grammatical skills as well as expanding their range of reading material and knowledge of writing purposes throughout their time at Homerswood.

Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation

Grammar and spelling are strands of the English curriculum, intended to allow children to express themselves and communicate effectively and accurately.

Our curriculum is progressive in the way that it builds on prior knowledge. For example, spelling across KS2 builds on spelling and phonics from KS1, whilst also offering the opportunity for revisiting in areas of weakness. Similarly, grammatical knowledge and terminology is introduced from an early age and is constantly revisited and developed in how it is applied to writing, especially further up the school, so that children can begin to use their knowledge to make stylistic choices and become confident in how they talk about their linguistic structures. For some children with individual needs, spelling and grammar may be tailored specifically to meet their needs, but still with a view that all reasonable efforts will be made to allow all children to access age – appropriate objectives.

Spelling and grammar are taught in discrete lessons, or within the context of an English unit of work and accurate spelling and grammar are expected to be applied within English lessons, and other written outcomes across the curriculum

Reading at Homerswood

The overarching aims of the Reading Curriculum at Homerswood Primary and Nursery School are to teach children to read fluently and independently and to love stories and books. We value reading as a key life skill and are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers. Good reading skills are the foundation to academic success as well as enabling reading to become an enjoyable activity that can boost mental well-being.

Our aim is that our pupils become competent readers who can recommend books to their peers, enjoy a diverse range of literature covering a wide range of reading genres and can participate in discussions about books, including evaluating authors’ use of language and its impact. Pupils leave Homerswood having had exposure to a range of texts including up-to-date literature as well as studying a range of classic books, poems and authors.

At Homerswood Primary and Nursery School, we intend:

for every child to be a reader
for early readers to have the skills to decode words, so they can read fluently as quickly as possible
for children to understand what they have read
for children to respond with curiosity about what they and others have read
for children to become enthusiastic and motivated to read for pleasure
to develop children’s confidence in reading a wide variety of genres and text types
to develop children’s knowledge of a wide range of authors and illustrators

Reading for Pleasure

At Homerswood Primary and Nursery School we strive to create a community where everyone is reading their way to a better life. Research shows that reading for pleasure can promote better health and wellbeing and aid in building social connections and relationships with others.

Many exciting and rewarding opportunities are arranged in school to promote the pleasure and knowledge that can be gained from books. Class libraries are well-stocked with a variety of diverse texts and children are encouraged to share their ideas and opinions about the texts they read. Yearly events to mark a love of reading are celebrated: for example ‘World Book Day’ and author visits. Every year, each class also visits our local library to encourage an engagement with reading in their wider community and librarians are in turn invited into school to engage in whole school assemblies.

Other opportunities to read for pleasure include children reading in paired classes and weekly sessions to visit the school library. We recognise the value of adults (both in school and at home) reading aloud to children and utilise the help of community volunteers which includes our much valued part-time school librarian.

The delight in sharing wonderful texts with children is not undervalued and in all year groups, teachers take time to read aloud without pausing in order for full immersion in a text.