Subjects
Literacy
Our Intent
We aim to send every young person into the world able and qualified to play their full part in it. This means that we want students to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes to thrive and flourish in their school years and beyond.
Our intent is that every pupil leaves school able to read texts with full comprehension, write fluently and speak with confidence. We aim for students to be enthused by reading and to be assured when writing and speaking about this. We aim for students to be strategic, fluent readers and skilful, accurate writers. Our curriculum supports students’ progress towards this.
We teach English through the deliberate development of knowledge and skills; this is carefully planned to ensure students make consistent progress.
How we intend to remove barriers
In English we remove barriers to learning and support students’ ability to access the curriculum by using regular formative assessment. Teachers use questioning, mini whiteboards and students’ written work to ascertain their progress and adapt planning as a result. This ensures that misconceptions are clarified and gaps in students’ knowledge are filled.
English teachers have an acute awareness of the barriers faced by students in lessons and adaptions are made to account for this. Students are supported through being taught strategies to utilise when reading and writing texts. Knowledge is highly valued by English teachers, meaning students’ cultural literacy improves over time; this allows them to read widely and write with increased sophistication.
Literacy
All English lessons improve students’ literacy skills and teachers plan lessons to remove literacy barriers.
One way this is achieved is through the use of explicit vocabulary instruction. Students learn the words they need to access challenging texts, as well as being taught the subject specific vocabulary needed to write about texts in an academic way.
Talk is also used to support students’ understanding and improve the quality of expression. Teachers scaffold oracy to improve pupils’ confidence; this prepares them for national qualifications and the wider world.
How we develop skills for learning
Students are given opportunities to develop their skills in each and every lesson. Activities during the lesson facilitate pupils’ recall and ensure that learning builds on previously learnt concepts. Pupils are expected to be independent in their revision of these concepts to ensure that knowledge is retained over time.
Students are also encouraged to recognise the relevance of their learning and the purpose of the skills they gain within a wider world context.
How we foster personal attributes
In English, we are committed to ensuring students develop personal attributes inside and outside lessons. Pupils are encouraged to be inquisitive and increasingly independent as they progress through school.
The subject content we explore requires pupils to be tolerant and respectful, particularly during discussions with peers. The study of literature allows pupils to engage with human behaviour, therefore offering an opportunity for personal reflection and development. Teachers model this process and expect maturity from pupils when engaging with issues.
How we intend to enrich student experiences and broaden the horizons of students
Students are encouraged to be ambitious during English lessons and they are given regular opportunities to engage with challenging, high quality texts. These texts are chosen to broaden students’ horizons and allow them to gain an understanding of the world around them.
Schools also offer a number of additional enrichment opportunities such as subject specific trips and extracurricular activities.
