Our English curriculum at Lane Green aims to ignite a child’s passion for reading, writing and the spoken word through exciting, stimulating experiences that broaden and extend their learning. We intend to immerse our pupils in a language and print rich environment; cover a variety of text types and genres; and give frequent reading, writing and speaking opportunities. Through our curriculum, children will develop the key skills needed to articulate themselves with passion and purpose in a modern world.
Within the English curriculum, we aim to develop children’s abilities to:
Subject Organisation:
In Key Stages 1 and 2, the English Curriculum is based around the Primary National Curriculum (2014). In the Early Years Foundation Stage, the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2021) is followed, and delivered through the prime area ‘Communication and Language’ and the specific area ‘Literacy’.
The Early Years Foundation Stage offers an English rich environment in which stories are valued, celebrated and shared. The EYFS provides children with the daily opportunity to learn and apply systematic synthetic phonics in their reading and writing (please see our Phonics Vision for more information). Spoken language is likewise essential, and the EYFS team ensure that children develop their ability to articulate ideas through exciting experiences – whether imaginative and realistic. Letter formation and recognition results from careful implementation of our phonics scheme, and through continual provision that caters for the needs of children in a relevant and engaging manner.
During English lessons in KS1 and KS2, children are taught English in mixed ability classes, by their own class teacher. Differentiation is planned for and layered into each lesson through a progressive ‘Reach, Stretch and Challenge’ success criteria. This allows children to progress through increasingly challenging criteria during a lesson towards fully meeting their learning objective, and encourages them to take ownership of their progress in each lesson. Appropriate levels of challenge and support are put in place in each lesson, dependent on the needs of individual pupils. In their lessons, children may experience whole-class, shared or modelled activities; guided group work, or extended writing opportunities.
Children are provided with:
Please note: Oxford Reading Tree currently forms the basis of our reading book selection and this has been supplemented by other schemes and publishers. Children are regularly assessed as to their reading fluency and provided with a carefully matched reading book from our collection which they take home to read. We carefully monitor engagement at home, encouraging parents to read with their children where engagement may not be forthcoming.
Children are provided with:
Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1 use our new ‘Floppy’s Phonics’ scheme to teach systematic, synthetic phonics on a daily basis. Through this scheme, children revisit, teach, practise and apply their understanding of phonemes and their grapheme/phoneme correspondents in a progressive manner, as well as spelling rules and common exception words (for both reading and spelling). For more information, please see our Phonics Vision.
In Years 2, 3 and 4, for those children with secure phonic knowledge, a year group specific Spelling Shed scheme is followed. This scheme supports children’s application of spelling rules and their learning of common exception words. Children’s learning of spelling skills is supplemented through use of the Spelling Shed app, with teachers setting regular tasks, related to recent learning, for children to complete at home or through intervention in school.
Speaking, listening and drama permeate the whole English curriculum and beyond. Teachers plan daily opportunities, during which children are encouraged to develop effective communication skills in readiness for later life, as they listen and collaborate in an effective and respectful way and think deeply about others’ ideas and perspectives.
English – Progression in Reading
English – Progression in Writing
English Offer – EEF research
English – Curriculum vision ENGLISH
English – Curriculum vision PHONICS