English

Curriculum Intent

English Writing

We offer a deep and engaging English curriculum, with real life, meaningful opportunities for writing across different, age-appropriate genres with opportunities to access the written and spoken word in true life contexts as well as nurturing and encouraging creative opportunities, meeting age related requirements of the National Curriculum and allowing the individual to reach their full potential and apply their literacy skills across the broader curriculum. Every child is a writer.

English Reading

Reading, and developing a love of reading, is paramount at Dawley Academy. Our wellstocked library, as well as class reading corners, give our children access to a wide variety of texts. We teach Guided Reading using VIPERS skills across Key Stages 1 and 2, ensuring that our children are equipped with all the necessary skills to become confident, competent readers. We endorse reading for pleasure at the Academy, believing that good readers make good writers; a successful reader can apply their reading skills in everything that they do.

English Phonics

We use Ruth Miskin RWI phonics to develop our children in the EYFS and KS1, supplying our learners with the solid foundations for word reading and spelling. Children use their Fred Fingers to plan sentences as their writing skills progress, and reading books are phonetically accessible too. Phonics is a daily lesson, taught in appropriate groupings by RWI trained teachers and TAs, giving our children opportunities to learn tricky words and their phonemes and graphemes, as well as Get Writing opportunities.

By the age of 11 it is our intent for every child to be able to:

• take pleasure in all aspects of English;
• read and write with confidence, fluency and understanding, developing a range of independent strategies to self-assess and improve
• develop the powers of imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness;
• have an interest in books and read for enjoyment;
• have an interest in words and their meanings allowing them to develop a growing vocabulary in spoken and written forms;
• understand a range of text types and genres allowing them to write in a variety of styles and forms appropriate to the situation;
• have a suitable technical vocabulary to articulate their thinking.

Curriculum Implementation

Classroom writing situations should emphasize to the children the purpose of Writing and give the children the opportunity to write in a variety of genres and for different purposes and audiences.

Shared and modelled writing, taking place within English lessons, allows the teacher to demonstrate good writing practice to the children while using their ideas. Teachers must ensure that the writing demonstrated shows high expectations and covers the success criteria they would expect to see in the children’s writing including across the ability groups.

Reading is an important part of the English curriculum in our School. Home reading books are based on the individual’s phonics learning, and these are matched carefully. Children are also expected to read for pleasure, having use of our school library and their class library in order to access a wide range of exciting and enriching texts. Both library and home reading books are sent home daily along with the child’s Reading Record, which is regularly checked by their class teacher.

Children in our School are encouraged to read widely and our School Library offers the children the opportunity for wider reading through the borrowing of a variety of books. The children have weekly access to the School Library which offers a wide variety of texts to capture interest.

Shared reading taking place within English lessons and guided reading will provide enriching experiences through more challenging texts. Teachers will also share stories with the class displaying an enthusiasm for reading and setting a positive example as a reader. Guided Reading takes the form of both Whole Class reading, where children are taught an explicit reading skill, as well as a carousel of activities which give the children access to smaller group provision for reading and reading activities.

Phonics is taught in Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1/2 using the RWI program for up to 50 minutes a day.

Curriculum Impact

Assessment criteria for both Reading and Writing can be found on the target sheets within the front cover of the childrens’ Reading and Writing books. This allows children to selfassess as well as strive for, and know well, their own targets. Half-termly Reading, Spelling and Grammar tests are conducted and the assessment data collated and tracked using our assessment system, DC Pro.

Teachers will also assess weekly spellings which are given out asa children’s homework.

Formative assessment takes place during lessons and when marking books in the form of discussion, observation, written and oral feedback.

Teachers are set annual targets for their children’s progression and attainment as part of their performance management. Pupil progress meetings will be held half termly and assessments against the national criteria.

The statutory tests will be taken at the end of Year 2 and 6 and in EYFS assessments are carried out in September and July to monitor progress made.

At the end of Year 1 the children sit the Phonics Screening Test and those who do not pass re-sit it at the end of Year 2.

Assessment is a critical part of teachers’ planning and work will be assessed in line with the Assessment Policy.

• We complete a minimum of 3 pieces of independent writing per half term. 
• Writing will be margin marked and children have the opportunity to edit and improve. 
• Children respond to both adult and peer assessment during the edit and improve process. 
• Every child’s work is assessed against (Year group) writing grids. 
• Phonics assessments are carried out half termly by phonics lead. 
• PIRA to be used termly to track children’s reading ages. 
• Headstart SPAG test are used in a half termly basis.

Writing

At Dawley Academy, every child is a writer. We make sure that children write for purpose, with our English lessons linked to purposeful activities, such as writing persuasive letters to Cadbury’s, creating stories to share with other classes, and creating discussions to debate RE themes.

Our children are taught specific editing skills in order to equip them with the skills to create their best possible written outcomes. Effectively editing a piece of work can often be a difficult skill to master. Identifying where you have made mistakes and knowing how to improve something you have drafted can be difficult. However, editing a piece of writing is something that all adults do, and is an important skill for life. Throughout each half term, children will have specific and focused editing lessons where they will concentrate on a different editing skill such as up-tiering vocabulary or removal of repetitive words and phrases.

Work examples and links to additional support and information are below.

Grammar and Genres Guidance

Examples of writing at Dawley

Parent Links

Spellings

Our Academy uses the RWI Spelling Programme from Oxford Owl to support our children in getting those spellings correct!

Websites to promote writing with your child