English
English Lead: Mrs Schofield
English Governor: Mrs Angela Sterling
English at Catchgate Primary School
At Catchgate we believe that the English curriculum should develop a love of reading and writing. We also place high importance on the ability to discuss and communicate confidently. We want children to develop speaking and listening skills using a wide vocabulary in discussions and to further their learning.
We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge base in English, which follows clear progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that developing a secure basis in reading, writing and speaking and listening skills is vital in delivering a high quality curriculum. We want our children to leave primary school as confident and literate individuals.
The Little Wandle Phonics programme we follow ensures children develop early reading skills with a huge emphasis being placed on vocabulary and reading for pleasure.
How is English taught at Catchgate Primary School?
In our school we use Talk for writing as the basis for our English curriculum. This is based on a training programme led by Pie Corbett for which all staff completed two years of training.
We go through three stages of writing for each text we study; these include imitation, innovation and invention.
In the imitation stage we do lots of reading of the class text, mapping the story and drama activities so the pupils fully understand the story and can write it.
In the innovation stage the pupils change different aspects of the story to make it their own; these changes could include different characters, settings, time periods and lots of other innovations.
During the invention stage the pupils will write their own story based on the theme of the text, so maybe a wishing story, a beat the baddie or a portal story. for the whole range look on the whole school text map.
Throughout all the stages the pupils will complete short burst writing activities which will teach them the skills they need to read, deconstruct texts and write their own. These activities are all based on the class text and include spelling, grammar and vocabulary activities. Games are encouraged to support the class teaching an to engage the pupils in their learning.
Non-fiction writing will also be based on the class text and covers a wide range of genres including diaries, biographies, instructions, explanations and information texts.
Oracy
Communication is the way we connect with people. Learning to communicate is the most important thing a child a will do. Oracy skills underpin all other learning and development and can always be improved.
From an early age children need to be immersed in language and they need adults to encourage and support their language development.
I CAN is the children’s communication charity. They are experts in helping children develop the speech, language and communication skills they need to thrive in a 21st century world. Their vision is a world where all children have the communication skills they need to fulfil their potential. Their mission is that no child should be left out or left behind because of a difficulty speaking or understanding. See below for a link to their website and information on how to support children from birth to 5 and 5 to 11.
Writing
Children begin their journey to become a writer in Early Years. This is when gross motor control is focused on to build core and shoulder strength before developing fine motor skills in order for children to hold a pencil correctly to make marks and eventually write. Children begin to write letter in reception following the Little Wandle sequence with PenPals handwriting being the focus for formation and letter families as skills develop. In KS1 and KS2 writing is taught using the National Curriculum objectives. Children are given many opportunities to write for different purposes across the curriculum and as stamina to write develops, they learn to write at length. Children are taught how to make writing interesting and informative using the Primary Writing Project (PWP) approach.
Handwriting
Handwriting at Catchgate
We use the Penpals Handwriting Scheme to deliver our handwriting curriculum. Penpals for Handwriting is a complete handwriting scheme for 3-11-year olds, offering clear progression through five developmental stages. It supports and teaches children to develop a fast and fluent handwriting style to help them achieve their potential in writing.
Penpals leads children through five distinct stages:
1.Physical preparation for handwriting
(Nursery and Reception / 3–5 years)
2.Securing correct letter formation
(Year 1/5–6 years)
3.Beginning to join
(Year 2/6–7 years)
4.Securing the joins
(Years 3 and 4/7–9 years)
5.Speed, fluency and developing a personal style
(Years 5 and 6/9–11 years)
Posture for Writing
Pencil Grasp
Letter Formation in line with the PenPals handwriting scheme.
PenPals Whole School Overview
Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation
At Catchgate we value the importance of talk. Throughout school we have daily reading sessions so children are immersed in language from books and hear the good quality vocabulary and grammatical structures. The teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar begins in Early Years with a big focus on speaking and listening and the early stages of phonics in the Little Wandle Foundation to phonics programme. In Reception children begin to spell using sounds they know and begin the foundations for future teaching and learning of grammar, spelling and punctuation.
In Key Stage 1 and 2 we focus on spelling, punctuation and grammar objectives from the National Curriculum. These are taught through short burst writing as part of the Primary Writing Project (PWP) approach. Children then have the opportunity to apply taught skills in their cross curricula writing.
Spelling in Key Stage 1 is taught daily as part of our Little Wandle phonics scheme with a spelling programme following on once phonics teaching is complete in Year 2. Children in KS2 who still require support to develop phonics continue to practice spelling as part of Little Wandle Rapid Catch-up. Please see the link to our phonics and reading page and the Little Wandle website for further information.
Children have access to Sumdog, a games based adaptive learning app that children can use on any appliance at home. Log ins for each pupil are sent home and available by asking your class teacher.
You can access Sumdog with your password using the link below.
English Policy