Beechcroft St Paul'sC of E Primary School
At Beechcroft St Paul’s, our English curriculum is designed to help children become confident, fluent communicators who can read, write and express their ideas clearly. Our approach to writing is built around the Simple View of Writing, recognising that successful writers develop strong skills in transcription (spelling and handwriting), composition (ideas, vocabulary and sentence structure) and executive function (planning, monitoring and reviewing their work. Through carefully sequenced teaching, children develop the knowledge and skills needed to write effectively for different purposes and audiences. Our English curriculum supports our drivers by helping children broaden their horizons, understand their place in the world, and become responsible decision makers.
Broadening Our Horizons
Through English, children explore a wide range of high-quality texts, stories and genres that introduce them to new ideas, experiences and perspectives. Reading and writing across different text types helps children develop their imagination, creativity and curiosity about the world around them.
Children learn to write for a variety of purposes, including narratives, reports, explanations and persuasive texts. As their skills develop, they learn how vocabulary, grammar and structure can be used deliberately to engage the reader and communicate ideas effectively.
Through this process, children are encouraged to experiment with language, expand their vocabulary and develop confidence in expressing their own ideas.
Understanding Our Place in the World
English helps children explore identity, experiences and perspectives through both reading and writing. By engaging with stories, information texts and discussions, children begin to understand how language shapes the way we communicate and share ideas.
Children are encouraged to think about audience and purpose when writing, helping them understand how communication can influence others and connect people. As they progress through the school, they develop the ability to write thoughtfully and effectively across a range of subjects and real-life contexts.
This helps children recognise the role that communication plays in understanding the world and contributing to their community.
Becoming Responsible Decision Makers
A key part of our English curriculum is teaching children to reflect on their writing and make thoughtful decisions about how they communicate their ideas. Children are taught to plan, draft, edit and revise their writing, developing independence and resilience as writers.
Through guided discussion and feedback, children learn to evaluate their work for accuracy, clarity and impact. They begin to understand how choices in vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure can influence the reader and improve the effectiveness of their writing.
These skills help children become reflective learners who can think carefully about their communication and make informed decisions when sharing their ideas with others.
English National Curriculum Purpose of study
English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.
(National Curriculum 2014)
English National Curriculum Aims
The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.
The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
* read easily, fluently and with good understanding
* develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
* acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
* appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
* write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
* use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
* are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
(National Curriculum 2014)