In this section of the website, you will find information about our approach to teaching English at Howletch Lane Primary School.
- Year 1 writing Curriculum
- Year 2 writing Curriculum
- Year 3 writing Curriculum
- Year 4 writing Curriculum
- Year 5 writing Curriculum
- Year 6 writing Curriculum
Intent
At Howletch Primary School we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of both reading and writing. We aim to inspire our children and encourage them to develop their literary skills through the use of high-quality texts from across the curriculum. We recognise the importance of cultivating a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the arts of speaking and listening. We believe that a thorough grasp of literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society. We give all children the opportunity to explore their own creativity within English lessons, through the use of a carefully planned reading spine. Children will follow this creative path through the curriculum, developing the skills they need to become fluent writers. Our focus is to inspire children’s written creativity so they form a love of language that they can apply to the wider curriculum.
Implementation
The 2014 National Curriculum states that:
‘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.’
These aims are embedded across our English lessons and the wider curriculum. We have a rigorous and well organised English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. We use a wide variety of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children. Each day, children have the opportunity to develop their written skills in a way that reflects their own creative flair. We plan and provide English lessons that have the desired impact to develop the children’s fundamental knowledge of the English language. Alongside this, we implement a creative and fluid approach that is designed to engage our writers.
We also provide a wealth of enrichment opportunities. Our annual world book day celebration allows us to model enthusiasm and enjoyment for stories and creative forms of writing. We take part in National Literacy Trust events that use authors and their stories to encourage children to write for a creative purpose. We have visits from authors to engage our young writers and provide them with a hands-on writing experience. Additionally, we have whole school writing events that place emphasis on the love for writing within Howletch Lane Primary School.
All teachers ensure to plan stimulating English lessons which incorporate Outdoor Learning, ICT, collaborative learning so that children are excited and enthused in their lessons, leading to a strong motivation to write. It is through our marking policy that we can give children ‘live’ feedback about their learning in the lesson; which enables children to adjust their learning based on the instant feedback provided by teachers and teaching and learning assistants. At Howletch Primary School, we believe it is highly important to give children feedback that is rich and meaningful so that they are aware of their triumphs and those areas that they need to be focussing on, as well as providing a platform for teacher and child discussion whereby children feel confident to address misconceptions and raise any thoughts and feelings about their learning.
Impact
The impact on our pupils is clear: progress, sustained learning, and transferrable skills. Pupils will feel confident to articulate the key features, including the effective use of punctuation, of a range of fiction and non-fiction text types and will be able to use these skills across the wider curriculum subjects. Pupil books will demonstrate a well sequenced, high-quality series of lessons which consider the needs of all pupils and offer challenge and support for all learners. English working walls will display Writers’ toolkits for the year group as well as other non-negotiable support materials to ensure all pupils can make good progress towards their year group objectives.
Working Walls will also demonstrate current learning and pupils will be able to confidently articulate what they are learning, not just what has been taught. At Howletch Lane Primary we see the impact in our children through the delivery of our writing curriculum. We see their love of writing grow throughout their journey with us. We provide the knowledge they need to form their own love and style of writing. The impact of high-quality texts, combined with high quality teaching gives our children the framework in which they can become fluent, creative and enthusiastic writers.
