Woodthorpe Church of England Primary School
Learning & Growing Together To Be The Best We Can Be
English
At Woodthorpe Cof E Primary School, we believe Literacy to be central to the curriculum. By developing pupils’ abilities to read, write, speak and listen for a wide range of purposes, we hope that our children develop into effective learners across the curriculum. We want children to become enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers both in school and the wider world. We also want all children to learn to love writing, and be proud of how they record ideas for information or pleasure.
Curriculum Intent
During their time at Woodthorpe, we want pupils to:
- 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.
Wider Curriculum
As part of the wider curriculum we ensure that throughout their time at Woodthorpe the children get to meet an author, read aloud their written work, perform a poem or perform in a play, visit the theatre and visit the library.
Careers
The skills you gain across the English curriculum can apply to a wide range of careers. The teaching and learning of English supports careers in:
- Author
- Journalist
- Education – such as a teacher
- Politician
- Lawyer
- Marketing Executive
- Writer
- Actor
English authors, poets, playwrights
Each term the children will be exposed to a wealth of high quality written material including picture books, novels, poems and nonfiction. Through hearing books read aloud daily and from studying books in English the children will be familiar with a range of authors, poets, writers and playwrights. These will include men and women from different cultures and backgrounds including those who are dead and still living.
Spirituality in English
At Woodthorpe we will draw on the language of wows, ows and nows, so that conversations around spirituality will be included in classroom teaching of English when appropriate from Reception to Year 6.
This language of spirituality begins from a Christian understanding that everyone is a valued creation, individually and uniquely made by God, like pots made by a potter (Isaiah 64:8). Yet, in life things happen that impact on the physical ‘pot’ of life and create cracks that provide a glimpse of something ‘beyond’ the tangible. Christians would view this as an opportunity to relate to the Divine Creator God. Cracks may be caused when something so good and breath-taking happens that the pot expands and cracks – the wows of life. Cracks may happen when something challenging happens and threatens the comfort of everyday – the ows of life. Cracks can also happen in the stillness and ordinariness of everyday – the nows of life, when a moment of stillness, a pause or prayer creates a crack in the normal, physical everyday.
Reading
Points to consider:
o What inspired you in this text?
o How did a character cope with a challenge in life?
o How did the actions of a character surprise you? How do you think you
would have responded to that wow or ow moment?
o What do you think makes these words so powerful/beautiful/painful?
Writing
Points to consider:
• If pupils are invited to write about things that have profound meaning to them, how
is this writing valued? How can it be recognised as having value, rather than simply
be reduced to an evaluation of SPAG?
SMSC
The Cultural Child - English supports the cultural development of a child by exposing them to a wide range of written and spoken language from a range of cultures.
The Social Child - English supports social development by helping children to understand how written and spoken language has changed over time and also social attitudes to language.
The Moral Child - English supports moral development by encouraging children to look, discuss and evaluate a range of social and moral issues found in genres.
The Spiritual Child - English supports spiritual development by engaging children with poetry, fiction and drama. Exploring feelings and values found in a wide range of genres.
British Values
English at all levels provides opportunities for discussions which focus on both democracy and the rule of law. Texts are chosen which allow students to explore the issue of rule of law and equally as well as issues around democracy. Students are introduced to a range of texts and types of writing. Across Key Stage 2 students are involved in debates and letter writing for persuasion.
Protected Characteristics
At Woodthorpe C of E Primary, we want to give our children an open, respectful and realistic mindset. We strive to expose them to a range of significant writers from all different backgrounds related to the protected characteristics, and have planned for this in our varied curriculum. We also will discuss issues relating to the characteristics when they arise in the books we have chosen for our children to study in class.