About Our English Curriculum

It is the intent of the curriculum to:

• build confident and capable readers to aid in current and future learning in all areas
• build skills in comprehension including retrieval, sequencing, inference and authorial intent
• create articulate writers in an array of text types which will stem from articulate speakers

English, as a core subject, will be taught daily. We recognise the need for English to maintain a core time every morning as learning to read will be the basis for all future learning.

Phonics

Phonics will build a large part of the focus in the EYFS and KS1. We believe that excellent phonics teaching is the foundation to reading and future learning for all children. Daily phonics lessons will be taught using a consistent approach throughout the school. Phonics lessons will provide an opportunity to:

• Revisit past learning
• Teach new phoneme/grapheme
• Practise
• Apply

Ongoing monitoring of phonics will be completed through Phonics Tracker. Spelling rules will be expected to be integrated into phonics and then extend beyond phonics. Children will be provided timely intervention to allow them the opportunity to keep up rather than catch up at a later time.

Spelling

Spelling lessons throughout the week should include:

• Revisit (daily)
• Spelling rule (Introduction and revisit daily)
• Definitions (including word origins, root words, meaning of suffixes or prefixes)
• Syllabification
• Short Dictations

Spelling will be assessed through PiXL diagnostic and termly assessments.

Reading

Reading is built upon the CUSP curriculum which provides a literacy spine for reading with additional texts and extracts to aid in a range of reading opportunities. Staff are adapting the reading with scaffolded resources for children that may require this support (e.g., SEND or EAL). In KS1, the reading is planned for 5 days of 45 minute lessons over a two week period. In KS2, the planned curriculum has a 30 minute reading lesson daily. This structure is new to the school and will be monitored carefully to assure that there is continued progress in reading skills. Assessment of reading will be completed with fluency/prosody termly assessment and reading comprehension (PiXL resources).

Writing

Writing in years 1 – 4 is planned using the CUSP curriculum. In KS1, writing is taught for 5 sessions of 45 minutes over a 2 week period. Writing in KS2 is taught for 45 minutes daily. Grammar lessons will be taught explicitly through the carefully planned writing lessons of CLUSP. The sequence of writing has been carefully planned and mapped out in the CLUSP
curriculum to assure there are opportunities to revisit key text types and skills. At Tollgate Primary, the teachers have the flexibility to change the context of the writing to assure that children can develop their skills. (If a context in a pre-planned and resource lesson is out of reach of the children and there are no opportunities to help develop this context, then teachers
will be allowed and expected to alter the lessons.) Writing will be assessed against national curriculum expectations for each year and at least one time a year, No More Marking will be utilised for a comparison judgement.

Please view the English Curriculum document available in the attachments section for more information and to see what our pupils will be covering this academic year.