The Ideal Alliance
English
Intent - What are we trying to achieve?
Aims of the English National Curriculum
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 language, 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
English at YFPS
At Yealmpstone Farm Primary School, we recognise that English is the key to effective communication. Reading, writing, speaking and listening are all essential skills to enable a full and meaningful participation in society, and, as such, we provide children with a broad variety of opportunities through which to develop, practise and improve those skills.
One of our key priorities as a school is to develop children's reading fluency, starting with the structured teaching of systematic phonics, progressing onto using Accelerated Reader and Reading Plus.
In our teaching of writing, we use carefully-selected texts to inspire creativity, whilst also providing the SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) tools to enable children to produce high-quality compositions.
We place a significant emphasis on children developing and articulating their ideas orally, and we foster an environment where everyone’s thoughts and views are shared and valued.
Implementation - How will we achieve it?
At YFPS, we follow the 'National Curriculum in England: English Programmes of Study, full details of which can be found at:
Reading
Early reading skills are taught consistently from our nursery, through Foundation and into KS1, following the Read, Write Inc programme for the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics.. We have trained all staff and we also have a reading team who teach phonics daily to a group of children. The children are placed in homogenous groups. We also run a tutoring programme for children who require extra support, to help ensure that all children are supported to become confident readers.
Alongside the decoding skills taught through phonics, we use the reading 'VIPERS' approach to teach the skills required for effective reading comprehension. VIPERS stands for: vocabulary, inferencing, prediction, explanation, retrieval and summarising/sequencing. Children are taught these VIPERS skills explicitly through daily reading comprehension lessons.
We use Accelerated Reader once children progress out of the Read, Write, Inc. programme into Grammar and Comprehension group and into KS2. It is a means of ensuring that children are matched with (and challenged by) appropriate texts, whilst also being highly motivated to progress in their reading. In KS2, children also access Reading Plus, an adaptive literacy programme designed to improve children's reading skills, including fluency, comprehension and vocabulary. Reading Plus provides a personalised learning experience tailored to each child's reading ability, helping them to become more confident readers.
Most importantly, at YFPS we aim to promote a 'love of reading'. We encourage children and staff to discuss and share texts, and embrace opportunities for events and initiatives which celebrate and promote reading for pleasure, including World Book Day and the Summer Reading Challenge.
Writing
Initially children are introduced to sentence structure using 'colourful semantic' and phonics skills to blend and segment words. This system is then used to develop children's understanding of more complex grammar. Please see an example of this by clicking here. Writing opportunities are carefully planned around class topics and high-quality model texts. In KS1, children imitate and innovate texts, progressing to their own inventions. Dictation is also used to allow children to focus on transcription skills, helping to develop early writing skills. In KS2, children respond to class texts in their writing, utilising a wide range of tools, including Alan Peat's Sentence Types, to provide structure and variety. Significant emphasis is place on audience and purpose when planning writing opportunities and children enjoy sharing their compositions with others.
All children participate in daily handwriting sessions. Children in Foundation start learning how to form letters using Stage 1 of the Ruth Miskin handwriting scheme. Alongside this, they also develop fine-motor skills through activities in continuous provision, and through adult-led activities. Throughout KS1, children progress through the three stages of the handwriting scheme, building up to a fluid and smooth style of joined writing. Intervention groups are also put in place to support writers who need support in areas such as fine-motor skills and letter formation. In KS2, children consolidate these skills, repeating stages of the handwriting scheme where necessary.
Spellings
From September 2019, we have adopted the Spelling Shed scheme of work from Year 1 to Year 6, which provides a structured progression of spelling rules and skills, whilst also providing children with a fun and interactive means of applying, practising and perfecting their spelling words.
Speaking & Listening
Oracy skills are taught and practised across all areas of the curriculum. Children are encouraged to use structured sentence stems, which enable children to articulate and present their thoughts and ideas. In addition to the many oracy opportunities in class, we have further opportunities to develop oracy skills including House Captains' Assemblies and School Council.
Our Foundation Stage places oracy at the heart of its curriculum; vocabulary is taught intentionally and explicitly. Core word sessions are also run with intervention groups, exposing children to new and exciting vocabulary. Ruth Miskin 'Say a poem' sessions have also been introduced in 2025, where Foundation children recite poetry over the course of a week – a fun and engaging way for children to practise performative speaking skills.
Impact - What difference will it make?
At YFPS, children:
- are confident in verbally expressing and sharing their thoughts and ideas with others
- enjoy reading and discussing different authors and genres of literature
- can confidently decode and comprehend age-appropriate texts
- can communicate their thoughts and ideas confidently in writing, across a wide range of subjects, contexts and genres, demonstrating age-appropriate command of SPAG with creativity