St.

Mark's Catholic Primary School

English Policy
Includes following policies:

English eading !riting Speaking " #istening $%o follow& Spelling $%o follow& 'andwriting

Policy Statement : English

Rationale

English is central to the curriculum and must )e *iewed as a tool for access to all curriculum areas. Effecti*e performance in most su)+ect areas and most situations ,intellectual- *ocational- social and personal is dependent on the a)ility to use literacy in all its dimensions competently. Purposes !e are continually aiming to raise standards of achie*ement of the pupils who attend St. Mark.s C Primary School. %he literacy teaching is aimed towards ena)ling each pupil to de*elop within his or her own capa)ilities. !e aim to de*elop fluency- accuracy and confidence when using spoken and written language for a range of purposes and audiences. !e aim to de*elop reading skills to ena)le the children to access knowledge through )ook and non,)ook resources !e aim to foster a lo*e of literature for its own sake and encourage children to )ecome readers for life. /

Planning Planning is undertaken at two le*els. Long Term planning- Completed )y each year group to pro*ide an o*er*iew of the year. Each year group will deli*er the 0 non,fiction strands as well as the fiction and poetry strands. Short Term planning ,carried out in one- two or three week )locksdepending on the o)+ecti*es co*ered. %hese plans include o)+ecti*es for word le*el work- sentence le*el work- te1t le*el work plus speaking and listening- and include a focused plenary. %he #ong and Short %erm planning is collected and monitored )y the #iteracy Co,ordinator and #eadership %eam. Cross-curricular Links English is taught as a su)+ect in its own right during the designated #iteracy session each day )ut is used to teach other curriculum areas including Science- 'istory and 2eography in particular and the work relates to areas co*ered )y topics the children are following where*er possi)le. English is central to the curriculum. Teaching Methods and Approaches Children are clear a)out what they are going to learn at the start of each session where o)+ecti*es are clearly stated and success criteria are decided on as a class or group to ena)le children to assess their own learning o*er a lesson or series of lessons. %he teaching of English at St. Mark.s C Primary School pro*ide opportunities for: , 2roup work. , Paired work $including mi1ed a)ility and a)ility pairs& , Indi*idual work. , !hole class teaching Organisation #iteracy lessons are taught on a daily )asis throughout the school. 3pportunities for e1tended writing are offered on Monday mornings. 4

5or children in eception the organisation is more fle1i)le )uilding up to an hour lesson )y the end of the year. Children work in 4 differentiated groups where appropriate )ut ha*e opportunities to work in a range of groupings as pre*iously stated. 6ifferentiated and open 7uestions can )e used to include all children in the whole class aspects of the lesson. 3)+ecti*es from pre*ious terms or years can )e used to differentiate lessons.

Display %he importance of display in the teaching and learning of English is recognised at St. Mark.s C Primary School. Children' s writing is displayed in teaching areas and throughout the school. Each class has an area in the literacy )ase where useful *oca)ulary- spelling rules- writing prompts- letter formation charts etc pro*ide *isual support for the children to refer to. 8ll teaching areas ha*e an interacti*e white)oard to support children.s learning.

Assessment and ecord !eeping 8t St. Mark.s C Primary School we continually assess pupils and record their progress. 8ssessment is seen as an integral part of the teaching process. !e use a computer )ased assessment 9itrack primary. which is updated regularly. 8ssessments are purposeful and need to match the appropriate le*el of work to the needs of the children to ensure good progress. 8ssessment is carried out on three le*els. Short Term Assessment , 8n informal part of e*ery lesson and matched to the teaching:learning o)+ecti*es. %hese are recorded on ;

the short term #iteracy planning sheet and are for immediate attention and action. Spelling tests are carried out on a regular )ut informal )asis. Pertinent comments are recorded on the Short %erm Planning sheet. Medium Term Assessment , Carried out e*ery half term to re*iew and record the progress made in relation to the key o)+ecti*es. %he pupil.s writing is assessed using the <C3P criteria in the 8sserti*e mentoring ecord sheets. See Anne" # . Long Term Assessment , Carried out towards the end of the school year when pupil's attainment is measured against school and national targets. %his is carried out using records of key o)+ecti*es and =C8 tests $including optional papers&. =C8 tests are also analysed at school le*el to identify any weaknesses in the English Curriculum. eporting E1planatory meetings are held for parents to inform them of how reading and phonics are taught in school and how they can )est support their children. 8ll parents recei*e an annual written report containing a summary of their child's progress and a)ility in English. Parental Consultations are held each term to inform parents of children.s progress and their targets for the term. 8t the end of >ey Stages ( and / each pupil.s le*el of achie*ement against ?ational Standards is included as part of the annual report. esources esources for the deli*ery of the English Curriculum are stored )oth centrally and in teaching areas. E*eryday e7uipment and resources are kept in the teaching areas. 8dditional resources , mainly )ooks- are stored centrally.

St. Mark.s C Primary School uses a range of pu)lished materials to facilitate the teaching of English- no specific scheme is used )ut a *ariety of teacher's resource )ooks are a*aila)le. Materials and resources are updated as often as possi)le as new materials )ecome a*aila)le and )udget allocation allows. %he Su)+ect #eader consults staff and resources are )ought as needed. E$ual Opportunities 8ll staff endea*our to )e aware of and to pro*ide for e7ual opportunities for all our pupils in English. !e aim to take into account cultural )ackgrounds- gender and special needs- )oth in out teaching attitudes and methods and in the pu)lished materials we use with our children. E%ery Child Matters 8s a staff we aim to promote mutual trust and respect )etween our school- parents- families- children and the wider community. %he fi*e areas of ECM underpin all areas of English teaching and learning. &ealth ' Sa(ety 8s a staff we will ensure the pro*ision and maintenance of a safe and healthy working en*ironment and that children are appropriately super*ised during all acti*ities. Children )ith Special Educational *eeds !here*er possi)le we aim to fully include SE? pupils in the daily #iteracy lessons. !here necessary teachers will- in consultation with the SE?C3draw up Indi*idual Education Plans for specific children. !hen needs are particularly great- an indi*idual programme written in consultation with appropriate staff will )e used. !hen planning- teachers will try to address children.s needs through simplified or modified tasks or the use of support staff. !here appropriate a 2roup Educational Plan is de*eloped with common o)+ecti*es and group learning targets. %eachers will try to 0

address indi*idual children.s needs )y modification of tasks and the use of support staff where necessary. 8 range of additional strategies to gi*e children e1tra support is implemented when this is appropriate.

&ome)ork Children are gi*en English 'omework. ?ot all homework is written work- which needs marking. %eachers are aware of setting homework- which makes use of the home conte1t. Conclusion %he Policy for English needs to )e read in con+unction with the policies for eading- !riting- 'and writing- Speaking & Listening & Spelling.

Policy Statement : eading

ationale %he a)ility to read is fundamental to pupils. de*elopment as independently learners. In order to read across the curriculum with fluency- accuracy- understanding and en+oyment- pupils need to orchestrate the range of strategies depicted in the ?ational #iteracy Strategy as a series of searchlights: drawing on knowledge of conte1t and grammatical knowledgeB applying phonic knowledge and skillsB applying graphic knowledge and de*eloping word recognition. eading de*elopment is closely related to that of writing- for it is )y reflecting upon and talking a)out the te1ts they encounter- that pupils come to understand how writers write and the special relationship which e1ists )etween author and reader. It is through their critical and imaginati*e engagement with te1ts that pupils. reading of fictionpoetry and non,fiction te1t ena)les them to make sense of the world and their place in it. Purposes C

8t St. Mark.s C Primary School we aim: %o de*elop reading skills to ena)le children to access knowledge through )ooks and non,)ook sources. %o foster a lo*e of literature for its own sake and encourage children to )ecome readers for life. %o de*elop enthusiastic- independent and reflecti*e readers. %o de*elop critical readers who are a)le to +ustify their opinions. %o pro*ide opportunities for pupils to de*elop their knowledge of te1ts from a range of authors- genres and cultures. %o )e a)le to state their preferences and say why. %o de*elop readers who are a)le to use a wide range of sources and information including IC%. %o de*elop pupils. a)ility to )e discriminate readers and to )e a)le to understand layers of meaning and make critical responses to what they read.

+uidelines How is Reading taught at St. Marks? 5oundation Stage: eading %he children )egin with Phase ( #etters and Sounds. %here is a focus on oral work to de*elop the children.s language.

%he children are introduced to #ilac )ooks. %hese )ooks ha*e no words and the children use the pictures to help them tell the story. Early 2uided eading sessions consist of the %eacher: %8 using a simple te1t and modelling how to read from left to right. %hese sessions are conducted in a)ility groups which pro*ide the children with the appropriate skills to ena)le them to understanding how to read a te1t. %here is a strong emphasis on using picture clues as well as focusing on initial letter sounds. D

%he children are pro*ided with eading diaries. Eooks which are read in the 2uided eading sessions are sent home for consolidation and practice. %he children will take home two )ooks each week until they are on Fellow )and. %he children also ha*e access to EG2 C#GE. %here is a daily story session. 6uring Play Partner time $5ree Choice 8cti*ities& the %eacher and %eaching 8ssistant will o)ser*e and support children in their reading. Children who are not progressing at the e1pected rate are supported through games and reading acti*ities. In addition 8ction !ords- using Holly Phonics- will )e used to supplement the #etters and Sounds Programme. %here is an assessment )o1 and a Eook Eand Progression %a)le to monitor the children.s reading de*elopment. $See appendi1&

Phonics Phonics teaching takes place alongside eading. %he children in eception and Fear ( are streamed into groups to pro*ide daily targeted phonics sessions. $(@,/Imins&

Phonics is assessed monthly whilst the le*elled data is uploaded to the tracker on a half,termly )asis.

>eyStage ( Fear ( %here are two guided reading sessions per week. $%uesday and %hursday afternoons& %hese take place in addition to the daily literacy sessions. 6uring the guided reading sessions the children who are not in*ol*ed will )e taking part in a reading )ased acti*ity.

In addition to the guided reading the children also ha*e shared reading and free reading sessions. %he children continue to ha*e daily phonics sessions. In addition to this- the weaker readers continue to ha*e action word acti*ities. (I

8ssessments are hi,lighted and stored in a eading 8PP folder. Children who are yet to reach #e*el ( )egin on a Pre,8PP tracker. 2uided eading takes place using a carousel of acti*ities. %he first acti*ity will )e reading with the %eacher or %eaching 8ssistant. %he second acti*ity will in*ol*e a reading acti*ity $eg Stile %rays- sorting acti*ities- free choice reading or EG2 C#GE&. %he third acti*ity will )e a re*iew task. 5or the less a)le readers- this re*iew task will )e supported )y an adult. %here continues to )e a daily phonics session each morning.

Fear /

>ey Stage / %he children are )anded according to reading a)ility. Each a)ility group will ha*e at least one guided reading session per week.

Fear 4 and ; continue to ha*e a weekly phonics session lasting for one hour. Children who are working in Phase @ or )elow will recei*e /I minutes of e1tra phonics teaching on a daily )asis. Each child has a 'ome eading 6iary. %hey are pro*ided with appropriately le*elled )ook and their )ooks are changed once a week. %he children are e1pected to write at least one comment per week. Children are assessed using the 8PP le*els. %he teacher will set an appropriate target and hi,light it on the 8PP tracker sheet once this has )een achie*ed.

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Policy Statement: ,riting

ationale
!riting is *ital in all su)+ect areas. Effecti*e performance in most su)+ects and most situations J intellectual- *ocational- social and personal- depends on one.s a)ility to use language competently- in all its dimensions.

Purpose
8t St. Mark.s C Primary we aim to : encourage pupils to write with confidence. ena)le pupils to understand the *alue of writing as a means of remem)ering- communicating- organising and de*eloping ideas and information.

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 de*elop pupils. skills to write independently on a range of su)+ects and

conte1ts.

de*elop pupils. confidence to e1tend their writing and see their writing
through to the finished article. encourage pupils to organise and present writing in different ways- and use features of layout and presentation. write in response to a *ariety of stimuli.

+uidelines How is Writing taught at St. Marks? eception: See Mrs Smith.s PowerPoint slides to show the de*elopment of writing within eception. $See 8ppendi1&

Fear (: 6iary writing takes place e*ery Monday. Children write a)out what is familiar. >ey focus on sentence structure- finger spaces- capital letters and full stops. Ey Easter the children will )egin to access Eig !riting.

Fear /: 6iary writing each Monday. %alk for !riting used to de*elop *oca)ulary.

>ey Stage /: %alk for !riting is em)edded. %he children ha*e a weekly e1tended writing. %hey are gi*en personalised targets which marked using the colour coding system (4

$2reen K achie*edB Fellow K partially achie*edB ed K not achie*ed& Marking #adders used to help children know what is e1pected for each genre. !eekly 2rammar and Punctuation sessions. (I minutes starters to de*elop grammar and punctuation skills. Inter*ention: Fear @ " 0 will use 5resh Start to target the lower a)ility writers. Fear 4 " ; will use the L!rite 8way %ogetherM programme to target underperforming writers.

Assessment: !riting will )e assessed on a half termly )asis using the 8sserti*e Mentoring Criteria. Each Fear group will do the same piece so that writing can )e moderated across the school. Progress meetings will )e used to identify underperforming pupils and strategies will )e put in place to ensure they are monitored and supported.

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Policy Statement: &and)riting

ationale (@

'andwriting is *ital in all su)+ect areas. It is important to ena)le children to write 7uickly and legi)ly so as to allow them to reach their full potential in all areas of the curriculum. Purposes 8t St. Mark.s C Primary School we aim to : encourage pupils to write with confidence. de*elop good ha)its of letter formation- leading to a legi)le and fast,flowing hand. follow the school script for un+oined and +oined writing. set writing out in an accurate- appropriate way. pro*ide a range of writing e1periences to ena)le pupils to )ecome fluent writers. 2uidelines 1. 'andwriting will )e taught to reinforce the mo*ement of letter shapes $while working in their sounds&- and in shared writing to demonstrate how knowledge of letter shapes and sounds are used when writing words and sentences. 2. 'andwriting will )e practised in con+unction with spelling and phonics- particularly in > S (and 5oundation Stage . 3. 'andwriting will )e taught in addition to the #iteracy lessonse1plicitly using handwriting )ooklets- white)oards- smart)oard acti*ities and hand to eye co,ordination and manipulation acti*ities- appro1imately once a week for (I ,(@ minute sessions. 4. #etter formation will )e practised for a few minutes on a fre7uent )asis- independently- in a group- or as a class. 5. Materials from %he 8lpha)et 'andwriting 5ile $thaf leading& are used to teach the cursi*e script. 6. Continuity and Progression should )e monitored throughout the >ey Stages- through work sampling- planning and collecting other written e*idence of writing presentation. 7. 8t the end of each >ey Stage a le*el will )e gi*en for writing. 8s part of this le*el- legi)ility and writing presentation is assessedand le*elled accordingly. 8. 3pportunities to de*elop handwriting skills will )e de*eloped through indi*idual work- group work and whole class teaching.

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9. Pupils will )e encouraged to write independently from an early age. %he teaching of handwriting should complement this progress- and encourage pupils to write with accuracy and speed. 10. 'andwriting errors are picked up and corrected early- so as not to hinder pupil progress.

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