English at Yohden Primary School

Intent

It is our intent at Yohden Primary School to provide pupils with a high-quality English education that will teach them to speak, read, and write fluently so that they can effectively communicate their ideas and emotions to others. 

At Yohden Primary School, writing is a crucial part of our curriculum. From Reception to Year 6, all pupils are provided with many opportunities to develop and apply their writing skills across the curriculum.  

In EYFS, we intend for pupils to be able to write simple phrases and sentences that they and others can read. In KS1, we intend for pupils to be able to retell, plan, write and edit their writing. To be able to do this effectively, texts have been carefully chosen to allow the children to retell them orally before writing. By the end of KS1, children should also begin to join their handwriting for some letters. In KS2, we intend for our pupils to be able to plan, write, edit and redraft their writing. To do this effectively, pupils will focus on developing effective transcription and composition skills. They will also develop an awareness of the audience and purpose of a piece of writing, along with an increasingly broad knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. We also intend for pupils to leave school using fluent, joined and legible handwriting. 

Implementation

Planning and assessment

English units are planned and taught using Yohden’s Long Term Plan, which follows the National Curriculum (2014).

Teachers use unit planning documents to plan lessons, adding additional information to support learning, e.g., for SEND/GD learners.

Assessments are made using the assessment sheets for each year's group.

Teachers have access to progression documents for each year group.

Assessment monitored and moderated regularly to ensure it is accurate.

Unit planning offers a day-by-day approach to writing with flexibility based on pupil ability.

Teaching and learning

When teaching writing, teachers will: 

Start each English lesson with a 10-minute grammar/punctuation starter linked to the week’s text/writing to enable children to apply their understanding in their writing. This will link to the features of the text the year group are using.

English lessons will be taught in 3-4 weeks fiction units.

In EYFS and KS1, texts have been chosen to complement work from the broader curriculum or to reflect the interests of the age groups. In all cases, the texts have been selected for their good quality. In KS1, the unit will start with a hook lesson, look at the text’s features, and last 3-4 weeks.

In KS2, the unit will start with work based on reading/sharing a quality text from reading sessions to enable children to fully understand a text's audience, purpose and features before writing.

In both key stages, this will be followed by a 2-3 week non-fiction unit based on work in the wider curriculum, particularly retrieval of foundation topics previously taught.

In EYFS and KS1, children will focus on orally learning a story and then progress to retelling, changing writing, and editing.

In KS2, pupils will focus on one text, providing a range of writing opportunities.

Writing will follow a planning structure for progression throughout the unit. This structure is different in KS1 and KS2.

Teachers will use a range of stimuli, including texts, real-life experiences, objects and video clips.

Each year group will cover a range of fiction and non-fiction across the year.

Writing opportunities will also be identified and delivered across the curriculum. Non-fiction will be linked to the wider curriculum.

Continuous provision in EYFS and Year 1 will have planned opportunities for independent writing across activities.

Children will participate in discreet handwriting sessions each week, which are linked to spelling.

Spelling is taught daily alongside handwriting, identifying rules and applying these discretely and in context.

Focus will be on developing the correct pencil grip within EYFS and KS1.