ENGLISH
Our aim is to deliver high quality English lessons, which encourages outstanding teaching and learning, to ensure each child develops to at least national age related expectations. Planning and delivery of English at St Thomas’ follows the Statutory requirements for the teaching and learning of English as laid out in The National Curriculum in England Framework Document for Teaching, September 2014 and the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, September 2014.
At St Thomas’ C of E Academy we believe the key skills we learn in English are vital to all areas of the curriculum and contribute to the social, emotional and educational development of each child. All children need to be able to communicate effectively in both spoken and written language. Children need to read fluently and accurately, with understanding and enjoyment. These skills are essential foundations for English development and effective teaching of English will offer opportunities to use these skills throughout all areas of the curriculum.
Lessons are uniquely planned and tailored to meet the needs of all our learners. Teachers provide stimulating experiences to hook, engage and motivate the children, using a range of resources.
Additionally, English skills are incorporated throughout the whole curriculum. There is a clear emphasis on the teaching of basic English across the curriculum to ensure that children have opportunities to confidently read and write and talk in a range of contexts.
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English teaching involves using high quality texts, both fiction and non-fiction which are diverse and reflect the community we live in, celebrating talented people from all backgrounds. Teachers will cover all of the key areas of learning by following a comprehensive teaching cycle that our children will enjoy. We aim to develop their understanding of the world by learning about interesting themes and challenging topics.
Reading
At St. Thomas’, we are aware that it is essential for pupils to develop a competence in fluency and comprehension in order to be a successful reader. To have skilled fluency, children need to have the skills of decoding and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. High quality comprehension is drawn from linguistic knowledge and knowledge of the world. At St. Thomas’, comprehension skills are developed through high quality discussions within the classroom and from reading a wide range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Children will be encouraged to read widely across a range of genres, time periods and cultures to develop their knowledge of the world in which they live and to establish an appreciation and love of reading.
Writing
Throughout a child’s time at St. Thomas’, they will be taught the skills for effective composition of writing. This involves forming, articulating and communicating ideas and then organising them coherently for a reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Children will be taught to write for a wide range of purposes and will be able to adapt the tone and style of their writing to reflect their audience. These skills will be present across fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
