English

EYFS and Key Stage One children receive phonics lessons five times per week following the Ruth Miskin Programme RWi, until they have been assessed as having completed the phonics programme and have demonstrated the fluency required to venture beyond Grey Storybooks. Once secure, children will access whole class reading comprehension during this time, following our Core Literature Spine. Accessing reading comprehension from Year 2, enables all children to be exposed to structured comprehension, providing the opportunity to develop and master the skills required to understand a text. It also allows all children to access the interleaving that takes place between subjects within the wider curriculum and provides all children the opportunity to develop key reading (word reading and comprehension) and writing skills.

Reading is taught through the explicit delivery of reading domains from Year 2 onwards, with Key Stage Two children accessing whole-class reading four times a week. Reading domains are regularly revisited to secure the skill of comprehension and the tools we use to connect a text to full understanding. This is delivered in small steps and sequenced in books using question structure strips, which reduce cognitive load for the child and act as a prompt to remind them of the journey they have been on throughout the lesson. The structure of the lesson consists of exposure to challenging vocabulary; a mixture of reading techniques; explanation; worked example; attempt; apply and challenge.   

Reading enables children access to expert authors to enable them to make connections between the authorial style and skill they see as a reader, to how they can develop themselves as writers. As a school we challenge children to first read as a reader, then read as a writer, considering the impact of language choice and the way an author creates a book that impacts on the reader. This enables children to connect all areas of their learning and feel confident in their skills as a reader.

Throughout their time at Corngreaves, children will follow our core Literature Spine which explores heritage texts; BAME authors and protagonists; strong female role models and texts centred around specific social, ethical and moral issues. A range of authors will be explored including famous authors and ‘the Greats’, as well as authors children may be initially unfamiliar with. Children will also be exposed to texts written by experts specifically designed for our programme of study to enhance and support the core texts. This enables children to foster their love of reading and broaden their choice, showcasing that there is a book for everyone.

Intent  

At Corngreaves, our Writing Curriculum is centred around a core-text approach. This enables our pupils to be immersed in literature, which is rich in vocabulary, purposefully written and enhances their cultural capital. Our writing curriculum is purposefully sequenced so that knowledge and skills for writing are built upon term by term and year by year. We ensure that knowledge, skills and concepts are secure before moving on and that pupils have regular opportunities to revisit prior learning to apply their understanding in new contexts.   

It is our expectation that every child will leave our school with the skills of a proficient writer who is able to express their thoughts and ideas confidently and creatively through the use of the written word. Furthermore, we intend to create writers who have the following literary skills:  

• the ability to write with fluency and stamina; 
• can write for a particular purpose, paying particular consideration to the audience who the writing is intended for; 
• can imitate and manipulate the language, structure and punctuation devices used in effective writing models; 
• can use an extensive bank of higher-level vocabulary and have an excellent knowledge of writing techniques with which to communicate the written word with an appropriate authorial voice and tone; 
• can display excellent transcription skills that ensure their writing is well presented, punctuated and spelt correctly 
• can review, edit (secretarially and for impact) and proof-read their writing so that every time they write it is of the highest possible standard, continuing to develop and improve over time  

The core texts we use as our immersion into high-quality writing provide a mirror in which pupils can see characters similar to themselves and a window to view inspirational and aspirational figures.  Our aim is for pupils to leave us as passionate writers, with a love of literacy, ready for the next step of their educational journey.  

Implementation  

As a school, we follow the United Learning Writing Curriculum which ensures the highest expectations for the attainment and progress of all pupils. Pupils are exposed to a variety of fiction and non-fiction outcomes based on a high-quality core text. This enables them to delve deeper and be hooked on the language and techniques intentionally selected by the author. Writing lessons are delivered daily in National Curriculum Year Groups 1-6 with EYFS also accessing Literacy on a daily basis.  

In Years 1-6, the structure of our writing units is as follows-  

1. Immersion We begin each unit delving into the core text: enabling our pupils to become fully engaged with what we are writing. At this stage, pupils will explore vocabulary, structures and conventions of the core text and the intended outcome for the genre in which the children will be expected to write in. To ensure children have an awareness of the purpose and audience for their written outcome, it is planned and shared at this point in the journey.  
2. Adding detail  During this stage of our writing journey, pupils will develop their word and sentence-level skills. At this point, teachers will explicitly revise and teach core skills and GPS appropriate to that year group and the intended outcome. The purpose of this phase is to generate ideas, practise writing and linking sentences. This phase will integrate multiple GPS skills where teachers will authentically model manipulating techniques to ensure the writing is having the desired impact on the audience. 
3. Planning  Pupils will be taught to discuss and plan for writing using a range of structures dependent on the genre. This will enable them to understand and select appropriate vocabulary, grammar skills and content in preparation for extended, purposeful writing. Pupils are taught to record using age-appropriate methods, including visuals and note form.  
4. Drafting & Revising  At this point in the journey, pupils review the learning from the unit so far, creating a shared success criteria. Pupils then draft and revise their written outcome, supported by their plans, the success criteria, and any words, phrases and ideas collated on the working wall over the course of the unit.  As pupils write, teachers provide feedback and personalised support through 1:1, group and whole class conferencing, as appropriate to the needs of the class. Pupils will be reminded to regularly pause to proof-read for misspelt words, omissions and punctuation errors. They will also consider the impact and atmosphere they have created for the reader, revising their choices as they write. 
5. Proof-reading, Evaluating & Editing  Upon completion of their first draft, teachers model the skills of proof-reading for errors in spelling and punctuation, focusing on the accurate use of intended GPS skills for the unit delivered. The whole class will evaluate and edit their writing, highlighting examples within the text of where they, as a writer, have met each element of the shared success criteria and suggesting any improvements or changes to grammar and vocabulary. Pupils share their own completed stories with a collaborative partner, proof-reading for errors and evaluating and editing the writing. 
6. Publishing, Presenting & Performing  To finish, pupils create a final and polished published piece to share with their intended audience. Additionally, pupils will seek feedback from their intended audience to feedforward into their next piece of writing.  

As our writing journey is recursive not linear, elements of the learning journey may be repeated at different times throughout the unit.  

Impact  

As a result of our Writing Curriculum, pupils will have developed independence and autonomy to foster their own unique writing voice and adopt a sincere pleasure for writing. Progress will be strong, consistent and evident from their own unique starting points. They will have established an authentic understanding of writing for different audiences and purposes meanwhile securing the writing skills they need to progress year on year. Our pupils will acquire a wide vocabulary and have a strong command of the written word. Most importantly, they will develop a love of writing and be well-equipped for the rest of their education in Key Stages 3, 4 and beyond. 

Throughout school, we follow the Penpals handwriting approach across the school. This exposes children to handwriting in five developmental stages: physical preparation for handwriting; securing correct letter formation; beginning to join; securing the joins and practicing speed and developing a personal style. Children are given the opportunity to continue to build fine and gross motor skills through the Penpals Gym enabling them to secure pencil control, grip and appropriate pressure.

As a school, we follow the CUSP Spelling Curriculum. This consists of a two-week cycle where spelling concepts are taught to encourage pupils to notice patterns and systems to implement spellings. Each two-week cycle consists of a focus linking to areas including: statutory spellings; prefixes; suffixes; homophones and previously taught rules. During this time, pupils will explore the spelling concept at word level, sentence level through dictation and identify and correct errors through proof-reading and editing. Pupils will also look at the origin of words considering etymology and morphology to develop a deeper understanding of the way we can decode meaning. The key is implementation and pupils are challenged to utilise these spelling concepts in their day-to-day learning to develop automaticity and confidence around spelling.