English unites the important skills of reading and writing. It also involves spoken language, as good oral work enhances a child's understanding of language. Drama encourages the development of receptive and expressive language and productions are an integral part of the English curriculum.

At The Russell School, we believe that a high quality English curriculum should develop children’s skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening and discussion. To that end, we deliver innovative learning that is embedded in our Imaginative Learning Projects. It is inspired by an extensive range of quality children's literature, providing rich and purposeful learning opportunities which fully reflect our school values. We want our children to have a positive attitude towards communication and to be able to independently express their emotions and ideas.

These aims are the foundation of both our English lessons and our wider curriculum and are delivered by means of our Pathway to English curriculum. Rigorous assessment and review ensure that we are able to provide targeted support so that all children experience success in literacy; we believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.

Reading
At The Russell School, we want all of our children to become fluent, confident readers. From the moment they start school, lots of opportunities are provided for children to engage with books that interest and excite them. They are encouraged to choose and peruse books freely, as well as sharing them with an adult. Enjoying and sharing books leads to children seeing them as a source of pleasure and interest and motivates them to value reading.

The children are taught a number of skills and strategies to enable them to become good readers. In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), children are taught these skills through the accredited Little Wandle Phonics Programme which falls largely within the Communication and Language and Literacy areas of learning in the EYFS. The children are provided with high quality play activities which offer lots of opportunities to enrich their language across all areas of the EYFS curriculum. The children are also encouraged to read daily by taking home reading practice books chosen to support Little Wandle Phonics.

The phonics programme continues through Year One as children become more fluent readers and increasingly accurate spellers. By the end of Key Stage One, many children will be reading longer and less familiar texts independently. Children will begin to choose to read both for information and for pleasure.  

In Key Stage Two, children continue to develop their reading skills, particularly in terms of their comprehension of more complicated texts. They work through a range of teacher-directed reading practice books until they become proficient readers and can choose from our wide range of fiction and library books. New books are purchased on a regular basis and book fairs are held in school during the year, encouraging the children to peruse the latest titles. They are then encouraged to inform teachers of any new titles which they feel the school should stock.

Our regular reading events, such as Book Week, aim to promote the enjoyment of reading, writing and drama across the school through a range of themed English activities.

Writing
At The Russell School, the children cover a range of writing styles. During English lessons, they have the opportunity to write in different genres and use their creativity. Writing is cross-curricular: in English the children may use their imagination to write a fictional story; in history they may be persuading the government to enforce compulsory schooling to all children in Victorian Times and, in science, they may then move on to writing about the outcomes of an experiment.

Pupils learn from an early stage that much of their writing will be read by an audience and therefore needs to be accurate, legible and appropriately presented. Every child has their own special book for writing and is involved in the editing and refining of their work. Throughout Key Stage Two, there is a progressive emphasis on the skills of planning, drafting, revising, proof-reading and the presentation of writing.

Handwriting is taught and practised regularly, with the children learning the cursive style from Year One onwards.

Spelling
Spelling is taught in a structured manner in every year group. Each week the lessons concentrate on spelling patterns, word families or irregular words. The children are taught strategies to remember new spellings, e.g. look-say-cover-write-check, mnemonics, identifying the difficult bits in words or breaking the word into syllables.

Our curriculum closely follows the National Curriculum for English and enables all of our children to:

● 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 a 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

Progression of Knowledge and Skills in English

EYFS Knowledge and Skills in Communication and Language

EYFS Knowledge and Skills in Literacy