At Weeke Primary School English is at the heart of the curriculum where every child is a fluent reader and a writer. A wide range of rich, quality whole texts are used to engage and inspire children both in their reading and writing. Instilling a love of reading is our core aim throughout their learning journey from Early Years through to Year 6.
An attitude of ‘keep up’ rather than ‘catch up’ is integral to our approach. Where catch up is necessary targeted intervention is put into place which is timely and precise.
Therefore our pupils leave the school with a rich tapestry of language, independence and joy of reading together with the confidence to be a successful writer.
There are whole class reading opportunities interwoven with grammar teaching, speaking and listening and writing opportunities embedded within each journey. Explicit reading skills including fluency are taught and modelled whole class (see Reading page) . This approach also promotes language exploration and its application by our pupils in their writing. Grammar is both discreetly taught and taught within an English journey according to our progression of skills. A wide range of writing opportunities are born out of our immersion into a text. Modelling (including WAGOLLS), shared writing, pupil talk, editing and improving are all key features of the writing process at Weeke (see Writing page). From Year 1 upwards this main body of English teaching takes place, usually daily, for approximately 45 minutes.
On-going effective formative assessment is used to inform next steps for all pupils. The impact of the English curriculum is continually monitored through our cycle of school evaluation, the evaluation of SIP actions and school data.
The impact of the English curriculum at Weeke Primary School is that our learners: