English at St Nicholas
Subject Leader: Miss K Wild
Reading Leader: Miss Z Griffiths
Hello, my name is Miss Wild. My role as English Subject Leader is to support the teachers in developing our children’s spoken language, reading, writing and grammar and vocabulary, in order that they become confident and creative writers that write purposefully and meaningfully for a range of audiences and purposes. This is achieved through teaching our children to speak clearly, to convey their ideas fluently and confidently and to ask questions. We also promote the status of written work by providing opportunities for children’s writing to be published and read by real audiences.
Our pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure and to read widely. We use Little Wandle for our phonics programme. Phonic awareness helps the development of reading by segmenting and blending sounds. The children will be heard read individually (frequency according to need) and in groups. The guided reading sessions cover both fiction and non-fiction books. Guided reading also develops the children’s comprehension skills.
Hello, my name is Miss Griffiths. My role as Reading Leader is to work with the English Leader to oversee the implementation and impact of our Little Wandle Phonics scheme and the extent to which it achieves what we intend for our children by the time they leave our school. I work with the teachers explore how and when to teach new sounds and the ways in which we build on this through the types of texts that children read both in and out of school.
It is important our reading provision is consistent across the school, and therefore enjoy the opportunity to see our oldest children interacting with a range of text genres and engaging in progressively challenging skills in their reading sessions.
Introduction
Creating a life-long love for the subject of English helps to support pupils’ work across the curriculum, as well as enlighten their interactions with the world around them. It also acts as a gateway to increase their own cultural capital and enables pupils to access all possibilities life has to offer. Our teaching of English also places significance on the collective experience of other people embodied through the language they employ, and pupils learn about empathy, understanding, self-expression, and through this combination, about themselves and who they are.
The teaching and learning of English at St Nicholas comprises the development of comprehensive reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and, importantly, the exploration and application of high-level vocabulary.
“If they can read it, and understand it, they can say it. If they can say it with confidence, it provides them a key to success for their future beyond school.” Alex Quigley
It remains a vital subject to embed our pupils’ understanding of literature and the lived experience of others across the globe, past and present and across a range of genres. It rests at the very core of our pupil’s ability to express themselves creatively and imaginatively and enables them to think critically and enthusiastically about the world around them. The study of English also embeds our pupils’ understanding and appreciation of the intricacies of language: its breath, patterns, structure and origins. Empowered with this knowledge, pupils at St Nicholas are able to make informed choices about how they communicate themselves in different contexts.
The teaching of English at St Nicholas involves an ever-evolving, reflective and vibrant curriculum which challenges and engages our pupils. We acknowledge the paramount importance of adapting and extending our bespoke curriculum to match all pupils’ needs. Where possible, English will be linked to class topics to ensure knowledge and understanding of the world is applied across a range of contexts and embedded in the long-term memory through interleaving opportunities for application.
What are our aims and aspirations for the
St Nicholas Wirter, Speaker and Reader?
Key Information
Please see below key information and documents about this subject, which has been developed to ensure it is accessible to everyone so that you get a real feel for what we have to offer our children.
Subject Policy, Vision and Expectations
Our Subject Policy, Vision and Expectations aims to share how we put our own stamp on this subject at St Nicholas, whilst setting out our ambitious vision of what we want our learners to experience and achieve by the time they leave us in Year 4.
In our way, we set out what we intend for our children, how we will achieve this through what we do, and how we check it is having an impact on our children’s achievement, progress and personal development.
Subject Overviews
Our Subject Overview will give you an insight into what our children learn and when. You will also find a more comprehensive overview which sets out the context of this subject in our school and how it relates to our children, and how we design our curriculum progression here at St Nicholas.
Being a Learner at St Nicholas
