Aims

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• 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 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.

Intent

At BHPS, we provide children with a challenging and engaging English curriculum, which goes above and beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum outlined above.

Implementation – Spoken Language

At BHPS, we recognise that oracy underpins the development of reading and writing and is a key element of the National Curriculum. We are committed to developing our pupils’ speaking and listening skills across all areas of learning, ensuring that every child becomes a confident communicator by the end of Key Stage 2.

Spoken language is embedded throughout the curriculum and taught explicitly and implicitly from Early Years through to Year 6. Teachers provide frequent opportunities for pupils to develop their oracy skills through structured talk, collaborative learning, drama, storytelling, debates, discussion, presentations, and role play. We promote active listening, respectful dialogue, and the ability to articulate ideas clearly, using appropriate vocabulary and sentence structure for different audiences and purposes.

Our approach is inclusive and designed to support the needs of all learners, including those with English as an Additional Language (EAL) and those with identified speech, language and communication need. Targeted interventions, visual supports, and collaboration with speech and language specialists are used where appropriate to ensure every child can achieve their full potential.

The National Curriculum states that pupils in Years 1-6 should be taught to:

• listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
• ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge
• use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary
• articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions
• give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings
• maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments
• use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas
• speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English
• participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates
• gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener(s)
• consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others
• select and use appropriate registers for effective communication.

At BHPS, we have broken these objectives down into six key primary themes: Attention, listening and understanding; vocabulary; speech sounds; storytelling and narrative; conversations and social interactions. These key primary themes show a clear progression from Foundation to Year 6.

We also value performance and public speaking as powerful tools for building confidence and self-esteem. Whole-school events such as class assemblies and performances provide platforms for pupils to showcase their spoken language skills to wider audiences.

Through a consistent and purposeful approach to spoken language, we aim to equip our pupils with the communication skills they need for academic success, effective interpersonal relationships, and active participation in society.

Impact – Spoken Language

The expected impact on spoken language from following the English Curriculum Depth Map, focuses on: confidence, active listening, academic vocabulary, evidence-based discourse, audience adaptation, and celebrating linguistic diversity.

Pupils will:

• Speak with increasing confidence across a range of contexts, from classroom discussions to formal presentations
• Actively listen to understand and respond thoughtfully, building on others’ ideas collaboratively
• Use subject-specific vocabulary confidently across all curriculum areas to express complex ideas with precision
• Engage in sustained academic discourse, using evidence to support their viewpoints and challenge assumptions respectfully
• Adapt their register, vocabulary, and delivery style appropriately for different audiences and purposes
• Celebrate linguistic diversity within our school community, recognising that multilingualism is an asset.

Implementation – Reading

Reading Compass

The Reading Compass offers an at-a-glance overview of the provision of reading at Bramcote Hills.

Reading Diet

A reading diet refers to a balanced and varied approach to reading that ensures children are exposed to different types of texts, genres, and reading experiences – much like a nutritional diet provides varied foods for healthy growth. The concept emphasises that children need a rich mix of reading materials and approaches to reading.

Phonics and Spelling

In EYFS and Year 1, children have a daily phonics session, following the Monster Phonics DFE Validated Scheme. ‘Monster Phonics’ is a rigorous, systematic synthetic programme developed by Ingrid Connors, a primary teacher, phonics specialist and audiological scientist. All the resources within the programme are mapped against Letters and Sounds phases 1 to 6 and the KS1 Spelling Curriculum.

In Year 2, children have Monster Phonics phonics/spelling sessions three times per week, revising previously taught phonics content and teaching spelling rules and strategies.

Sounds & Syllables

Across Key Stage 2, spelling is taught through the Sounds & Syllables curriculum. The founding concept behind spelling in Sounds

& Syllables is the understanding that every word in the English language, from the simplest to the most complex, is constructed in the same way. Each word is a collection of spellings, each of which represents a speech sound. These sound-spelling matches are clustered into syllables.

The Phonemic Spelling Sequence

When spelling words, children follow a five-step sequence:

1. Say the word clearly in a spelling voice
2. Snip the word into syllables
3. Say sounds and write spellings
4. Target misspellings
5. Link to known words and patterns.

Sounds & Syllables Curriculum

The Sounds & Syllables components of learning have been organised into four tiers, each tier correlating to a year group within key stage two. Each tier consists of phases which group together similar objectives. The number of units varies between phases but there are 36 units within a tier.

Sounds & Syllables cover the requirements for spelling in the key stage two national curriculum. These objectives are in bold in the tier overviews. However, the content in Sounds & Syllables units goes beyond the National Curriculum content by revising content from key stage one; covering a larger number of prefixes and suffixes; and including Latin and Greek bases.

The Spelling Week

Each week, a new unit from the spelling curriculum is taught. ‘The Spelling Week’ is comprised of four spelling lessons, each lasting approximately 20 minutes. Whilst each unit is unique, the format of lessons is broadly the same.

 Day 1 – Word Study: Children are introduced to a new list of core words. They examine these words carefully to identify a pattern and, where applicable, understand why words are spelled in this way e.g. etymology, morphology.

 Day 2 – Whole Class Spelling: During this session, the teacher will explicitly model the phonemic spelling sequence for a selection of the core words with the children mirroring on mini-whiteboards. The teacher will slowly remove the scaffold, enabling children to spell the words more independently.

 Day 3 – Spelling Practice: Children will complete a worksheet comprised of a number of tasks e.g. Word Map, Repeated Spelling, Mixed Up.

 Day 4 – Test and Review: This session will begin with a small test of seven words (five words from the current unit’s core words and two from the previous week). Following the test, the teacher will identify common misconceptions and address these in a review activity.

 

Statutory Spellings

In addition to the spellings taught in weekly units, children will practise the spellings of words from the Year 3 & 4 and Year 5 & 6 statutory word lists (found in Appendix 1 of the Primary English Curriculum or in Pupil Organisers). Words from these lists are taught and assessed in writing lessons, where children are expected to include them in their independent writing.

Reading Curriculum & Reading Lessons

When planning components of learning for reading in Years 2-6, teachers follow the BHPS Reading Curriculum.

There are three principles behind the reading curriculum.

1. Texts vary in type and structure. They consist of aspirational tier 2 vocabulary and longer sentence structures
2. Children encounter a broad range of topics to increase their knowledge of the world around them.
3. Teachers create synergy by using multiple texts around a single subject or theme.

Two reading lessons are taught every week, each lasting 30-40 minutes.

The structure of these lessons are as follows:

1. Teacher shares the theme of the text with children.
2. Read the text, utilising suitable approaches, including teacher modelling, echo reading and control the game.
3. Teacher shares the meanings of tier 2 vocabulary in the context of the sentences they were written.
4. Children answer quick retrieval questions which promote a high success rate.
5. Teacher models / children answer a range of questions, either solo or partnered, that relate to the content domains.

Whilst the structure of lessons is the same across the school, the focus is different depending on the age of the children. Building fluency takes prominence in earlier year groups. As children enter UKS2, this shifts, with children being fluent enough to focus on comprehension. The following table offers a guide of lessons in different year groups should be structured. However, teachers should be led by the length and complexity of the text chosen.

Reading Spines or 100 Books to Read

At BHPS, we value reading for pleasure and pupils are encouraged to discuss and recommend books that they have enjoyed. Pupils in all year groups are exposed to a variety of text, which they may want to explore. These are identified as “100 books reading spine”, which are recommended for pupils of their age. In EYFS and KS1, these books will accompany their book banded books.

Curriculum coverage for reading is mapped out carefully from EYFS to Year 6 which allows some key primary themes to be developed at a deeper level of learning, understanding and mastery.

Impact – Reading

The expected impact on reading from following the English Curriculum Depth Map, emphasises the importance of fluency and expression, critical thinking, a love of reading, text diversity, making connections, and cross-curricular application.

Pupils will:

• Read age-appropriate texts with fluency and expression, accessing learning across all curriculum areas with confidence
• Move beyond surface-level understanding to engage with texts as critical thinkers, making sophisticated inferences and evaluating authors’ choices
• Actively seek out books and texts for pleasure, demonstrating genuine enthusiasm and establishing lifelong reading habits
• Confidently engage with diverse text types, understanding their conventions and adjusting reading strategies accordingly
• Connect their reading to their own experiences, other texts, and the wider world, using reading to develop empathy and broaden their worldview
• Transfer reading skills seamlessly across all subjects, recognising that reading is the gateway to all learning

Implementation – Writing

When planning units of writing, teachers follow the BHPS Writing Sequence, which is comprised of five stages: Planning,

Drafting, Revising, Editing and Publishing. In each stage, teachers use a range of strategies to equip children with the knowledge and skills they need in order to write effectively. These include:

• Use of hooks to inspire and motivate children
• Opportunities for vocabulary development, with the focus being precision, not ambition
• Explicit teaching of grammar using the Rainbow Grammar curriculum
• Modelling, with the teacher making their inner thoughts and decisions explicit to children
• Meaningful feedback, on both an individual and whole-class level.
• Discrete lessons on phonics (using Monster Phonics), spelling (using Sounds & Syllables) and handwriting.

Writing Components of Learning

When planning a unit of writing, teachers will carefully consider both the purpose and audience. The four purposes of writing include: to entertain, to inform, to persuade and to discuss. Teachers ensure there is a range of genres and purposes covered over the academic year. Where each of the purposes are taught, along with possible writing outcomes, can be seen below:

Impact – Writing

The impact of our English teaching of writing can be constantly monitored through AfL in each session and feedback is given to children verbally, through self/peer assessment and through marking. Teachers then use this assessment to influence their planning. Children are rapidly identified as needing further challenge or additional support, and we ensure that this is provided in a timely manner. Pre-teaching is used to support children in building up the essential knowledge needed for the upcoming lesson. Intervention is designed to be a short input delivered by either a teacher or TA.

In Years 2 and 6, children’s writing is assessed using the teacher assessment frameworks and exemplification materials. Checklists for Years 1, 3 and 5 have been created to assess children’s writing in these year groups. All teachers assess children’s writing across the year and attend termly moderation meetings to ensure consistency and accuracy of judgements.

The expected impact on writing from following the English Curriculum Depth Map:

• Develop a love for writing, with the ability to write for a range of genres, purposes and audiences
• Pupils drawing from a wide vocabulary
• Pupils constructing clear and coherent simple and complex sentences
• Pupils spelling the majority of words correctly and, when coming across unfamiliar words, being able to confidently utilise their phonics to attempt to spell them correctly
• High aspirations, which will see them through to further study, work and success in their adult life.

Curriculum Depth Map English