At Brampton Village Primary School we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning.
We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in English, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis of English 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.
Our Curriculum
Our English Curriculum
Our aims are embedded across our English lessons and the wider curriculum. We have a well-structured English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Our Writing Curriculum
Our aim is that all children love English and are excited to read, write and express themselves. We plan for writing using the Talk for Writing Approach across the whole school which is a cumulative and systematic process for teaching English. It is fun, creative yet also rigorous and has a proven record of accelerating children's learning. Talk for Writing fundamentally teaches children how to be writers – not just how to write. It supports children to be able to generate ideas, draw upon their reading and write confidently for a variety of audiences and purposes. Interwoven in this process is a wide variety of quality texts to motivate and inspire our children. Our curriculum follows the aims of the National Curriculum for English 2014 and Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework.
Our Writing Aims
We recognise that writing is integral to all aspects of life, and we mindfully endeavour to ensure that children develop a lifelong, healthy and enthusiastic attitude towards writing. The skill of writing enables pupils to communicate with themselves and others while documenting and conveying their knowledge and ideas. Building on a variety of experiences, writing encourages expression and higher order thinking skills to develop. Creating a culture of writing in our school ensures that our children are given the best opportunities to build their capacity and confidence in a range of writing styles. Writing skills underpin most elements of the school curriculum and are essential life-skills. Considering the fundamental importance of writing in everyday life, we are driven by the need to develop each learner’s writing ability, thus enabling them to play a full part in society.
Talk for Writing at Brampton Village Primary School
Our Talk for Writing Approach starts with enjoying and sharing stories. Throughout the school, we place a strong emphasis on children reading stories and enjoying a range of literature. Through regular reading, we want children to build up an extensive and rich vocabulary for use in their own writing. Talk for Writing is powerful because it enables children to imitate the language orally that they need for a particular topic, before reading and analysing it and then writing their own version. It is built on three stages of teaching as detailed in the chart below which can be downloaded separately - Talk for Writing Process.
Phonics
We use the validated DFE Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) scheme to teach Phonics in Reception and KS1. In our pre-school children work on phase 1 and focus heavily on the skills of oral blending and segmenting.
Early Reading
The profile of reading in school is high and each classroom contains a high-quality reading area in which children can go and select and enjoy books which have been carefully selected to capture children’s interests. Story time is a key feature in every class where teachers enjoy reading to their classes. Children read with adults every week in school using a decodable book which matches closely to the phonic sounds that they are working on. Parents and school staff communicate with each other via a yellow reading diary. Children earn certificates for reading frequently with an adult at home. In addition to a decodable book, children also bring home high quality ‘sharing books’ to promote reading for pleasure.
Accelerated Reader
We use Accelerated Reader which is an online digital system that helps manage and monitor children's independent reading. Children begin to use Accelerated Reader in either year 2 or 3, when they are ready. Children can log into their account and take quizzes on the books they have read. They earn points from the quizzes which is recognised through certificates for progress. Children also undertake half termly STAR reader assessments in school which enable the system to identify a suitable range of books to read.
The Accelerated Reader system can only be accessed for Brampton Village primary School children by following the unique link below:
Lending Libraries
Children may choose “Home books” to share with their parents or read independently. Parental help is always welcome to maintain these areas. Please contact the office if you can offer your services. If books are lost or damaged, we would very much appreciate payment towards their replacement.
During the year, the school organises book fairs when children and parents may purchase books from a wide selection.
Reading Newsletters are sent out to children and parents throughout the year to promote reading for pleasure and ensure that the profile of reading remains high.
In order to access Junior Librarian please click on the link below (it is a unique address for the school):
Teaching of Spelling
We use two different schemes to teach spellings, which are also in line with National Curriculum progression and expectations.
Reception and Year 1
Spelling is taught during phonics lessons, followed by application tasks for phonics and spelling. Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) is used for teaching and assessment resources.
Year 2
Spelling is taught during as weekly spelling lesson, followed by application tasks. ELS is used to for teaching and assessment resources.
Years 3-5
Spelling is taught during a weekly spelling lesson, which is followed by an application task. Spelling Shed is used for teaching and assessment resources. Children also play games to practice spellings. These games are online and set as homework. Children who do not play games at home are given opportunity to play the games in school.
Year 6
Spelling is assessed so any gaps and areas of weakness can be prioritised for teaching.