English

English

Intent

Through our English curriculum at Pear Tree, our aim is to foster a love for language and literature while equipping children with essential skills for effective communication. Our primary aim is to ensure that all students achieve proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, thereby enabling them to express their thoughts clearly and confidently.

The curriculum is designed to promote critical thinking and creativity through diverse texts that reflect a range of cultural perspectives. By integrating literature from various backgrounds, we aim to enhance students’ cultural capital, allowing them to engage with and appreciate the richness of different narratives and viewpoints. This exposure not only broadens their understanding of the world but also cultivates empathy and respect for others.

Inclusion is a cornerstone of our curriculum approach. We strive to create an environment where every child feels valued and supported in their learning journey. Clear and purposeful scaffolding and tailored resources will be employed to meet the diverse needs of our students, ensuring that all learners can access the curriculum and achieve their full potential.

Ultimately, our intention is to develop confident, articulate individuals who can navigate the complexities of the world around them, equipped with the literacy skills necessary for lifelong learning and active citizenship.

Implementation

Writing 

A whole-school approach to the teaching of writing through Literacy Tree Writing Roots ensures rigour and consistency, with children appropriately challenged and supported to develop secure and lasting literacy skills.  

Writing opportunities are rooted in high-quality texts, which have been carefully selected to enable children to engage critically and creatively with the curriculum and with the world around them. The higher level vocabulary within these texts broadens children’s literacy skills and is woven throughout our Writing Roots. Opportunities to explore vocabulary through drama, oracy and short written outcomes are thoughtfully interwoven within the context of the texts. Children are encouraged to revise and edit their writing as part of the writing process, and revising and editing are integral to the Literacy Tree curriculum. 

Teachers model the full process of writing, including planning, drafting, writing, revising and editing, using physical resources such as flip-charts, pens and sentence strips. Working walls are used within classrooms as live and active teaching tools. Writing is shared and celebrated with a real purpose, enabling children to see themselves as writers. Writing books show progress, care and creativity. 

Resourcing and Coverage 

Through the use of Literacy Tree, the school has mapped the coverage of the entire English Programme of Study for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. In many cases, objectives are revisited more than once, giving children repeated opportunities to apply and consolidate their learning across the year, as well as to secure prior knowledge from previous year groups. 

We believe strongly that children should be secure in applying the skills of the Curriculum 2014 within both their writing and their reading, and that this approach is fully comprehensive. Our key skills and objectives are outlined in our Progression Maps provided by Literacy Tree and then adapted depending on texts chosen. Where needed, planning sequences are adapted and personalised by the school to ensure that access arrangements are made to support children with individual requirements and to build upon prior learning. 

Reading, Spelling and Handwriting 

Reading is taught through carefully selected texts and rich discussion, with an emphasis on fluency, comprehension and vocabulary development. Children are supported to read widely and often, and to make meaningful connections between texts, themes and their own experiences. In KS1 and KS2 we follow Literacy Leaves. Our key skills and objectives are outlined in our Progression Maps provided by Literacy Tree and then adapted depending on texts chosen. 

Spelling is taught systematically so that children can apply secure phonic knowledge, spelling rules and patterns with increasing accuracy in their independent writing. This is taught following Spelling Seeds which link to texts used in Writing Roots. Handwriting is taught explicitly and consistently, with a focus on correct letter formation, fluency and the development of a clear, joined style where appropriate. Expectations for presentation are reinforced across the curriculum so that children develop accuracy, pride and control in all written work.