ENGLISH

English lies at the heart of all learning at Harvey Road School. Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening together form the key components of human communication and it is through our ability to communicate that we learn from one another.  Our English curriculum inspires our children to become critical thinkers, confident speakers and competent readers and writers across the curriculum.

Our carefully planned curriculum ensures a range of activities and experiences which encourage children to be active participants both individually, in pairs or in groups with an intention of creating lifelong lovers of English.

Throughout the school year, we arrange additional enrichment opportunities such as visiting authors and poets, drama groups and theatre workshops and/or visits and we encourage our whole school community to get involved in a range of events to celebrate our passion for English.

Our English curriculum is constantly reviewed in order to implement new ideas to allow all pupils to thrive and succeed.

Phonics

Phonics is taught as the main approach to early reading for all children at Harvey Road Primary school.  We have a systematic, synthetic phonics program which is delivered through fast-paced, interactive, fun lessons which start sharply in Nursery.

Our scheme follows the order for teaching the phonemes as set out in the DFE ‘Letters and Sounds’ document using the Ruth Miskin ‘Read Write Inc’ mnemonics as it teaches the children how to write the letter correctly at the same time as recognising and reading the phonemes.

Discrete, multi-sensory phonics lessons are taught daily and in the Early Years Foundation Stage, phonics is integrated through different activities throughout the school day both in the indoor and outdoor environments.

The careful sequence of teaching enables the children to learn through a four part lesson (including revisit and review, teach, practice, apply).  Teachers make phonics relevant and enjoyable by planning lessons that meet the need of their current cohort.  This helps the children to remember the sound and letter correspondences they have been taught so that children keep up rather than having to catch up.

In Year 1, children are taught new graphemes and alternative pronunciations for graphemes they already know.  When spelling words they will learn to choose the appropriate graphemes to represent phonemes and begin to build word-specific knowledge of the spellings of words.

Year 2 follow Herts ‘ESSENTIALspelling’ to learn new graphemes and alternative pronunciations for graphemes they already know.  It focuses on the teaching of spelling so that children understand how to apply patterns, strategies and knowledge to other words that will help them develop their spelling competence. Herts ‘ESSENTIALspelling’ continues to be taught throughout Key Stage 2.

Click here to see how to pronounce the sounds correctly

Reading

Research shows that children who read for pleasure on a daily basis develop a wider vocabulary, greater general knowledge and a far better understanding of other cultures. It is perhaps one of the single most important factors in a child’s development.

We aim to get children reading confidently and fluently as quickly as possible so they can make the transition from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’ as well as developing a love of books and discovering the pleasure of reading to become life-long readers. 

As soon as children start in the Nursery they begin their reading journey.  They are taught to read through our systematic synthetic phonics programme which is closely matched to our core reading scheme, Schofield and Sims, My Letters and Sounds Phonics Readers.  Children are heard read regularly to ensure they have a closely matched book to read successfully at home.  

At Harvey Road School we believe in the importance of developing children’s reading skills as we want all of our children to become enthusiastic and avid readers with a passion for books.   This range of reading experiences the children encounter not only inspires a lifelong love of the written word, it also helps to develop their confidence, creativity and key literacy skills alongside wellbeing and relaxation.  All staff are reading role models who demonstrate and encourage a love for reading daily.

The table below shows how we have structured the reading experiences for our children:

Writing

At Harvey Road School we recognise how important it is that children become skilled, confident writers so they can communicate effectively in the wider world.  We want them to be able to write with fluency and imagination and develop their own personal style.

From the earliest stages of emergent writing in the Early Years Foundation Stage, children are provided with a wide variety of opportunities to write stimulating, purposeful and relevant pieces of work across the different areas of our curriculum.

We follow the Herts Essentials for English which is a thematic ‘book based’ approach that enables children to be more engaged and make deeper connections with the texts.  The emphasis is on using high quality texts that promote inclusion and expand children’s vocabulary.   Children learn how to organise their own work across all genres so that it suits the purpose. Editing skills are taught so that children can reflect on and improve their own learning and the learning of their peers. 

Children know how to improve their writing through the use of the Harvey Road ‘I can write’ cards from the summer term of Year 2 onwards. These encourage children to evaluate their work and independently take the next steps.

Teachers model writing with their class, explaining the thought processes as they go, making links with phonics, spelling and grammar taught previously.

Poetry

Poetry is a core element of the English Curriculum at Harvey Road Primary School.  Effective and engaging teaching of poetry occurs termly in all classes. Children learn modern and classic poetry, poetry from other cultures and poems that explore traditions and events from different periods of time. They are taught about different poetic elements and structures. Our library, class book corners and reading scheme all include poetry books.

Poetry encourages reading, inspires writing and helps children understand different perspectives, respect and understand others viewpoints. It helps children connect and find meaning in their own experiences and consider the intensity of their own thoughts and feelings on a subject.

Poetry helps build vocabulary and explores language. The freedom of poetry encourages writing and requires a level of sophistication as children consider the impact of their chosen words.  It is a form of self-expression and provides a creative outlet.  Poetry encourages children to experiment with language and provides another way to communicate.

Spelling. Punctuation and Grammar

From Year 2 onwards, we follow Herts ‘ESSENTIALspelling’.  It focuses on the teaching of spelling so that children understand how to apply patterns, strategies and knowledge to other words that will help them develop their spelling competence.  It makes connections with and builds upon prior phonic knowledge and it is through children explaining what they have learnt about the patterns and processes of spelling that their ability to spell accurately will improve.

The sequences follow the four part daily phonics model of Review, Teach, Practise and Apply.  Unlike other resources, 'ESSENTIALspelling' places an emphasis on the Review stage of the teaching sequence. This is not, "What did we learn this week?" but instead, “What do we already know that might help us to spell words in this sequence?” The Review session is essential because it gives teachers an opportunity for assessment for learning and gives pupils the chance to track back to prior learning and build connections between existing knowledge and new knowledge.

Spelling, punctuation, and grammar – often called SPaG in schools – are crucial building blocks for children learning to speak, write, and listen. Having a good knowledge of grammar allows children to communicate their ideas and feelings, and helps them choose the right language for any situation. Children are taught about the way language works through their reading and writing and discuss the differences in spoken language and the written word.

Harvey Road School has designed a Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation progression grid that matches the National Curriculum expectations.  It carefully sequences the learning children will experience in each year group starting in Reception. The teaching of grammar is interwoven into English lessons with some more complex aspects taught in discreet lessons.

Grammar glossary for parents and children: Please click here Grammar Glossary

Another useful glossary which includes explanation videos and activities suitable for children and parents can be found here:

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/at-school/education-glossary/grammar-literacy-glossary-a-c/

Handwriting

Handwriting is a skill that needs to be taught explicitly so that it becomes an automatic process that frees pupils to focus on the content of their writing.  Correct modelling of handwriting by the teacher is essential as the correct letter formation is key to perfecting a fluent handwriting style.

Children learn how to correctly form letters at the same time as they learn to recognise and read a phoneme in their phonics lessons. We use the Ruth Miskin’s Read Write Inc mnemonics.

We teach children a continuous cursive font at Harvey Road School as research shows it can help with learning spellings. This is through clearly modelling the letter formation and correct way in which to join the letters together. We do not issue worksheets or copy from workbooks as it is important to watch how a child writes as well as what they produce so any misconceptions can be addressed. 

Harvey Road Handwriting Awards

Each week in Celebration assembly, a child may be chosen from each class for a Handwriting Award for either excellent handwriting or good progress.  They show everybody an example of their work and then they are presented with either an exclusive Harvey Road Primary School pen or pencil which they can use in class.

Pen License

Children are allowed to write in pen when their writing is consistently joined and fluent, with even letters of the correct size and orientation and with correct spacing.  They will be presented with their ‘Pen license’ in assembly.  The vast majority of children achieve this during Year 3.

We want children to develop a comfortable and effective pencil grip from the start. This will enable them to develop stamina and write with ease, at pace and legibly. Writing should not hurt your hand or arm!

Teaching your child to hold their pencil correctly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM_dia8QGr0

At Harvey Road, this starts in Nursery and we refer to this as ‘tweaky beaky’.

Speaking and Listening

At Harvey Road School, we recognise the importance of speaking and listening not just in English lessons but throughout the whole curriculum.  It is central to most of our life experiences including forming relationships as well being at the heart of learning.

Speaking and listening allows us to communicate with one another and define and express our own thoughts, feelings and ideas about the world. Through this communication we bridge the gap between minds, going from our private experience of ourselves and the world to a shared experience. Speaking and listening allow us to interact with other people. Through interaction, bonds develop, relationships grow and ideas come into being.

The National Curriculum states ‘Teachers should develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject.’ It recognises that ‘fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects’.

Pupils are taught to:

Supporting Parents

Every September we hold an information meeting for parents in Nursery and Reception which includes how to support children with phonics, reading and writing. It outlines our expectations as well as what is going to be covered.

At the start of every year we hold, ‘meet the teacher’ meetings in every class to share curriculum intentions including how phonics/spelling, reading and writing will be taught.  We share our curriculum brochures with parents at the start of every term which gives more detail about what will be covered in class.

In addition to this, we hold annual parents workshops to support the understanding of the teaching of phonics, grammar or reading.  These workshops might also focus on other curriculum areas including Computing, Safer use of the Internet of Mathematics for example.