English Curriculum
English Overview
Our vision at Spring Meadow is for all children to develop a lifelong love of English and an enjoyment for literature. All children are provided with a great range of opportunities to develop and apply their English skills across the curriculum.
We aim to equip all children with the essential skills they will need for the rest of their educational journey and future careers. By the time they leave our school, we aim for all children to be able to express themselves clearly orally and in writing, take part in discussions, read fluently and have a broad and varied vocabulary. We ensure that all children are supported and encouraged to have high aspirations so they can reach their full potential.
Reading
Intent
As an infant school, teaching our children to read is the most important thing that we do. We believe that the teaching of reading is integral to a child’s understanding and appreciation of the world. We have created a learning environment and ethos which promotes a love of literature, an enjoyment of reading for pleasure where children can become Independent, enthusiastic and motivated readers so they read more, find out more, know more and become more knowledgeable. We aim to develop children’s confidence in reading using a wide variety of genre and text types to share in cultural experiences. We want them to develop the vocabulary needed to increase their understanding of texts and have the skills to tackle increasingly challenging texts. These tools enable children to become resilient, independent readers. It is vitally important that they read fluently with good understanding and develop the habit of reading widely and often both for pleasure and information.
Our approach to teaching reading provides the opportunity for children to acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language. We also ensure that children develop an understanding and appreciation of the rich and varied literary heritage in England and other countries of the world. We use a wide variety of texts which demonstrate diversity and inclusion in different communities. We use a text-based approach which enables us to create opportunities for reading, discussion and opportunities to read during writing lessons and across the wider curriculum.
Reading is a key skill which is required for accessing other subjects of the curriculum. It provokes thought in children and provides the platform for them to use their imagination, broaden their perspective on the world around them enabling them to see beyond their everyday experiences. We encourage reading for pleasure through providing a choice of challenging and enriching texts as well as building in time for children to read independently and as part of a whole class. All children have daily opportunities to read a variety of material in school, including regularly with an adult.
We seek to instill a love of reading in our children where they are passionate about literature, whilst simultaneously creating fluent and confident readers who can comprehend what they have read.
Implementation
Our adults lead by example through daily story times across the school where they share their passion for books and spark an interest in the children. Regular visits to our library ensure that children have access to a vast variety of literature across a range of genres and authors, as well as non-fiction and poetry books. Dedicated time for reading in school ensures that all children acknowledge the importance of reading and have exposure to high quality literature. By having a strong reading culture embedded in our school, new experiences are opened to our children, as well as supporting them in developing a better understanding of other cultures. Our reading books are all decodable and each child has a fully decodable book which exactly matches their phonic knowledge and reading ability. These follow the Read Write Inc phonics programme. Every child has their own reading record book which is a point of contact between home and school.
Impact
As a result of our varied and wide provision in Reading we have a community of enthusiastic readers who enjoy valuable discussions about texts they read both in and out of school. We have fostered a love for and of Reading and the children love to share texts they have enjoyed with staff, peers and with family at home. They are confident in challenging themselves and taking risks with their reading. Children regularly read with an adult who will assess and monitor their progress.
