“English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.”

English: Purpose of Study from the 2014 National Curriculum.

What are we trying to achieve?

Our English curriculum is part of our ‘Big Idea’ of Human Creativity and its overarching aim 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. Our English curriculum aims to enable our children to:

• 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;
• become competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

English Themes

Our English curriculum follows the National Curriculum and has four themes. Click on each one to navigate to its web page.

• Spoken Language (Coming Soon)
• Phonics
• Reading
• Writing
• Spelling, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Punctuation (Coming Soon)

Page reviewed on 19/02/24 by KJD.