At St.Francis of Assisi, we place the teaching and learning of English at the heart of the curriculum.

We seek to develop children's skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening through all areas of the curriculum and through the delivery of English lessons at each age group.

Reading and Phonics

As well as English in the curriculum, we aim to embed effective reading skills through the teaching of phonics through the use of Letters and Sounds from EYFS through to Upper KS2. In order to further develop reading skills, teachers deliver guided reading sessions alongside English lessons.

Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling

With the aim of improving achievement in grammar, punctuation and spelling, children at KS2 study aspects of this in additional targeted sessions. (At KS1, the development of grammar, punctuation and spelling skills takes place within English lessons).

Support

Children who require support to meet expected standards for their age are provided with targeted interventions, delivered one to one, or in small groups.

If children are identified as having specific difficulties in reading and writing, they are assessed by Miss Latham (Intervention and Inclusion Manager) and if a specific need is identified, a programme of support is put into place.

Children with EAL receive direct support from one of our TAs  (who is multi-lingual) and use technology to help with translation, for a period of time after starting with us.

Challenge

More able children are identified through tracking of their achievement and provided with appropriate challenge through quality first teaching in class and small group interventions.

Projects

We liaise closely with SHARES, our local school network, and are involved in a number of innovative projects to raise standards in Reading. These include working with an established author and the development of reading through the use of interactive resources (a group of year five children read a book, which has its own app running alongside it, with effective comprehension skills allowing children to unlock secret levels within the app).

S.Lamph, English Subject Leader