English

At St James' Cof E Infant and Nursery School, we support the aim for English expressed within the National Curriculum: 'to promote high standards of 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.'

We aim for all of our pupils to be capable readers, writers, spellers and speakers, who can transfer their English skills to other subjects and who are prepared for the next steps in their learning. We nurture them as eloquent and articulate speakers and writers, who use a wide and purposeful vocabulary. We encourage them as readers, who select texts for purpose and pleasure. Books and reading are at the heart of everything we do. Our bespoke, book-based curriculum is built upon quality picture books, novels, non-fiction and poetry texts, which support children on the journey from reading to writing.

At St James' our Curriculum Intent for English /Literacy can be summarised in these ways:

English/Literacy is the foundation of our curriculum. Our main aim is to ensure that every child progresses in the areas of reading, writing, and speaking and listening.
Prioritise language and communication development n the EYFS as we believe that language provides the foundation for thinking and learning (Research from EEF 2019 and Reading Framework from DFE 2021)
Reading and phonics are a key focus in school to ensure that children can access all areas of the curriculum
English/Literacy at St James’ CE Infant and Nursery School is not taught as a discrete subject, but is a cornerstone to our whole curriculum. It is embedded in all of our lessons and we strive for a high level of English/Literacy for all of our pupils.
Our pupils will be exposed to a variety of literacy, genres and authors , providing them with a love of the subject and inspiring them to be independent learners
Promote a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts.
Develop a love of reading for pleasure; allowing them to be confident in forming their own opinions about authors and text types (Research from Professor Teresa Cremin - Open University)
Have a language rich environment that encourages pupils to use a wide variety of vocabulary and develop their speaking and listening skills through drama, public speaking and performing etc.
Use high quality targeted support for any pupils who are struggling in a specific area
A learner-centred teaching approach. Use of DRICE to ensure learners deepen thinking, learning is role modelled appropriately, pupils are challenged and engaged.
Using our approach to Building Learning Power, we will explore opportunities to collaborate, question, revise and persevere during our English lessons.