At Brookfield Junior Academy, we firmly believe that English in all its forms is the keystone of children’s learning. High-quality teaching and learning in all aspects of English should enable pupils to read, write and speak fluently, therefore, allowing them to communicate their ideas and emotions to others. English is a key skill that is essential for all aspects of everyday life including independent learning and the world of work. We want pupils to develop a love for English through their enjoyment of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Intent

When our pupils leave Brookfield Junior Academy we want our pupils to be able to write with grammatical accuracy and be able to apply spelling patterns correctly using a neat handwriting style. We aim to expose our pupils to a wide range of vocabulary so that they are able to decipher new words and then use them when speaking both informally and formally. We also aim for our pupils to apply all of these English skills to all areas of the curriculum. Our aim is to provide high-quality teaching and learning experiences so our pupils become enthusiastic, confident, and independent users of language in the spoken and written word.

We will enable pupils to achieve this passion for English by providing stimulating and exciting experiences based around high-quality materials and opportunities for learning which will lead to every child reaching and fulfilling their full potential.

Implementation

English Writing

We want to produce pupils who write with confidence and accuracy for a variety of purposes and audiences whilst developing their own individual flair. We want our pupils to be able to write with grammatical accuracy and be able to apply spelling patterns correctly using a neat handwriting style. We aim to expose our pupils to a wide range of vocabulary so that they are able to decipher new words and then use them when speaking both informally and formally. We also aim for our pupils to apply all of these English skills to all areas of the curriculum. Handwriting sessions are carried out daily across the school.

Foundation Stage

We believe that communication and language, with opportunities to explore reading and writing, underpins the future learning of our pupils. Within our reception class, pupils have access to planned whole class or group writing activities but also many opportunities for child-initiated writing activities.

These may include the following:

• Opportunities to develop and experience speaking and listening skills.

• Experiences that develop fine and gross motor skills through play and mark-making activities.

• Sharing and enjoying a range of rhymes, songs, stories, and books.

• Immersion in a print-rich environment with opportunities for oral language and written communication.

• Whole class shared text activities.

• Computing opportunities on PCs, tablets, and smartboards.

• A focused text-based literacy session daily with different activities that teach pupils early communication language and literacy skills.

• A daily phonics session that provides an opportunity for pupils to practice their handwriting.

• Literacy integrated throughout the Early Years curriculum.

 

Key Stage One

Clear assessments from the Early Years staff enable a smooth transition into key stage one where pupils continue to develop their love of writing.

· Explicitly taught and planned English sessions following the guidance and objectives of the statutory English curriculum.  

· Extended opportunities for discussion of writing, e.g. role play, pair talk, drama, and hot seating to prepare pupils for the writing process.

· Modelled, shared, and guided writing examples.

· Opportunities for pupils to write for and share their writing with different audiences.

· Songs, rhymes, and games to develop English skills.

· Spelling and grammar work building on and deepening key skills across different year groups. In Year One there is a focus on phonics which then develops into spelling rules and strategies by the end of Year Two.

· Text-level work using a range of genres and texts which will develop comprehension skills and understanding and enjoyment of books, helping to promote a love of writing.

· Computing work that complements and supports work in English, helping pupils to develop skills learnt through quality first teaching.

· Immersion in a print-rich environment that promotes a reading culture and develops pupils’ oral and written communication. Where possible use examples of the cursive handwriting style which is used in school.

 

Key Stage Two

· Explicitly taught and planned sessions following the guidance and objectives of the statutory English curriculum.

· Experience with a wide range of genres used in reading and writing.

· Grammar, spelling, and punctuation work led by quality texts to develop grammatical awareness and key punctuation skills building on and deepening key skills across different year groups.

· Text-level work reading a range of genres to develop comprehension skills and support writing. Also making cross-curricular links where possible to help promote sustained composition.

· Spelling and grammar games and activities from online resources such as the Literacy Shed to familiarise pupils with key skills.

· Extended independent writing opportunities to apply the skills learnt when writing within different genres. Also, the opportunity for pupils to draft, edit and refine their own work alongside that of others.

· Immersion in a print-rich environment that promotes a reading culture. Where possible this should be linked to the cursive style used in school.

· Extended opportunities for discussion of writing, e.g. role play, pair talk, drama, and hot seating to prepare pupils for the writing process.

· Modelled, shared, and guided writing takes place in the classroom.

· Opportunities for pupils to write for and share their writing with different audiences.

· ICT work that complements and supports work in literacy, helping pupils to develop skills learnt through quality first teaching.

 

Spelling

We believe foundations in spelling should be put in place from an early age. Within Reception and KS1 the focus is on phonics and pupils are immersed in the world of phonics (closely linked to their early reading development) as soon as they enter school and access a daily phonics lesson. The pupils in Years 1 and 2 also learn the common exception word lists for their year groups. As pupils move towards the end of KS1 the focus changes from phonics to the acquisition of spelling rules and strategies.

Within Year 2 pupils are also beginning to learn words from the National Curriculum word list. Key spelling strategies and rules are taught within the classroom and pupils receive weekly spelling lists or individualised spelling lists to learn at home.

Alongside learning spelling rules and strategies years 3/4 and years 5/6 are also expected to learn the words lists as stated in the National Curriculum. This is supported through spelling games and activities in class.

Spelling is important to all pupils, and it is essential that they are given every opportunity to embed key spelling rules so that they are then able to apply them to their own writing. Daily spelling sessions take place in all classes using the SpellingShed scheme. Spellings will be differentiated for all children.

SpellingShed is an excellent online resources that all children from Y1 - Y6 can access at home to practice their spelling. There are lots of fun games for them to play while learning their spellings. Weekly assignments will be set by teachers and certificates will be awarded. All children have their own log-in, which can be found in their planner. 

Planning

Planning at Brookfield Junior Academy reflects a learning journey through a unit of work. Like all journeys, the plan should have a specific destination and journey time. There may be detours or opportunities for acceleration which arise from assessment for learning, but the acquisition and application of skills provide the driving force. Teachers work from a medium-term plan which then feeds into a weekly plan. The weekly plans focus on a specific text which can be narrative, non-narrative, or poetry based. Links may also be made to other areas of the curriculum.

Within our planning sequences, we focus on five main sections: Writing outcomes, opportunities to respond to the text, sentence level activities, speaking and listening opportunities, punctuation, grammar, and spelling focus.

As a whole staff, we have agreed on an effective planning format that incorporates a clear sequence but is a flexible working document that is underpinned by English writing non-negotiable set out below. Planning is a flexible document and is used by the teacher and for the pupils to ensure good progress is made by all pupil groups.

It will show:

• The end of unit outcome/s e.g. by the end of the unit pupils will be able to …

• A clear progressive teaching sequence.

• The skills to be taught and applied in each lesson, taken directly from the National Curriculum.

• Differentiated independent activities with a particular focus on the SEND pupil group.

• Direct references to teacher modelling/sharing.

• Annotations and evaluation notes and modifications arising from ongoing assessment for learning.

 

Assessment

In order to assess writing throughout the academy, all teachers from FS – Year 6 are expected to moderate 6 pieces of each child’s work across the year and across genres. They are provided with a matrix similar to the Year 2/Year 6 statutory assessment frameworks to assess pieces of work against. If evidence isn’t specifically found in a piece of writing, teachers can assess pupils using spelling tests and handwriting in other subjects.

To ensure that judgements are secure we work collaboratively and engage in trust and local authority-wide moderation sessions where writing is shared and judgements are agreed.

Special Educational Needs (SEND)

All pupils have the right to and will receive quality first teaching. Any pupils with identified SEND may have work that is different from their peers in order to access the curriculum dependent upon their needs. As well as this, our school offers a demanding and varied curriculum, providing pupils with a range of opportunities in order for them to reach their full potential and consistently achieve highly from their starting points.

In order to engage all pupils, cultural diversity, home languages, gender, and religious beliefs are all celebrated. Our English curriculum includes a wide range of texts and other resources which represent the diversity and backgrounds of different pupils.

We recognise that parents play a large part in the education of their pupils. At Brookfield Junior Academy parents and staff work together in partnership to encourage the qualities, attitudes, knowledge, understanding, and competencies that are necessary to equip pupils for adult life.

Impact

• Pupils are taught reading and writing progressively and at a pace appropriate to each individual child.
• At the end of each year, we expect the pupils to have achieved Age Related Expectations (ARE) for their year group. Some pupils will have progressed further and achieved greater depth (GD).
• Pupils who have gaps in their knowledge receive appropriate support and intervention to help them keep up.
• Books and displays evidence of high-quality writing outcomes for all pupil groups.
• Pupils write with confidence and accuracy for a variety of purposes and audiences.
• Pupils feel proud of their work and can talk confidently about their learning. 

 

Reading into Writing Approach

At Brookfield Junior Academy, we believe that immersing children in a range of high-quality texts leads to effective writing outcomes. Therefore, we use a reading-into-writing approach for our English units. We have sourced our own high-quality texts, making links with the wider curriculum in each year group where appropriate. 

 Each English unit follows a three-step process. 

1. Immerse

This is where the children are immersed in the focus genre with lots of reading. 
Examples of activities for these lessons include: 

• Reading several examples or extracts of the genre
• Speaking and listening and role play
• 'Magpie' vocabulary and literary language to use 
• Incidental writing opportunities like mind-maps and notes on post its

 

2. Analyse

This is the time to identify the key features of the genre through discussion and text marking.

Examples of activities for these lessons include: 

• Giving examples of What a Good One Looks Like (WAGOLL)s and text mark together, drawing up success criteria. This can be displayed on the working wall and used in books for writing lessons
• Showing What a Bad One Looks Like and up-level together using success criteria
• Grammar features relevant to this genre
• Presentational features relevant to this genre
   

 

3. Write

We follow a scaffold, modelled writing approach. Write lessons include opportunities for the children to edit and improve their written work. 

• The teacher models how to plan an example of the text type, using all the elements captured in the Immerse and Analyse days and the children to then have a go at writing a plan for the different examples they will be writing in the text type
• The teacher models how to write the introduction for their example and the children to then have a go at writing their introductions
• The teacher models how to improve their plan/introduction and then the children have a go at improving their own.
• The teacher models the next couple of key features of the text type; children have a go for themselves.
• Teacher models improving the text, and children have a go for themselves.
• The teacher models writing the ending for the text type and re-evaluates it against success criteria already agreed upon and shown on the working wall.

Take a look at some of our amazing writing at Brookfield:

At Brookfield, we want to inspire our children to be writers; each year, we offer a creative writing club for Key Stage 2, which is run by the Schools Library Service. The children absolutely love this club and always produce some fantastic writing!

 

Mrs Miller is the English subject lead and can be contacted through the school office.