Subject leader: Ros Golden and Tom Bird
How does English look at Charing?
English is seen as ‘Reading, Writing and Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS)’. At Charing, they are taught daily as 3 separate subjects however despite this, they are entwined into almost every lesson. In Writing the skills taught in the GPS are further taught and expected to be seen within the children’s writing. The majority of tasks in writing lessons are based on quality texts which inspire the children to write and supports a love of books, something the school tries to foster in all children.
Every morning starts with all children in KS1 and 2 reading in class, giving teachers and TAs the opportunity to listen to children read 1:1. Every child is heard read at least twice a week by an adult, with the most vulnerable heard at least 4 times a week. Children also have ‘Focused Reading’ lessons in KS2 four times a week to help further children’s understanding of what they read and help develop their reading aloud skills.
In EYFS and KS1 reading and writing is taught through the RWI programme which includes daily phonics sessions with time to review and repeat newly acquired learning as well as reading phonetically decodable books pitched at the children’s abilities. The children are taught in small groups by class teachers and TAs. The children also have the opportunity to write at length when appropriate, building up writing skills, editing and improving their writing.
In KS2, spelling is taught explicitly (based on their needs) and children are tested on what they have learnt. Again, this should be seen within their writing. The skills taught in their writing and GPS lessons are expected to be seen in all areas of the curriculum and there has been a real push to ensure there are plenty of opportunities to write in other subjects, not just English. This can support children’s non-fiction writing.
Regular staff meetings support staff’s development along with the monitoring of books and teachers. Teachers are given opportunities to watch other teachers teach to develop their own understanding and for inexperienced teachers, the English leads have gone and will go into classes and team taught with them to model good practice as well as planning together to ensure quality learning opportunities are provided.