English at Jewell Academy

Intent

At Jewell Academy we recognise the need to provide a wide variety of enriching activities and experiences in which children are encouraged to communicate and express themselves effectively, creatively and above all confidently, in turn- demonstrating our Power Skills. English is fun and exciting- children are engaged, motivated, eager to join in and sustain high levels of concentration therefore learning is pleasurable and memorable. Our English curriculum provides a No Limits approach to the children’s achievements, regardless of their backgrounds, circumstances or needs.

Implementation

We value the writing process as a whole and subsequently use a  3 Phrase approach to English with support from modelled texts which combine skills of Reading, Writing and Oracy through a structured style of planning/teaching, focusing on imitation, innovation and independent application. At Jewell Academy the links between Reading and Writing are crucial to developing effective skills of English. It is essential that children internalise high-quality language, this is achieved by modelling, talking, drama, verbalising and applying Reading and Writing skills in a meaningful, realistic and purposeful context.  The writing journey starts  in our Early Years through Drawing Club whereby children creatively add codes to drawings to make them communicate. Children progress to applying taught skills through a variety of writing opportunities. We develop our spelling through the use of Sounds and Syllables alongside other high quality resources to implement spelling and grammar strategies- this daily practice and repetition ensures the skills required for confident writers. Our weekly handwriting supports spelling, links with gross and fine motor skills and encourages correct pencil grip and fluid action of forming letters to communicate clearly. We provide a Learn to Move session for those children that find the gross and therefore the fine motor skills challenging. We heavily promote and demonstrate the use of high level vocabulary through Tier 2 words, and Vocabulary Ninja. Children are encouraged to use these words in their speech and writing to become stronger communicators.

Impact

By the time children leave Jewell Academy, we want them to be confident communicators through both verbal and written form with accurate use of spelling, grammar and punctuation. Children will be able to apply the fundamental skills of writing alongside their correct form of speech with high level vocabulary. 

We expect the children to meet the National Curriculum objectives for their age group and develop the purpose of writing to enable them to apply their learnt knowledge and skills to a variety of opportunities including real life scenarios which will support their journey beyond Jewell.

Cultural Capital

Through our engaging and exciting Writing curriculum, we provide opportunities for children to develop the above English expectations in purposeful situations to equip them to be educated citizens with an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.