Intent
The aim at Hamstead Infant School is to provide children with an ambitious, coherent curriculum allowing children to develop their confidence and independence regardless of their independent needs. We provide a broad and engaging curriculum based on the EYFS Development Matters and National Curriculum. In English, we provide rich and varied learning experiences that are designed with great thought and care, ensuring that they are ambitious and challenging for all children.
Our Curriculum Drivers are used to personalise the curriculum to meet the needs of the children within the school with the aim to provide challenge for all:
Language- Children to be able to use a rich, varied and extensive range of vocabulary, which will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others. We focus on developing high levels of articulacy developed through opportunities to talk, listen, write and read in a wide range of formal and informal contexts, and a curriculum enriched by the use of high quality, vocabulary rich texts.
Independence- Children will take part in informative and engaging English lessons, where we immerse pupils in the wonders of quality texts to instil a love for reading, a thirst for knowledge and the confidence to explore their imagination. We instil within each and every pupil a love of reading and writing and the aspiration to become life-long readers, authors and effective communicators. We work to broaden our children’s horizons, expanding their knowledge of the world of work by nurturing their interests.
Outdoor- Children will be given the opportunity to experience their learning through outdoor opportunities and to use what is around them in the immediate and local area to enhance their learning. We work closely with the local library and other schools in the area to enhance and inspire teaching in the classroom.
Implementation
Continuous provision provides opportunities for children to reinforce and retrieve information and skills. It provides children with the independence to become active learners and explore whilst challenging their learning.
Outdoor learning is encouraged and pupils are given opportunities to learn outside the classroom with the use of continuous provision, Forest School and educational termly visits to the local library.
Children’s skills are developed and built upon throughout their school journey to allow them to gain a deeper knowledge and confidently use skills. Misconceptions are explored and used to adapt children’s learning.
The English subject leader will share their subject knowledge with staff and provide support.
Teachers and children will use a varied range of vocabulary linked to English and use the environment to enhance the teaching of vocabulary.
The teaching of English across the school meets the needs of all individual learners and provides a safe and inclusive environment for all as children will respond respectfully.
Children are encouraged to be active, talk, experiment and use their imagination at every opportunity through a range of guided and independent activities.
English is prioritised through the teaching of Early Reading, Phonics, Writing and Spoken Language:
Early Reading and Phonics
All children engage in daily phonics sessions from YN-Y2, following the Phonics Bug sequence of skills from Phase 1-Phase 6. Teachers use ‘Talk Less Teaching’ strategies in phonics to provide fun, varied activities.
All children take home a ‘Phonics book’ to develop decoding skills and a ‘Sharing book’ to develop language and comprehension skills and instil a lifelong love of reading. Pupils are encouraged to read Phonics Bug eBooks at home to encourage children to become active learners and explore whilst challenging their learning.
Reading is prioritised throughout the school by daily ‘Reading Workshop’ Lesson in KS1. These sessions follow a progression of skills in the following areas: Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explain, Retrieve and Sequence. Activities are taken from ‘Helen Marron’ reading domains.
All children engage in at least one story time each day, and children in Reception and Year 1 have a daily poetry/singing session.
Writing
Children are taught to write using the Pie Corbett, Talk for Writing approach. This begins in EYFS and continues throughout KS1. Pupils are taught familiar texts, both fiction and non-fiction, using text maps and actions to help them to remember.
Pupils learn to write in a range of styles and genres, such as stories, poems, reports, instructions, letters, recounts, and invitations.
Pupils in KS1 are also taught how to use grammar, punctuation and spelling correctly. This is sometimes taught discreetly, or it may be incorporated into phonics or Talk for Writing sessions, as well as in other areas of the curriculum.
A coherent handwriting sequence is taught through the Twinkl progression of Curly caterpillar letters, ladder letters, one armed robot letters and zig zag monster letters. Formation is in line with Nelson Cursive handwriting scheme.
Spoken Language
Pupils develop Speaking and Listening skills through a wide range of opportunities; story time, drama, role play, class presentations, assemblies, school productions, use of pupil voice and stimulating classroom teaching.
We value children's contributions during discussions and encourage all children to listen carefully and actively, valuing and responding to others viewpoints and opinions.
Subject specific vocabulary is embedded across the wider curriculum through teacher modelling, and our pupils are encouraged to use new words in their work.
Pupils are regularly given opportunities to orally rehearse ideas for written work and discuss new vocabulary in lessons.
Impact
Children who leave Hamstead Infant School will have achieved their personal best, be confident, independent learners who are ready for the next stage of their education.
Children are able to develop and use the skills and language learnt related to English and apply these independently.
Children will have a depth of knowledge about high quality texts to inspire fluency in reading, writing and communicating.
Our ambitious and engaging curriculum provides children with a love of learning so they ‘Know more, Remember more’.