English Curriculum Statement
Intent:
We passionately believe that a high quality curriculum should develop the children’s love of reading, writing and spoken language from our youngest to our oldest children. We aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage as well as exposing the children to rich and varied language.
We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and this will ensure our children have the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.
Implementation:
These aims are embedded across the whole curriculum and lessons are rigorous and well organised which provide many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion.
We follow The Write Stuff structure of teaching for English (see writing section for further information) and teacher’s adapt this to ensure that all children are able to access the curriculum at their appropriate levels to ensure they experience success and are exposed to a rich and varied vocabulary from our youngest to our oldest children.
We provide a wealth of enrichment opportunities such as:
- Taking part in the annual storytelling competition as part of the Truro Music Festival.
- Entering the poetry and creative writing competitions run by the BBC.
- Supporting Gorsedh Kernow, where children submit entries aimed at maintaining the spirit of Cornwall.
- School performances to parents, e.g. Harvest, Christmas, Summer productions.
- School council – representatives from each year group meet regularly to represent their peers, whereby they make decisions such as who our chosen charity will be and events.
- Performing at Frogpool Chapel both at Christmas and with the Nankersey Male Voice Choir.
This ensures that children benefit from access to positive role models from the local and wider locality.
Impact:
Our children are enthusiastic readers, writers and speakers who enjoy showcasing their developing literacy knowledge, vocabulary and skills. They are confident to take risks in their reading and writing and love to discuss and share their ideas as well as perform to an audience.
Staff are equipped with appropriate resources to support all children and work alongside our SENDCo to ensure that relevant CPD opportunities are taken.
We measure the impact of our English curriculum through our rigorous monitoring cycle. This includes regular book looks, learning walks, pupil conferencing, formative and summative assessments.
As a result, we are currently in the top 6 performing schools in Cornwall for our KS2 SATS results.
