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At Low Furness we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Our priorities are helping children to read and develop their all-important comprehension skills.
We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and equally encourage discussion to communicate and further their learning.
We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.
These aims are embedded across our English lessons and the wider curriculum. English lessons are daily from years 1-6 and form part of daily provision in EYFS. We have organised the English curriculum so that it provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. We use a wide variety of quality texts and resources, including educational visits, to motivate and inspire our children. We invite authors into school and utilise the vast array of current texts available, to teach.
Teachers plan and deliver English lessons considering Quality First teaching. We help each child maximise their potential by providing help and support where necessary whilst striving to make children independent workers once we have helped to equip them with the confidence, tools and strategies that they need.
The impact on our children is clear: progress, sustained learning and transferable skills. Our children leave Low Furness having studied a wide range of genres and know the different styles, language and formats needed for each one. Termly, an independent piece of writing is assessed. Whole class feedback for other pieces of writing, provides positive support and directs the pupils on their next steps to improve their writing.
Our results show a huge proportion of our children leave school being confident, fluent readers who read regularly for information, enjoyment, interest and pleasure.
In the autumn and summer terms, children complete NFER or SATs tests (dependent on year groups) allowing comparisons to be made, gaps to be identified and progress to be recorded.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
Our Nursery and reception classes follow Development Matters and The Early Years Learning Goals. Planning uses a variety of elements resources such as the Early Years Staffroom and Literacy Shed plus. Children are given plenty of opportunities to ‘write’ and use a wide range of different resources and methods.
EYFS Reading progression document
EYFS writing progression document
At Low Furness we use:
Twinkl Phonics from EYFS – Year 2. Children are taught new sounds daily and assessed regularly. Keep up catch up sessions are used for those children who are identified with having gaps in their knowledge from Rec-Y6.
Twinkl Rhino Readers are used as reading books in EYFS and KS1. When the child has learnt a specific ‘chunk’ of sounds, a levelled reading book is given. The children are encouraged to read the book numerous times to help develop fluency and intonation. They will also be asked questions about what they have read, to begin to develop comprehension skills. From here, they progress to the Collins Big Cat scheme which is used through to Year 6. Alongside this, when ready, the children are encouraged to take reading books from the libraries in school. Guided reading takes place in every class to develop reading strategies which assist decoding and construct meaning.
Twinkl Handwriting is the scheme used to teach our children correct letter formation and joins. The children are encouraged and expected to produce correctly formed letters in all lessons throughout EYFS and KS1. Throughout KS2, we teach joins and encourage neat, joined and fluent handwriting in all lessons.
Ed Shed is used to excite the children using fun games to encourage a love of spelling. All children have their own log in where the weekly spellings are added from year 2-6.
SPAG.com is used throughout year 6 to consolidate grammar in preparation for SATs.
A variety of resources are used to assist with the planning of English including Literacy Shed Plus and TES.
Low Furness CE Primary School,
Church Road,
Great Urswick,
Ulverston,
LA12 0TA
T: 01229 588708
E: admin@low-furness.cumbria.sch.uk
Head teacher : Mrs. S. Little
School Administrator : Mrs. A. Burrell
SEN co-ordinator: Mrs. T. Tracey
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