Intent

The overarching aim for English at Cranham is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.

Writing

Our belief, at Cranham, is that children need to be immersed in quality texts in order to be able to learn how to write well.

We believe that there are four purposes for writing:

Writing to entertain

Writing to inform

Writing to instruct/explain

Writing to persuade

All children follow a sequence of learning based on a quality text and are encouraged to write daily. The children follow the process of writing, developing the 'writerly skills' needed, working on their specific needs and the demands of the curriculum, and working towards an end piece. Progress is measured at this point and next steps identified for the next sequence.

Spelling

As a school we follow the No Nonsense Spelling programme. This is taught at least twice a week in KS2, with 5 sessions over two weeks.

In KS1 and EYFS, phonics and spellings are taught daily (information on our approach can be found on our Parent Pages).

As well as No Nonsense Spelling, we also immerse children in the vocabulary they will need in their foundation subjects; these are displayed in the classroom and in their books for reference.

Children are given time to practise a number of spellings (number and choice of spelling is dependent on the age of the child) before they write, across all subjects. These are modelled and written on handwriting guidelines so that spelling and handwriting are targeted. The words are then used in writing and acknowledged in marking.

Handwriting

We believe that children need to have fluency of hand in order to record quickly and easily. We use the Nelson spelling programme across school and this is practised on handwriting guidelines. In year 1 and 2, children write on guidelines during English sessions to embed the handwriting early. The handwriting guideline books are then used across the school for anyone that needs that layer of support.

Grammar

Grammar and punctuation is integrated in to the sequences of learning wherever possible. Where it is not possible this is taught explicitly.