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 follow the Letterjoin handwriting scheme from Reception to Year 6. Handwriting is a basic skill that influences the quality of work throughout the curriculum. By the end of Key Stage 2, all pupils should have the ability to produce fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy joined-up handwriting, and to understand the different forms of handwriting used for different purposes.

Our intention is to make handwriting an automatic process that does not interfere with creative and mental thinking. Overall, our aims are:

• To develop a neat, legible, speedy handwriting style using continuous cursive letters, which leads to producing letters and words automatically in independent writing.
• To establish and maintain high expectations for the presentation of written work.
• For pupils to understand, by the end of Year 6, the importance of neat presentation and the need for different letterforms (cursive, printed or capital letters) to help communicate meaning clearly.

Grammar

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