Intent

At Holy Family, our pupils will receive a stimulating and enriching experience in English, developing the skills necessary to master the English curriculum. In line with our Mission Statement ‘We aspire our children to achieve personal excellence for themselves and the glory of God’, our children will leave Holy Family being able to write with confidence and accuracy for a variety of purposes and audiences whilst developing their own individual flair.

Through the English curriculum, we will help children develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate effectively and creatively through spoken and written language and equip them with the skills to become lifelong learners. We want children to enjoy and appreciate a rich variety of literature.

Implementation

At Holy Family we use the Power of Reading as a basis for our well organised  reading and writing curriculum, where we provide purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. The resource bank available to teachers is vast and reflects the ever-changing literary landscape. Children are exposed to heritage texts as well as contemporary authors. The teachers select high quality texts, which will engage their pupils and also link to their Creative Curriculum Topic. These books are at the core of our English planning and teachers then plan stimulating lessons, using and adapting the Power of Reading’s teaching sequences, weaving in appropriate grammar skills and shared writing. These texts, also support our PSHE curriculum and allow the children to explore sensitive issues through story together with developing the children’s love of books through drama, speaking and listening and writing activities. Children have many opportunities to discuss, debate and develop their ideas. All classes build up their stamina across the curriculum through planning, drafting, proof-reading and suggesting improvements to their own and others’ writing. Our English lessons build progressively to an extended piece of writing of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Children are also encouraged to speak clearly, confidently and with expression in order to communicate ideas and to listen to others and respond appropriately.

Impact

Children demonstrate high quality pieces of work across a breadth of literacy topics together with extended writing opportunities across the curriculum. Children can successfully adapt their writing considering the purpose and have confidence in their own creativity.  

For more information about Power of Reading, look at their website: www.clpe.org.uk/powerofreading
 

Here are just some of the wonderful texts we cover: