English
At St Edmund’s and St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School we believe that English is at the heart of education. English pervades all aspects of school life and the skills of speaking listening, reading and writing are evident in all areas of the curriculum. Through speaking, listening, reading and writing, children develop their powers of communication, inventiveness and critical awareness.
Language and literature are an essential part of everyday life and being literate is crucial for future success, both educationally and in the wider world as active citizens. For children to achieve well in English lessons and to develop a comprehensive set of literacy skills it is vital they experience a relevant and engaging English curriculum.
Our curriculum follows the guidelines detailed in the National Curriculum. We aim to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word and to develop a love of literature.
Please refer to the English Curriculum Statement for further information.
Literature Spine
We have devised our own Literature Spine which we believe will immerse our children in the best literature available and will provide a solid foundation for their future learning and success. We have selected the texts carefully, ensuring there is a balance of styles, genres and themes across the phase groups. Each class has been allocated 12 texts per year. Our children will explore the books in a number of ways: as a core literacy text linked with writing outcomes, as part of the reading programme or as a whole class read shared by the teacher. We want our children to be passionate, engaged, life-long readers and we believe our text selections will promote this.
Alison Pritchard
English Subject Leader
