English Curriculum
"We believe in education in its broadest sense because it has the power to change and improve peoples’ lives."
At Marine Park we provide a quality English curriculum developing children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We value and respect the cultural and linguistic identities of all pupils and use these to enrich learning. We develop the oral and literacy skills of pupils so they can understand and use English confidently and competently across the curriculum and maximise their potential to be confident in the art of speaking and listening.
We expect them to be avid readers, children who are able to read fluently and widely and are able to express preferences and opinions about the texts that they read. We want the children by the end of year 2 to be confident decoders using their phonic knowledge and syllable division in order for them to flourish confidently read appropriate texts. We want them to read for pleasure, having had access to a wide range of text types, genres and authors in order for them to make informed opinions about their favourites.
We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing. We produce children who write with confidence and accuracy for a variety of purposes and audiences whilst developing their own individual flair. We want our children to be able to write with grammatical accuracy and be able to apply spelling patterns correctly using a neat cursive handwriting style. Our expectation is such that the children will apply all of these English skills to all areas of the curriculum.
Speaking and Listening
Speaking and listening permeate the whole curriculum. Interactive teaching strategies are used to engage all pupils in order to raise reading and writing standards. Children are encouraged to develop effective communication skills in readiness for later life.
These skills taught in the English lesson are transferred into other subjects; this shows consolidation and a deeper understanding of how and when to use these specific skills. Children are given regular opportunities to talk about their learning and given the chance for their work to be read aloud and evaluated amongst peers.
Reading
At Marine Park, we believe that writing is strengthened by instilling a love of reading in our pupils, and we value the role of reading in supporting and enriching writing skills. Reading is celebrated throughout the school: classrooms feature inspiring reading corners, displays of authors and whole-school texts, and children’s favourite book boxes, creating a literacy-rich environment.
In EYFS, children take part in explicit daily reading and phonics sessions through Read Write Inc., including the ‘Super 6’ programme, where they learn a set of key books and the language within them inside out, supporting early comprehension, vocabulary and storytelling skills. Reading and a love of books feature heavily in the EYFS curriculum, for example through Gregg Botrill’s Drawing Club, which encourages children to explore stories, develop creativity, and engage with texts in interactive ways.
In Reception and Key Stage 1, children continue to develop reading through Read Write Inc. phonics, using books closely matched to their phonics knowledge to secure decoding, fluency and comprehension. Once children complete the Read Write Inc. phonics programme, they transition to the Accelerated Reader programme, providing a wider choice of books and regular quizzing to consolidate understanding and support comprehension.
Across the school, children take part in daily guided reading sessions, exploring a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts to develop fluency, comprehension and vocabulary. Pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure and to read widely, supported by class libraries, reading bands and the Accelerated Reader programme. Every day at 3:00pm, the school day concludes with a shared story, where an adult reads a class book aloud to foster enjoyment and positive reading habits.
Through these consistent, engaging approaches, reading is taught explicitly, practised regularly, and celebrated across the school, ensuring all pupils, including EAL learners, develop strong reading skills and a lifelong love of books.
Phonics
In addition to daily literacy lessons, children excel in early reading through the use of the RWI programme from reception – year 2 and continue to develop a range of reading skills, as well as a love of reading. During these phonics sessions we encourage children to use continuous blending. We find this phoneme synthesis scaffolding offers critical support in blending individual sounds to make words. We use regular phonics assessments to ensure children are working on the correct sets for their ability
Spelling
Spelling is taught through a structured, inclusive and highly consistent approach using the Read Write Inc. programmes. In EYFS, children take part in explicit daily spelling and phonics sessions through Read, Write, Inc., developing early spelling knowledge. From Year 1, through to Year 6, children receive discrete weekly spelling lessons using Read Write Inc. Spelling. Teaching is explicit and direct, with spelling taught cumulatively and systematically so that new learning builds securely on what has come before. Carefully planned, focused practice and constant revision are central to the programme, supporting both retention and application, particularly for EAL learners developing vocabulary and language structures. Clear routines and behaviours are explicitly taught and rehearsed until they become automatic, reducing cognitive load and enabling children to concentrate fully on learning to spell accurately and confidently
Writing
At Marine Park, we believe that writing is strengthened by instilling a love for reading within our pupils. We value the importance of reading to supplement writing, providing a purpose and a context to writing. This is why we follow the reading into writing model which ensures high-quality teaching of writing through children’s high-quality literature. We believe that pupils who are provided a reason for writing demonstrate flair and effective writing composition, leading to high quality outcomes. To support children in moving towards independent writing we provide a wide range of activities including the use of film and imagery, ICT, modelled, shared and guided writing, peer assessment and discussion. We provide varied and exciting opportunities for writing for purpose and we encourage pupils to see themselves as authors and poets. We promote the importance of written work by providing a writing purpose and opportunities for children’s writing to be read aloud and listened to by an audience. Handwriting sessions are regularly incorporated into the English lessons.
When writing an extended piece of writing our marking is rigorous. The children are encouraged to improve and consolidate their work which only enhances their learning.
We also provide a wealth of enrichment opportunities, from book sales, creative writing competitions, world book day activities, reading clubs, bedtime book boxes and author visits. This ensures that children benefit from access to positive role models from the local and wider locality.
Assessment
Assessment is an ongoing element of the teaching and learning of English and takes place constantly throughout the verbal feedback children receive during lessons; the ‘active marking’ codes throughout the lesson, ‘yellow box’ written feedback after the lesson and the questioning used to ascertain children’s understanding. The assessment of English also includes moderation of children’s writing which takes place within the school at staff meetings, but also as part of the Blue Skies federation. This is to ensure that class teachers make secure judgements.
The ongoing assessment that we use is a tool for improvement. It aims to improve the outcome for that child, but also for any future children that may have similar gaps of difficulties. Individuals and groups not making sufficient progress are identified for intervention in order to close attainment gaps. The assessment we carry out informs future planning and the development of the subject and is shared with leadership to ensure that the delivery of English is to the very highest standard.
Impact
As a result of our intent and implementation, we have a school community of enthusiastic readers and writers who can recognise their progress, are confident enough to take risks within their learning and enjoy nothing more than celebrating their literacy skills and achievements. We strive to ensure that our pupil's attainment is in line with, or exceeds, their potential when we consider the varied starting points of all our pupils. We measure this using a range of assessment materials, whilst always considering the age-related expectations for each year group. Rigorous evaluation of these assessments allows for early intervention in an attempt to narrow the gap so that pupils will make at least good progress in Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening from their last point of statutory assessment. We intend the impact of our English curriculum will ensure our pupils are academically prepared for life beyond primary school and throughout their educational journey.