English is taught at Altrincham CE Primary School through the use of Quality Texts.

From the beginning, children are immersed in a world of pictures and words through the use of texts which are rich in meaning.

We have curated a bespoke Reading Spine which outlines the essential literary diet we want every child to experience, fostering a love of literature that will not only be the bedrock of future learning, but will become a joy for life.

Phonics

Phonics is taught systematically throughout EYFS and Key Stage 1, using our accredited scheme, Phonics Bug.

Phonics teaching introduces children to all of the individual sounds used in English to make words, and the main written representations of these sounds.   This is divided into 6 phases.  

While they are in Nursery and Reception, our children experience a wide range of Phase 1 learning opportunities, supporting auditory development and recognition of environmental sounds.  This ensures they are ready to learn to match the sounds they hear to the symbols that represent them in writing (this is known as grapheme-phoneme correspondence, or gpc).  During Reception and Year 1, the children are systematically taught to identify, blend and write the letters (graphemes) that represent sounds in words. The books that children read independently as they learn to decode are carefully matched to the phonics teaching taking place in lessons.  The reading books that children bring home offer an opportunity for them to share success, to demonstrate and practise what they have learnt in school.  Parents are encouraged to support their children's reading at home; to this end, we hold workshops and share materials and we provide regular updates on progress.

In addition to reading books which match the sounds learnt in phonics lessons, the children bring home a sharing book, which will often contain text beyond their ability to read for themselves and can be read aloud and shared with an older reader at home.  In this way, comprehension skills are developed and children build a rich and exciting vocabulary whilst enjoying quality literature.

Reading into Writing

We aim to inspire our children and develop in them a deep and abiding love of language.

The texts we use in lessons are chosen to challenge and enchant the children, to thrill them and make them question; we believe passionately that children learn best when their learning has a context and are 'hooked-in.' This philosophy of learning transcends English and underpins everything we do at Altrincham.

The quality texts we choose have been carefully chosen and have often been selected because they link to other areas of the curriculum the children have been learning about.

Our English framework places value on the key skills of Speaking and Listening as children are encouraged to respond to texts and develop the ability to articulate their ideas.

Children are taught to use the conventions of discussion and debate and use drama as a vehicle to explore the characters and worlds they find themselves in, building confidence along the way.

Spoken Language and pupils' oracy skills underpin development and progression in both reading and writing; allowing children the time to ask questions about a book, talk about it and simply wonder, is something we believe is fundamental in helping lay the foundations for a lifelong love and appreciation of the written word in all its forms.

Quality Texts also provide a valuable platform for teachers to develop children's comprehension skills. Through the interrogation of images and language, we develop skills in inference and deduction, discuss why authors choose the language they have used and make connections with other texts and authors we have encountered.

Writing soon follows and in this way, children follow a process which starts with Speaking and Listening and brings together the different strands of English in a meaningful and contextualised way.  Children begin to 'read as writers', exploring how grammar and sentence construction can be employed to create an effect and similarly, how vocabulary sits alongside to engage the reader.

Vocabulary is vital and children learn that words are not only the building blocks of the sentences we create, but a tool to express our ideas and emotions.

At Altrincham CE Primary School, children write when they are ready and their reading and enjoyment of a quality text means they have developed the necessary skills and empathy to produce something which is purposeful and meaningful to them. A drafting and editing process takes place and children are taught that even the best authors do not get it right at the first time of asking. Instead we polish and edit at word, sentence and paragraph level working with our peers in the class to improve and refine.