Intent:

Being exposed to a range of high quality texts and books is essential to our English curriculum. Throughout all lessons at Great Malvern children will learn to be resilient when faced with new vocabulary, have high expectations of their own work and be able to apply their skills to a range of reading opportunities and writing purposes. They will develop their own opinions and writing styles which they can take with them on their future learning journeys.

• All children will have access to a range of quality texts to enjoy and cherish.

• Objectives selected from the national curriculum are carefully sequenced to build on prior knowledge and challenge to move forwards. These are mapped onto curriculum maps.

Reading Approach:

• Comprehension is based around the One Education Reading Gems to enhance understanding of reading skills and ensure children have a depth of vocabulary understanding.
• Comprehension is built into other areas of the curriculum through high quality texts in topic, science and other foundation subjects.
• Whole class reading sessions are timetabled in daily for year groups 2 - 6. Phonics sessions are daily for EYFS and Year 1.
• Children are challenged through high quality texts which teach them new vocabulary and how to comprehend a quality text.
• Encouraging the children to read at home is a priority for all staff. We work with parents to ensure that reading at home is a priority for every child.
• All children have access to a range of quality texts from the class book corners.

Writing Coverage:

• In EFYS, writing will link with high quality, engaging books. They will also link their writing with their current topics to ensure that it is purposeful for the children,

• In years 1 - 6, teachers will plan a curriculum that will focus on the purpose of writing. Writing purposes will be carefully introduced and revisited throughout the year, incorporating a range of text-types. These purposes are: 
• Sequences of learning allow for contextualised grammar sessions, making this learning more purposeful for the children.
• Writing links with oracy through the use of the Talk for Writing approach and the use of correct grammar and sentence structure are consistently promoted by staff.
• Invent units, which increase in frequency throughout the year, ensure the children are independent and creative writers.
• Writing links with high quality texts that inspire and motivate the children to write.
• Clear modelling happens by the teacher before writing which enables the children to become thoughtful, reflective writers. Phonics is at the heart of modelling writing in KS1.
• Spelling is referenced by all teachers when writing – especially focusing on the spelling rules and key words for that year group.
• Lessons are consistently taught between the two classes to ensure the children are receiving the same learning experiences.