At Wolsingham Primary our English curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop fluency in reading and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary and an understanding of grammar
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas and participate in debate.

The English curriculum develops the priorities for pupils at Wolsingham Primary School in the following ways:

Basic skills – we teach children the basic skills of reading and writing that they can then use and apply in all other areas of the curriculum. Reading skills are important to access learning in all other subjects. Writing skills allow children to communicate what they have learnt.

Resilience and perseverance – many of the narrative texts the children experience contain characters who show resilience and perseverance in the plot of the story. Children’s perseverance and resilience are also developed through encouraging them to write at length and via activities where they edit and improve their work.

Social awareness – the texts we use expose children to a variety of social issues and develops their social awareness. They allow them to learn about different cultures and social issues, and encourage them to think about different perspectives.  Stories allow them to explore and learn about worlds that are very different to their own.

Knowledge – we give the children knowledge of different stories, authors and text types which will hopefully foster a passion of reading that will stay with them throughout their lives. We give them knowledge of grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure and how to organise texts, so that they can communicate effectively for different audiences and purposes.