English

At St. Gregory’s we aim to provide children with a broad and balanced English curriculum. We have adopted an exciting thematic approach to English which integrates speaking and listening, reading and writing skills.

Speaking and Listening

The four strands of Speaking and Listening: Speaking; Listening; Group Discussion and Interaction, and Drama 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.

Pupils learn to speak clearly and think about the needs of their listeners. The children work in small groups and as a class to contribute to and lead discussions in a range of contexts. The children share relevant points, ideas and justify their decisions. The children also learn to listen carefully to what others have said in order to respect their point of view and summarise what has been discussed. The children are encouraged to use language in imaginative ways and to express their ideas and feelings throughout role-play and drama activities.

Writing

Writing has a significant role within the English curriculum at St. Gregory’s. The children are taught to recognise that writing is an essential tool that can be both enjoyable and useful. The children are encouraged to write in a variety of different text types across a range of curriculum subjects.

Pupils are taught to spell and punctuate accurately using neat legible joined handwriting. The children learn the main rules and conventions of written English and start to explore how the English language can be used to express meaning in different ways. They use the planning, drafting and editing process to improve their work and to sustain their fiction and non-fiction writing.

Spelling

Spelling Shed is used to support teaching and learning in school and furthermore, at home. An overview of the features of this scheme can be found here.

Letter formation > Handwriting

At St. Gregory's, children progress from initial letter formation (Little Wandle) into cursive joining patterns following the 'PenPals' scheme.

Penpals for Handwriting is a complete handwriting scheme offering clear progression through five developmental stages. It teaches children a fast and fluent handwriting style to help them achieve their potential in writing. Five unique developmental phases provide clear progression for children. Sky-writing and lesson warm-ups develop the fine and gross motor skills that are crucial for handwriting. In Years 5 and 6 basic handwriting issues are revised and speed and fluency improved.

Link to English Curriculum Click here for English Long Term Plan Click here for English Policy

Vocabulary

Children are challenged to explore vocabulary critically across all subjects and develop a thirst for new language and finding a use for it in their work. The banner below links to some of our words games...

Reading

At St. Gregory’s we encourage children to read for interest and pleasure with a view to them becoming lifelong readers. We share high quality intriguing texts as a class and in groups.

Initially pupils are taught to decode words phonetically and recognise high frequency words within sentences. The children comment on what they have read and respond in a variety of different ways. As their fluency and accuracy develops the children read a range of challenging texts. The children are encouraged to analyse the text in more detail, reflecting upon author choices, themes and the use of language.

Please click here to navigate to parent support for teaching your child to read and further information about our phonics programme...

Please click here to read our school Reading Policy...

Paul Cookson - visit

Perkins local author visits our KS1 children!

Jen Carney pays a visit to talk to the children about reading and writing skills!

Click the image below to access our school's magazine that celebrates all things reading - 'Eat, Sleep, Read, Repeat'.