English Curriculum Statement

Core values:

Our curriculum is underpinned by our core values;

Respect
Integrity
Trust
Diligence
Fearless
Driven

Curriculum intent

In the English department, our intent is to improve the reading, writing, speaking and listening of all our students. We aim to foster an appreciation of literature and life-long learning in the students, developing their literacy skills. We encourage all our students to take an active part in their learning journey.

The curriculum is built to give all learners the very best opportunity to succeed academically and to build the skills of communication, analysis and understanding. Students are given the opportunity to explore a range of texts (from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries). The curriculum is structured around key movements from literature as well as the chance to explore a range of voices from through the ages and around the world. They are given support to read texts critically. It is the intent of the curriculum to build the students’ confidence and reading ability.

The curriculum has numerous opportunities for extended writing. Students are taught to write accurately for a range of audiences and purposes. The students must write effectively and coherently using Standard English appropriately, in order for their ideas to be understood. Spelling, grammar and punctuation are taught both implicit and explicitly throughout the Key Stages. The curriculum is designed so that the student can use their reading skills to feed into their writing skills. Their acquisition of a wide vocabulary (which can only be gained by reading) is an important component in writing well. It is the intent of the curriculum to encourage writing for pleasure and with clarity and accuracy.

The aim of the literature curriculum builds-on and adds-to the skills of reading and writing, with the added attractions of high-quality and challenging literature (including classical mythology, the romantic movement and gothic writing). The texts are challenging but accessible for all students and offer a wide range of opportunities for exploration and opinion. We consciously select writers, texts and literary examples that exemplify the protected characteristics to ensure that all members of our school community are represented through the English curriculum.

In the reading of these literary texts, students develop the four key skills for a life-long appreciation of literature- critical reading, inferential comprehension, evaluation of a writer’s choice of vocabulary, grammatical and structural features, and drawing comparisons between texts. These skills are embedded in the literature curriculum.

In writing, the students must be accurate in spelling, grammar and punctuation but the curriculum is also designed to encourage writing effectively about literature for a range of purposes. This includes the skills of selecting and emphasising key points and quotations from the text and describing, summarising and arguing. It is the intent of the curriculum to teach these skills both implicitly and explicitly.

It is the intent of both the language and literature curriculums, that speaking and listening plays an active part in the development of the student’s skills. Speaking English is vital in the curriculum. The students are given opportunities to expresses sophisticated ideas information or feelings; both curriculums give them occasions to do that.

Listening is pivotal before the student responds; the curriculum has opportunities for the teacher to use listening activities to allow the students to respond perceptively and elaborate with further ideas and information.

Planning Documentation

KS3 Curriculum Map

KS4 Curriculum Map