English
Welcome to the English page.
Mrs Cokell leads English throughout school.
‘I have always loved English. From a a very young age, I loved books and reading. I was often found with a torch under my bed covers reading my favourite book, ‘Gobbolino’. My love of English continued through my time at primary school (Sandylands) Yes, I’m a Sandylands’ past pupil. I loved writing stories and even won a writing competition in Year 6!
I studied English Literature at A level and achieved an Honours degree at St Martins in Lancaster whilst also studying teaching.
I am excited about the opportunity to lead English at Sandylands. There is nothing I love more than encouraging and watching children succeed and enjoy the subject I love.’
Mrs Cokell
Our English curriculum …
Our high-quality English curriculum teaches pupils to speak, read and write fluently so that they can communicate their learning, ideas and opinions to others. At Sandylands Primary School, English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching across all subjects.
Our aims are in line with the National Curriculum for English:
• to read easily, fluently and with good understanding;
• to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information;
• to acquire a wide vocabulary; an understanding of grammar; and knowledge of linguistic conventions, for reading, writing and spoken language;
• to appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage;
• to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences;
• to use discussion in order to learn; pupils should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas;
• to be competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
At Sandylands we prioritise the acquisition of language. The cultural capital obtained in becoming articulate users of a rich vocabulary is one of the main drivers underpinning our curriculum. Interwoven through all areas of our knowledge-based learning is how we support pupils as they develop confidence and fluency, using a wide range of vocabulary in different contexts. This includes subject-specific language related to school curriculum areas and vocabulary choices that pupils have available to them when they write. Pupils are also taught how to differentiate between shades of meaning and develop an interest and a love of language through their wider reading.
Click on the link below to access our English Principles, Practices and Guarantee
English curriculum principles practices and guarantee
English Learning Pathway
Knowledge
Speaking and Listening – being competent and confident in the art of speaking and listening ie. debates/ presentations / persuasion
Reading – reading easily, fluently and with good understanding.
Writing – write clearly, accurately and coherently adapting their language and style for different purposes and audiences.
Vocabulary – acquire a wide rich vocabulary and understanding of grammar for reading, writing and spoken language.
Timetabling
English is taught for a dedicated hour a day.
Guided reading is taught outside of the English session daily for 30-45 minutes.
Phonics is taught using the Read Write inc programme and delivered in Reception through to Year 2 daily for between 20-45 minutes dependent on the child’s challenge point.
Fast track and Fresh start tutoring is delivered to those children who are at risk of falling behind daily for between 15-30 minutes.
Assessment
Assessment in English happens in a variety of ways during a lesson from answering comprehension questions in guided reading sessions to more formal checkpoint assessments at the end of each term. Reception children complete a baseline assessment for English as they start school in September. At the end of Key stage 1 and 2 , the children complete a reading SAT as well as the teacher assessing their writing. Year 6 also complete a Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation assessment as part of their SAT assessments.
CPD for teachers
All staff who deliver phonics sessions are trained, coached and receive updates regularly by our Early Reading lead.
Guided reading workshops enable staff to further enhance their knowledge of how to teach reading.
We work closely with external colleagues and advisors who offer valuable support with planning – the Sandylands way.
Essential Entitlement
Year 1 tortoise visit
Year 1 had a special visit from Myrtle the tortoise on Monday. The children were very excited to see a real tortoise in class. We have been reading a story about Shelley the tortoise and this week we became tortoise experts and wrote a non-fiction booklet for our...
Remembrance … Lest we forget
Last week, children across the school took time to reflect and remember as part of the Remembrance day commemorations. Poppies and other items were sold around school to support the Royal British Legion. Year 6 also looked at some WWI poets as part of their Guided...
Bonfire Vocabulary
In Year 2, we have been reading different Bonfire Night poems. We use the rhyme 'Remember, remember the 5th November....'. We talked about how we can remember new things? We thought actions would help us to learn new vocabulary that we can use in our poems. Below are...
Made the Moon visit to Sunderland point
Year 5M took part in a series of different workshops, linked to the text Made by the Moon, recently when they visited Sunderland point as part of our work with the Morecambe Bay partnership. In the summer term, as part of the curriculum, the children used the text by...
Gnomeo and Juliet
For Shakespeare Week in March, Year 2 learned about a famous play called Romeo and Juliet. We started by have a playtime! However, there were special rules to follow - greens had to keep away from the reds. No talking, playing or sharing was allowed between the two...
The Storm Whale
Year 2 have been reading stories linked to our local area of living on the coast. We have looked at The Storm Whale by Benji Davies and Dear Greenpeace by Simon James. We looked at the character of Noi from The Storm Whale in detail. Noi found a whale washed up on the...
Mr Wolf’s Pancakes in Year One
Over the last couple of weeks Year One have been reading the story 'Mr Wolf's pancakes' by Jan Fearnley. We loved the ending. We have been writing about Mr Wolf's feelings and adding -ing o verbs to show what Mr Wolf was doing. Have a look at some of our writing. Well...
What is the Read Write inc Phonics programme we are using in school?
The link below gives parents an overview of our Read Write inc phonics scheme used in school - watch the video and if you have any questions ask a member of staff or Mrs Lupton who is our Read Write inc Reading leader in school. ...