ENGLISH

English at Victoria Road Primary School

At Victoria Road Primary School, we put English at the centre of every child’s learning.  We recognise the significance of language, communication, reading and writing in all aspects of life, from developing independent learning skills to successfully entering the world of work.  We place high-quality texts at the heart of our curriculum and encourage children to develop their love of reading through our Reading for Pleasure initiatives.  A vocabulary-rich learning environment feeds directly into children’s writing outcomes.

The aims of our English curriculum are to:

• Develop strong oracy skills that allow children to express themselves, communicating confidently across a range of contexts.
• Enable children to read fluently, widely and often, understanding a wide range of texts appropriate for their age.
• Enable children to draft, edit and present writing that is both technically proficient and creative, tailored to the demands of purpose and audience.
• Enable children to have a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn throughout their time in primary school.
• Encourage confidence and enjoyment in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

These core principles underpin our curriculum:

• To consciously build on children’s existing language and literacy experiences.
• To recognise the importance of all those involved in the learning experience – parents and carers, wider family members, teachers and children.
• To value diversity and be culturally inclusive.
• To have high expectations of all children.
• To value and promote critical enquiry.
• To offer challenges whilst providing models, demonstrations, examples and scaffolds to help children tackle them successfully.

At Victoria Road Primary School, we acknowledge the strong reciprocal relationship between speaking, listening, reading and writing.