We believe that a high-quality education in English should equip children with the knowledge, skills and understanding to prepare them to play a full and active part in our ever changing society.  At All Saints CE Primary School it is our intent that children are explicitly taught key skills in all areas of the English curriculum to ensure they are literate,  fluent and develop a love of English. This will be implemented through carefully planned learning opportunities using a wide range of high quality text drivers and experiential opportunities.  We teach  the National Curriculum in KS1  and KS2 and the Foundation Stage Curriculum in the Early Years. Our Long Term Plan is guided by the  Hampshire Progression Document and is broken down into units of work which follow a three stage planning process. 

The  impact of our English curriculum is that children can communicate purposefully and accurately to their audience in a variety of purposes and forms through the application of taught skills in a variety of situations. We assess progress using the Hampshire Phase Assessment model at timely points through an academic year as well as ongoing informative assessment in each lesson. 

We have an English text led approach and our texts  are chosen in order that our children have the opportunity to read increasingly complex texts as they progress through the school. This ensures children are offered a chance for rich talk and discussion, developing their background knowledge, making links and connecting ideas, as well building on their vocabulary understanding and usage. 
 

Mirrors,  windows and sliding glass doors

(Rudine Sims Bishop 1990)

We follow the 'Mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors' view when carefully selecting our English texts across the school.   We  recognise how important it is to provide our children with reading materials in which we can celebrate both our differences and similarities, because together they are what make us all human. 

' Books are sometimes windows so that you can look through and see other worlds and how they do or do not match up with your own lived reality.  Windows can also turn into sliding glass doors which allow you to enter the window and imagine what life is like from another persons’ perspective. These windows can also be mirrors and transform human experience reflecting it back to us and in that reflection, we see our own lives and experiences as part of wider human experiences. When you see yourself reflected back it helps to self affirm your sense of being and belonging.'