English
At Coppice Primary School pupils are taught to:
• Learn to use spoken and written language confidently, allowing a variety of interpretations and outcomes.
• Become keen readers across a wide range of texts and media.
• Recognise that writers manipulate language and form according to purpose and audience
• Use materials which reflect cultural and social diversity and which provide positive images of race, gender and disability, free from discrimination and stereotyping.
Early Years Foundation Stage
In EYFS we start teaching reading using the Read Write Inc programme. Whilst children are learning the initial sounds and how to blend for reading they take home picture books to practise story telling. Children are encouraged to make up the story from the pictures, develop their vocabulary and storytelling skills e.g. character's speech, predicting what might happen, thinking of alternative settings or characters. These are key skills that will support their reading and writing as they progress in Literacy. During this stage, they will intermittently bring home a sheet of key words to practise reading based on the sounds they have learnt so far. As they come to the end of this stage, phonetic reading books will also be sent home to develop their confidence.
Once the children can blend and have learnt all the initial sounds, they read Ditty books in school (with short phrases and sentences) and are also exposed to 'tricky' words (not phonetically decodable). At this point, they will begin bring home books from the PM Reading Scheme. This gradually develops their sight vocabulary (high frequency and tricky words) as well as using phonic, context and visual cues for reading.
Children in Reception are provided with two books to take home. One is matched to their ability and the other is chosen from the story box in class. We want the children to listen to a variety of stories and have a passion for reading. Books are changed at least twice a week. An adult will listen to each child read once a fortnight.
In EYFS, we have story time every day. The class teacher will read a 'Class reader' book or a story from the story box. Alongside story times, they will be exposed to 'Story creation' where we encourage children to be involved in creating and telling a new imaginative story.
Key Stages 1 and 2
The English programme of study, as detailed in the National Curriculum 2014, is based on the following 4 areas of teaching and learning: Spoken Language; Reading (Word Reading/Decoding and Comprehension); Writing (Transcription, Handwriting and Presentation and Composition) and Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
By the end of each Key Stage 2, most pupils should attain or exceed the expected standard. Outside English lessons, the school provides a variety of forums in which to practise these skills. These include School Council meetings, sharing assemblies, public performances and plays and opportunities to participate in local or national initiatives and competitions as they arise.
Oracy
At Coppice, we are committed to developing pupil’s confidence in Public Speaking, Debating and Performance. To this end, all pupils are provided with opportunities to lead assemblies, make formal presentations, take part in debate at school and regional level, and are encouraged to use their voices to verbalise their ideas and opinions in all areas of the curriculum. Pupils are also provided with the opportunity to present at their own parents evening and take part in both Poetry Week and Shakespeare Fortnight. We are delighted to announce we are developing the ‘Storytelling Schools’ models of developing writing and will continue to embed this in all of our teaching and learning practise.
Big Write
At Coppice, pupils are provided with opportunity to demonstrate their writing skills by cross-curricular studies e.g. Music, Shostakovich; Art, Constable; Computing, E-Safety and History, Black History Month.