Intent

In the English Department, we are committed to fostering our students to become masterful crafters of language, confident speakers who know what they think as well as passionate young people who empathise with different perspectives as they read. We empower students with the ability to access ideas that underpin the world in which we live and then to give students the tools to act on what they feel passionate about. By scaffolding big ideas (through sequenced statements) and key skills across our units of work, we support the progress of all students from Year 7 to Year 13 and beyond. You can find our sequenced big ideas and skills on our curriculum map below.

Implementation

Throughout the English curriculum, students are taught Literature and non-fiction texts that relate to three Big Ideas which enable students to engage with different viewpoints of the writers and think critically about the world around them. These ‘big ideas’ all relate to the GCSE and A Level set texts, and students engage with ideas that spiral in complexity across the key stages. We do not shy away from teaching texts that help students engage with complex social issues and are committed to fostering a safe classroom environment to support students in the discussion of ideas and attitudes. We are very proud of the diversity of the school community and teach literature that enables students to develop empathy with a range of perspectives from different social, racial and historical backgrounds.

We value transformation for all learners and at all levels, and therefore teach all year groups in mixed ability classes to ensure all pupils make or exceed expected progress. Supporting students in developing their reading and written literacy as well as their oracy is a huge priority for our curriculum. Across each year, students practise transactional writing such as letters, argument writing, persuasive speeches and articles alongside creative writing opportunities. We support students in developing reading fluency through classroom strategies that include choral and echo reading as well as the learning of new vocabulary in all our schemes of work through direct vocabulary instruction. We have a dedicated approach to literacy marking and our aim is that overtime, students are able to identify and improve their own written expression. We aim to give students experience in writing for real-life situations to empower them to make a practical impact on the world around them. Our classrooms foster discussion and opportunities for students to develop their oracy skills through pair and group work as well as some units having a speaking and listening assessment focus.

The development of key skills features across each year group with the planned schemes of work incorporating and building on the big ideas so that knowledge and skills are repeated and embedded. These mastery skills are communicated to students in class through the use of marking codes that support students in understanding their strengths and ways to improve with each unit taught and assessed piece of work completed.

Impact

By the end of their five or seven year journeys with us, we aim for students to be masterful crafters of language, individual lovers of reading and confident speakers able to express their own viewpoint. We see our GCSE and A Level students achieve or exceed the level of progress that is appropriate for the individual and celebrate each student developing empathy, engagement with and critical thinking of different perspectives in the world around them.