Our Curriculum:

At Bedford Primary School, we recognise that the curriculum we deliver is the toolkit we send our children out into the world with. It reflects our context, core values and the kind of citizens we want them to be. We have to be ambitious for them and prepare them for a rapidly changing digital world.

"When I read great literature, great drama or speeches I feel that the human mind has not achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings

and thoughts through language."     

James Earl Jones

What does a good student of English look like?

• A strong command of spoken language underpins the development of vocabulary, grammar and the understand needed for effective reading and writing so confidence and competence in this aspect of English is key. 
• The ability to be imaginative, listen carefully, think creatively and express themselves clearly through the conventions of discussion and debate refines ideas and understanding.  
• Ease and fluency in reading are also essential for children are to gain enjoyment from reading widely and often, for pleasure or information.
• A good writer has stamina and  a good understanding of purpose and audience and uses this knowledge to adapt their style, flair and language choices.  Proof-reading and editing are habitually used to evaluate the impact of each piece

Throughout the subject of English, our pupils will also demonstrate additional traits from our Bedford Learner Profile including resilience, adaptability, ambition, digital citizenship, effective teamwork and the ability to learn through and from mistakes.

Our vision for English:

Quality and variety of the language they hear

Reading also feeds children's imaginations

Reading

At Bedford, our approach to reading is driven by an unrelenting determination that every child will learn to read fluently and with confidence. Reading is essential for acquiring knowledge and building upon what is already known. Reading also gives pupils the invaluable opportunity to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Alongside exposure to a range of high quality literature across all subjects, a curriculum that promotes curiosity, a love of books and the desire to discover more is key to this development. 

Phonics

In order to achieve very high standards in reading, each child in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1  participate in a daily discrete phonic session following the Read Write Inc Phonics scheme. This is a structured programme, designed to ensure all children learn to read accurately and fluently.  We are committed to working closely with our consultant, from Ruth Miskin's team, to ensure staff development and our fidelity when delivering the programme remain a priority. 

With Read Write Inc, children experience success from the very beginning as they start to blend and build words after just a few initial sounds have been taught. Lively, decodable phonic books are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and ‘tricky’ words. Throughout the week, as children re-read the stories, their fluency, confidence and independence increase. Carefully planned prompts for 'thinking out loud', developing vocabulary and discussion work together to help children find and read with their own 'storyteller voice'.

When children complete the Read Write Inc Phonic programme in Year 2, they move on to the Read Write Inc Spelling Programme. Any children who are not at this stage in Year 2, continue to receive daily discrete phonic sessions. To further consolidate knowledge gained in Key Stage 1, targeted phonic intervention may also be offered to individual or small groups of children in Key Stage 2.   

For information and tutorials on how to support your child learning to read go to: http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents/

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