"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

 

 

English at Bedford: what does a good student 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

 

 

At Bedford, our approach to reading is driven by the determination that every child will learn to read and do so for pleasure.  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 scheme. You can read more about this below.

 

Targeted phonic intervention is also offered to children in Key Stage 2.  The curriculum provides children with rich opportunities to apply their skills through reading, including time to read aloud to adults to practise their decoding skills, writing and comprehension.

 

Our English curriculum is built around the programmes of study from the new 2014 National Curriculum. Our thematic approach to the curriculum immerses our children in a variety of genres and high quality texts through an array of cross curricular English activities involving reading, writing, drama, role play and storytelling.

 

English Progression Maps

Phonics

 

 

Read Write Inc. Phonics, Literacy & Language, Fresh Start and Spelling are highly successful literacy programmes for 4-13 year-olds created by Ruth Miskin and published by Oxford University Press. The training and support from Ruth Miskin Training, rated Outstanding by the Department for Education, ensure the programmes have the best chance of success in schools.

 

The four Read Write Inc. programmes are carefully matched to the new curriculum, giving your children the best chance of success in the national tests. They show teachers, teaching assistants and parents step-by-step how to teach all children to become fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers.

 

Our school uses Read Write Inc. Phonics for our children in Reception to Year 2 and for our children in Years 3 and 4 who need to catch up.

 

Read Write Inc. Phonics is used by over a quarter of the UK’s primary schools. It is a comprehensive literacy programme, weaving decoding, comprehension, writing and spelling together seamlessly. Ruth Miskin developed the programme during her time as a headteacher in Tower Hamlets. She believes that in order for a school to be successful, every headteacher needs to adopt a consistent whole-school approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling. Fidelity to the teaching programme, rigorous assessment, tracking and one-to-one tutoring ensure that schools guarantee progress for every child.

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