Our vision for English at Knaphill Lower School:

At Knaphill Lower School, we believe in the power of an aspirational English curriculum as this will empower children to develop their ability to communicate confidently, enabling them to share their ideas, emotions and aspirations through their speaking, reading and writing skills. We believe that a knowledge-rich English curriculum will provide a secure basis for children, allowing them to develop the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society. Through inspirational texts, which are at the heart of our reading and writing curriculum, children are given a window into the lives of others, as well as seeing a reflection of their own lives, which are mirrored in our curriculum. Our selected subject content supports children to develop their knowledge of complex issues, giving them an informed voice in a changing world. Our curriculum empowers children to be the voice of a better future for all.

From the earliest stage of learning in the Early Years, we promote quality interactions to facilitate children in developing communication skills and a rich-diverse vocabulary to support an understanding of the world in which they live. Early reading is given high priority as it is vital for children’s success. We know that reading is key to enabling children to access learning across the curriculum as it allows children to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. At Knaphill Lower School, our carefully-selected, DfE approved phonics scheme is Essential Letters and Sounds through which children experience the joy of books and language whilst rapidly acquiring the skills needed to become fluent, confident and independent readers and writers. Our curriculum celebrates literature by giving every child access to the rich variety of texts that they are entitled to experience, and inspires children to develop a lifelong love of reading.

Children use their knowledge and love of reading to become writers who understand the power of the written word and the impact that writing can have upon others. At Knaphill, writing is seen as both a tool of expression of character, a seed of innovation from which change can grow, and a vehicle to share the magic of child’s imagination. As well as creating a love of writing, our progressively sequenced curriculum teaches children the fundamental knowledge to be able to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.

The Intent for our English Curriculum is based on ensuring that children are given the KS1 knowledge and skills to be able to develop:

• The ability to write fluently and with interesting detail on a number of topics throughout the curriculum.
• A vivid imagination which makes readers engage with and enjoy their writing.
• A highly developed vocabulary and an excellent knowledge of writing techniques to extend details or description.
• Well-organised and structured writing, which includes a variety of sentence structures.
• Excellent transcription skills that ensure their writing is well presented and punctuated, spelled correctly and neat.
• A love of writing which allows the children to see themselves as successful writers.

Adapting the curriculum for pupils with SEND in Writing:

• Verbal practice of writing to model good sentence structures and developed vocabulary.
• Model texts and text mapping to internalise writing structures.
• Adaptive teaching takes place to meet specific needs.
• Pre-teaching when prior learning is needed before a lesson.
• Teachers identify and break down the components of the subject curriculum into manageable chunks for pupils who find learning more difficult, particularly those with cognition and learning needs. These may be smaller ‘steps’ than those taken by other pupils to avoid overloading the working memory. Teachers may use task boards to support a sequence of instructions.
• A variety of additional scaffolds may be used in lessons, such vocabulary banks, additional visual stimuli or adult support.
• Access to a computer where writing may be hindered by only completing hand written tasks.

Knaphill Lower School – Curriculum Drivers: Values

Throughout all curriculum subjects, children are given opportunities to apply to Knaphill Lower School values in their learning.

In writing, key values have been identified as:

• Kindness – children are given the opportunity to develop compassion and empathy through being given a window into the lives of others, as well as seeing a reflection of their own lives
• Responsibility – children are given responsibility to develop their independence in reading and writing
• Resilience – children are supported in having resilient learning behaviour and a growth mindset in reading and writing
• Aspiration – texts promote aspirational dreams, feedback promotes children’s aspiration in reading and writing
• Equality – texts are for all, all children are given the opportunity to make accelerated progress by keeping up not catching up
• Curiosity – children develop curiosity about the world through experiences, texts and their acquisition of knowledge
• Courage and honesty – children are using writing as a powerful tool of change

English – Writing Knowledge Domains and Key Concepts