October 2019
This year we are investing a lot of time and money in re-establishing our school library. Teams of children are supporting Mrs Smith to organise the books and magazines and add displays to the library space.
English Curriculum
English in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is divided into the following areas:
Communication, Language and Literacy (listening, understanding and speaking)
Literacy (reading and writing)
However English is threaded throughout other areas, for example handwriting is part of physical development.
The English curriculum for Key Stage 1 (KS1) and Key Stage 2 (KS2) is divided up into the following areas:
Reading, including phonics
Writing, including handwriting
SPaG (Spelling, punctuation and grammar)
Speaking and Listening.
Assessments
The children are assessed on a regular basis throughout their time in school so their progress can be carefully monitored. However in certain year groups children are formally assessed because they have reached the end of a phase (EYFS) or Key Stage (KS1 and KS2)
At the end of EYFS children are assessed against the early learning goals and are given a grade of either: emerging, expected or exceeding.
At the end of year two the children complete SATs (Standardised Assessment Tests) in reading and writing. The writing is teacher assessed against a set criteria.
At the end of year six the children complete SATs in reading, SpaG and writing. Once again, the writing is teacher assessed against a set criteria.
Also, at the end of year one the children take part in the phonics screening test. They are asked to read 40 words (some real and some nonsense). If they achieve a score below the expected level (this is set by the DfE each year), they will need to retake the screening in year 2. This year the expected level was 32.
We encourage the children to read a range of genres, including fiction and non-fiction, if you need any ideas or suggestions for recommended texts please click on this link.