Curriculum

The overarching aim for English at Cavendish is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate

Reading is fundamental to education. Proficiency in reading  is vital for pupils’ success. Our aim is that by the end of year 6, pupils’ reading should be sufficiently fluent and effortless for them to manage the general demands of the curriculum in year 7, across all subjects and not just in English.

Phonics and Early provide the foundations for achieving this proficiency in reading. Understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words underpins successful word reading.  

Cavendish uses the Sounds Write Programme to teach phonics. From the first year of school to Year 6, students learn the concepts necessary for proficient reading and writing. They are introduced to the 175 most common spellings of the 44 sounds in English through a carefully crafted sequence that goes from simple to more complex. They learn and practise the Initial Code to mastery before starting on the Extended Code, and, soon after, the reading and writing of polysyllabic words.  You can find out more about the Sounds Writing Programme by visiting https://sounds-write.co.uk/

Word reading and language comprehension require different sorts of teaching. When pupils start learning to read, the number of words they can decode accurately is too limited to broaden their vocabulary. Their understanding of language is developed through their listening and speaking, while they are taught to decode through phonics. However, when they can read most words ‘at a glance’ and can decode unfamiliar words easily, they are free to think about the meaning of what they read. At this point we  begin to develop their understanding of language through their reading as well as through their listening.

Children learn that you can communicate through writing, and that marks have meaning, by watching others write. Reception staff carefully plan opportunities for the pupils to develop the fine motor skills to grasp, hold, and strengthen fingers and thumbs by scrunching paper and using pick-up tools.  

Following the stages of early mark making,  muscle control becomes more defined and children in reception start behaving like writers, holding a pencil correctly, writing their own name, forming letters correctly and finally using their phonic knowledge to form words with meaning. Focussed teaching and carefully planned opportunities to write will ensure that by the end of the Reception year, the children are ready to being their Key Stage 1 curriculum.

The programmes of study for writing at key stages 1 and 2 are constructed into:

• Transcription (spelling and handwriting)
• Composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing). 

Teaching develops pupils’ competence in these two dimensions. In addition, pupils are taught how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing.  Writing down ideas fluently depends on effective transcription: that is, on spelling quickly and accurately through knowing the relationship between sounds and letters (phonics) and understanding the morphology (word structure) and orthography (spelling structure) of words. 

Effective composition involves forming, articulating and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Writing also depends on fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting.