School Policies English Curriculum Policy: English

Transcription

1 Curriculum Policy: English

2 POLICY FOR ENGLISH Children at Vranch House School All the children at Vranch House School have a physical or movement difficulty and many have communication difficulties and visual perceptual difficulties. A large percentage of pupils also attend mainstream schools for part of the week. The majority of the children have learning difficulties associated with their other difficulties and need modifications to the curriculum. Many of the children are working at the P levels within level 1 of the National Curriculum. As well as modifying the curriculum many different learning strategies are used to enable the children to access the curriculum. At Vranch House School we call this access learning. Strategies include the use of communication books, boards and voice output communication aids; Makaton signing; powered mobility; adapted computer access using switches, touchscreens and roller/tracker balls; multisensory presentation of materials and adult facilitation through trained teaching assistants. Document Purpose This document reflects the values and philosophy of Vranch House School in relation to the teaching and learning of English. It provides a framework within which teaching and non-teaching staff work, and it gives guidance on planning, teaching and assessment. The policy should be read in conjunction with the National Curriculum Handbook, the National Literacy Strategy and relevant documents from Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties. These have been adopted by the school, and can be used as a springboard to develop the individual teacher s ideas in a personal way within the school s guidelines. This should enable teachers to design a programme of activities that is responsive to their own and children s skills and needs in English at that particular time. Audience This policy relates to pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2. The children in the Early Years Foundation Stage follow the Early Learning Goals for Communication, Language and Literacy, which can be found in the Policy for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This document is intended for all teaching staff and staff with classroom responsibilities, the School Governors, parents and inspection teams. This policy document, after presentation to, and agreement by, the staff and Governing Body, is available to all teaching and non-teaching staff and the School Governors. Copies of policy documents are kept in the Boardroom. Policies are also available to view via the head teacher s shared documents on the intranet and via the school website. Such distribution ensures the accessibility of the document to visiting teachers and to parents. Extra copies are available from head teacher. Philosophy English is an important way of communicating in school and in the wider world. Literature in English is rich and influential and reflects the experience of people from many countries and times. Pupils develop skills in speaking and listening, using communication aids and computers, when necessary, reading and writing. It enables them to express themselves creatively and imaginatively

3 and to communicate with others effectively. Pupils are introduced to many types of texts and encouraged to become enthusiastic and critical readers of stories, poetry and drama as well as nonfiction and media texts. Jolly Phonics and Letters and Sounds schemes are used within each class according to the needs and abilities of each individual child. Speech and Language therapists use the same approaches in school to ensure continuity for the children. The Write Dance writing scheme is also used in school to support and encourage pre-writing, emergent writing and letter formation skills. The study of English helps pupils understand how language works by looking at its patterns, structures and origins. Using this knowledge, pupils can choose and adapt what they say and write in different situations. Subject Aims English is a core subject within the National Curriculum. The aims of teaching English at Vranch House School are consistent with our school philosophy and take account of the National Literacy Strategy Framework for teaching. The aims of English are: to communicate confidently and listen to what others have to say (using augmentative communication systems and signing as necessary); to read and write with confidence, enthusiasm and understanding; to use language to explore their own experiences and imaginary worlds to use a range of reading cues to understand the sound and spelling system and use this to read and spell accurately to present fluent and legible writing using ICT and/or communication aids, as appropriate to have an interest in words and their meanings and a growing vocabulary to understand and apply the use of punctuation to plan, draft, revise and edit their own writing to be interested in books and read with enjoyment and develop critical awareness to be aware of a wide range of books and texts such as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, newspapers and magazines. National Curriculum The subject consists of Programmes of Study, Level Descriptions and three Attainment Targets. Speaking and Listening Reading Writing The Attainment Targets are divided into a number of strands throughout Key Stages 1 and 2 and are organised into levels of increasing challenge. Some children in each Key Stage are working within the P levels and so schemes of work have to be modified. The children undertake a balanced programme that takes account of abilities, aptitudes and physical, emotional and intellectual development. Early Years Foundation Stage During the Early Years Foundation Stage, young children are given opportunities within the Early Learning Goals Communication, Language and Literacy.

4 Key Stage 1 During Key Stage 1, pupils learn to communicate confidently and listen to what others have to say. They begin to read and write independently and with enthusiasm. They use language to explore their own experiences and imaginary worlds. Interest and pleasure in reading is developed as they learn to read confidently and independently. They focus on words and sentences and how they fit into whole texts. They explore the meaning of straightforward texts and say why they like them or do not like them. Pupils start to enjoy writing and see the value of it. They learn to communicate meaning in narrative and non-fiction texts and spell and punctuate correctly. Key Stage 2 During Key Stage 2, the pupils learn to change the way they communicate and write to suit different situations, purposes and audiences. They read a range of text and respond to different layers of meaning in them. They explore the use of language in literary and non-literary texts and learn how language works. Pupils develop understanding that writing is both essential to thinking and learning, and enjoyable in its own right. They learn the main rules and conventions of English. They use planning, drafting and editing processes. The Programmes of Study En1 Speaking and Listening En2 Reading En3 Writing Breadth of Study During each Key Stage, pupils should be taught knowledge, skills and understanding through: expressing themselves, listening, group discussions and interaction and drama activities and role play a range of literature and non-fiction and non-literary texts a range of purposes for writing and forms of writing to use ICT in all areas of English. Throughout each Key Stage there should be progression which is monitored by assessing pupils using P levels and appropriate National Curriculum levels annually and through standard Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 assessment. At Vranch House School the ages of the children do not necessarily indicate their level of study. Each child is an individual, so too is their rate of academic development. Care is taken to match the programmes of study to each child s level of understanding in order to ensure that learning is meaningful. Phonics: Reading is taught for all children throughout the school day. For those children working below P5, opportunities are given through out the school day to read symbols (some children will have their own communication boards or VOCAs with appropriate symbol vocabulary on) both in class and around the school. Attention will also be paid to teach children Life Skills Symbols for example a Fire Exit sign, Toilet sign or a No Entry sign- all important signs for their future. Children will have opportunities to listen to stories (including story sacks), to understand how books work, to identify

5 characters, to predict the ending of stories, to join in with repeated refrains amongst many other key goals related to stories. For children working above P5, specific phonics sessions will be taught. For the majority of children this will be following the Letters and Sounds programme where children will work their way through the phases as appropriate. Teachers will record phoneme and grapheme knowledge as part of ongoing assessment to ensure skills are learnt for reading (blending) and writing (segmenting). For some children discrete phonics teaching will not be appropriate. For these children we will follow guidance from the research surrounding Down s Syndrome children and children with Profound, Multiple, Learning Difficulties and in this case teach Whole Word Recognition. It will be down to the individual teacher to decide through their assessment as to whether they begin with familiar words (such as the child s name, family names, peers names etc) or whether to follow the 100 high frequency word list. Again, regular on-going assessment will occur to record the child s knowledge. Curriculum and School Organisation The classes are mixed aged and mixed ability groups so the teacher will plan by selecting an appropriate level for the children s abilities. Children will work towards individual targets planned in their individual education plan and also participate in group Literacy lesson. Literacy is an integral part of each school day and is incorporated into topic work. The Write Dance programme is followed to support and encourage fine motor and writing skills. Resources and Accommodation Reading books are stored in the classrooms, the Learning Resources Room and the Library. Children s reference books for English are kept in the Library. These are arranged under the Dewey Catalogue System. Children are free to borrow these books to take home and share with their families. Some DVD s and CDs are stored in the Library. A major resource used for English for reading and recording is Clicker 5, which is available on all computers in school. Equal Opportunities All teaching and non-teaching staff at Vranch House School are responsible for ensuring that all pupils, irrespective of gender, ability, ethnic origin and social circumstances, have access to the whole curriculum and opportunities to make the greatest progress possible in all areas of the curriculum while at our school. Children in all classes have an equal opportunity to undertake all aspects of work in English and have equal access to English teaching and learning throughout any one school year. Special Educational Needs All the children at Vranch House School have a physical or movement difficulty and many have communication difficulties and visual perceptual difficulties. All the children have a statement of special educational needs. Assessment, Recording and Reporting See Policy for Assessment, Recording and Reporting.

6 Evaluation Evaluation is carried out to improve the teaching and learning of English within Vranch House School. All staff, teaching and non-teaching, appraise the curriculum provision made for English within the school, in order that pupils make the greatest possible progress. As with all evaluation, the Head Teacher has overall responsibility. Evaluation includes a regular review of the content of the English Curriculum to ensure that National Curriculum requirements are being fulfilled. This involves considering the coverage of Programmes of Study at each Key Stage. Pupils progress and performance is judged, taking account of factors that might influence this, such as teaching methods, resources and topics. The organisation of the English Curriculum and teaching styles are evaluated regularly. The effectiveness of any INSET for English, provided internally or by an external agency, is assessed. Evaluation can be by a number of methods, including: the assessment of pupils work and achievements; the analysis of teachers planning; discussion amongst groups of staff or all staff; classroom observation, and external inspection and advice.

7 Useful Documents and Resources Further Information DfES/QCA 2000 The National Curriculum: Handbook for Primary Teachers in England DfE DfES/QCA QCA DfES DfES The Down Syndrome Educational Trust Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Supporting the Target Setting Process (revised March 2001) Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties : Literacy Letters and Sounds: Principles and Practice of High Quality Phonics. Primary Framework for Literacy Teaching reading skills to children with Down Syndrome Revised May 2013 Review May 2016