English

At Britannia, we are enthusiastic about developing children's Literacy skills in preparation for their life long learning journey.  We believe that by laying the foundations early on makes a real difference to a child's development across the curriculum.  Reading and writing are skills for life and are essential for attainment in school and to fulfilling potential opportunities throughout life. We believe that through the delivery of robust, high quality phonics in Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage One children begin their journey well and the stepping stones are in place ready for Key Stage Two.  We are passionate about developing a love of reading within school and at home and we work hard to provide a variety of experiences so that children can engage with reading daily.  Experiences include visiting Bacup library and accessing our own school library, inviting visitors such as poet Andy Tooze into school, taking part in celebrating World Book Day and reading and writing challenges across the year.

Our English curriculum recognises the importance of spoken language which is at the forefront of our English teaching.  In order to be excellent readers and writers, children need to have confidence and efficiency with oracy skills.  Our Early Years Foundation Stage, teaches language through the Prime Area of Learning (Communication and Language).  This then continues through school by teaching good listening and speaking skills.  The English 'Talk' Curriculum which is followed from Years 1-6 promotes the skills taught in Early Years Foundation Stage and continues them throughout Key Stage One and Two.  Our English curriculum introduces quality texts in order to engage children and a focus on vocabulary and grammar is carefully woven throughout each unit.

At Britannia, we recognise the complexities of spelling, and the rich history, of the English language.  Therefore, we have adopted 'Scode' for spelling which teaches the advanced phonics code from Years 2-6.  The aim of spelling lessons are for children to develop an understanding of the history of the English language and why it is so complicated.  This in turn, supports an interest in words and their meanings, through etymology (the origin of words) and morphology (patterns and word structure), developing a growing vocabulary in spoken and written forms.  This method for teaching supports the learning of all children but in particular, research supports this for children with a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

English in Action

Phonics

Our teaching of phonics is robust and delivered daily to ensure that the youngest children in school make superb progress in early reading and writing.  We use the Read, Write Inc accredited phonics scheme and staff receive regular training in order to ensure that the teaching is excellent.

Visitors

At Britannia, we welcome visitors into school to enhance our curriculum even further.  Poet Andy Tooze visits almost annually and helps to create a love of poetry around school.  Poetry is a fun way to engage children with reading and rhythm.  Andy has helped to develop editing and redrafting techniques with the children in addition to having a doodle book to aways gather ideas for new poems.

We have superb links with the Lancashire School Library Service who visit to lead fantastic workshops with the children.  Teachers borrow book boxes from the library linked to their class learning or just to enhance the reading material available to the children.

Teachers ensure that reading is accessible in all classrooms so that children can access books daily.  Sometimes, the books may be based on the interests of the children or linked to a class curriculum area.

Fantastic Book Awards

Children in the older classes are encouraged to join in with the Fantastic Book Awards.  The task is to read some books chosen by the School Library Service and then vote on the winner.  Children across Lancashire take part and then a winner is announced.  We had some great books to read this year!

Writing

At Britannia, we are always looking for ways to engage children in writing and the staff have regular training on how to develop writing further.  We are proud of the journey which we are on and it is wonderful to see how proud the children are of their writing.

Writing doesn't just stop with English.  We write across the curriculum in order practise the skills throughout our learning.  

Bringing English to Life

We are always looking at different ways to engage the children and develop a love reading and writing.  In October 2024, we joined many other schools online to achieve the Guinness World Record for the largest poetry lesson with poet Laura Muncha.  The children were so excited and we proudly received our certificate!

Advice for home

If you want a little more inspiration on what books your child may like to read, use the Book Trust’s book finder tool on this link -  https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/bookfinder/

Additional online learning is available through Oxford Owls https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/  To access, make yourself a free account and there are lots of ebooks to access.

Phonics is taught using the Read Write Inc Phonics scheme.  We have found this to be engaging and fun for the children in addition to ensuring children learn to read quickly.  More information can be found on the Read Write Inc Youtube channel.  Or you may wish to look on the Read Write Inc website for parents.

Clauses and Word Order

This file looks at the way clauses are constructed in English. It also investigates how to word order can be manipulated, the difference between statements, questions and commands, and the use of active and passive constructions: Clauses and Word Order      

Grammar and Punctuation

Explicit knowledge of grammar is, however, very important, as it gives us more conscious control and choice in our language. Building this knowledge is best achieved through a focus on grammar within the teaching of reading, writing and speaking: Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation

Grammar overview

Covering words and phrases, clauses and complex sentences, this module serves as a lively introduction to the online training on Grammatical Knowledge for teaching writing: Grammar Overview

Punctuation

This file looks at a range of punctuation marks, including commas, colons and semi-colons, and explains how to use them accurately: Punctuation

Simple Compound and Complex Sentences

This file highlights the difference between compound and complex sentences.  It also shows a variety of ways in which complex sentences can be constructed: Single Compound and Complex Sentences

Spelling Rules and Guidance

This information provides examples of words embodying each spelling pattern which is taught at Britannia: Spelling Rules and Guidance for English

Word classes

This file takes you on a tour of word classes (noun, pronoun, verb, adverb etc). It illustrates the jobs words can do in a sentence and suggests straightforward ways of defining each word class. It will give you a clear understanding of the eight word classes: Word Classes

Fun Games

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar - this website has a range of games for children across the primary phase.  It includes spelling, punctuation and vocabulary games.

Files to Download