The overarching principle for the English curriculum at the Blue School lies in equipping pupils to master the written and spoken word, thus allowing them to excel in their future academic careers and to enjoy the fruits of an outstanding education.
This page provides prospective parents and visitors with a glimpse into our curriculum. Parents of Blue School pupils are provided with detailed guides to subject planning in the form of ‘Knowledge Organisers’ in Parent Zone.
By the end of EYFS, a child at The Blue School will be beginning to write sounds and words they have learnt through our RWI programme. They enter Year One with a good grasp of the sounds that will allow them to read KS1 books and have a love for reading.
At the end of KS1, our pupils write with pride and confidence, producing a range of writing styles and in a fashion they can take great pride in. The children will be reading confidently, and will have spent Year Two developing their comprehension skills to a level that allows them not only to read, but to learn, question and enjoy a text at a deeper level. They will be reading for pleasure, identifying favourite genres and replicating these styles in their own writing.
When a pupil leaves The Blue School, they do so with an arsenal of literary skills and knowledge that will set them up for a bright future in both academia and work. Writing opportunities during KS2 offer our pupils the chance to demonstrate and build flair within their work. They build confidently on their English skills and are able to draw on their technical abilities to produce high quality work. The children are exposed to a vast amount of aspirational and diverse literature that will capture their imaginations and continue, what we hope is, a lifelong love of reading.
Our former pupils often report back that they find the academic transition to secondary school a comfortable one and are often the higher achievers in their year group. The secondary school teachers also confirm that this is the case when we meet for transition planning.
Curriculum Allocation:
EYFS: Reading, writing, speaking and listening taught throughout the school day.
KS1: Daily phonics, 5 hours of English.
KS2: 5 hours of English
At The Blue School, we aim for our pupils to become critical and resourceful readers with a genuine love for literature.
Reading is taught through carefully planned English sessions which follows the National Curriculum guidance. All children have access to extra reading resources. Children have access to Oxford Reading Buddy and further up the school they have access to First News iHub to consolidate reading skills. Teachers consider the ‘reading-diet’ that they are providing for the children, ensuring they are introduced to a range of genres and styles.
From the first day of school, children begin reading. In EYFS and KS1 we utilise the Read Write Inc phonics programme: this is a systematic approach to enable pupils to decode fluently and accurately, whilst ensuring competent comprehension.
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a consistent, rigorous and dynamic literacy programme to teach EVERY child to read by the age of six. Using synthetic phonics, children quickly learn to blend letter sounds together following a fun and effective programme.
At The Blue School, we believe it is vital that pupils engage with diverse and thought-provoking literature. This will allow pupils to use their acquired knowledge of authorial techniques and linguistic devices for a variety of purposes, adapting their style and language appropriately. Both composition and transcription are of paramount importance, with a clear focus on vocabulary acquisition and an understanding of grammatical and punctuation devices, which are aspirational for the age-group taught.
Teachers refer to the National Curriculum, ensuring a rigorous provision, which provides ample opportunity for writing alongside opportunities for performing, presenting and debating. In line with the marking policy, pupils will also be expected to make use of self and peer-assessment, allowing pupils to reflect carefully on their journey as a writer.
The Blue School uses Letter-Join as the basis of the handwriting policy that covers the requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum. Our aim is that by the end of Key Stage 2, all pupils should have the ability to produce automatic, fluent and legible cursive handwriting, in addition to understanding the different forms of handwriting used for a variety of purposes.
Handwriting is a cross-curricular task, but formal teaching of handwriting is carried out regularly and systematically to ensure Key Stage targets are met. Pupils should experience coherence and continuity in the learning and teaching of handwriting across all school years, and they are encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their work.
As a catalyst to fluent handwriting, parents are encouraged to use the Letter-Join resources at home with the log-in details provided by class teachers.
In March we will celebrate World Book Day and we will have a fabulous day dressed up as book characters working on a range of exciting book related activities including writing our own stories online and designing our own World Book Day posters as part of a whole school competition
In May children in years 5 and 6 have the opportunity to take part in a Shakespeare workshop led by The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, which helps pupils to understand the story and characters of a well known Shakespearean play.
Children in years 5 and 6 are frequently buddies to younger children in order to help with reading and writing activities in the classroom.