English

Intent, Implementation & Impact

Intent

English plays an essential role in both education and society. A high-quality education in English teaches students to read, speak and write fluently to communicate effectively. At Act Fast, Programmes of study are tailored to meet the needs of our students – from a broad and ambitious curriculum, students will progress from a rich key stage 3 curriculum to study for qualifications in Functional Skills and/or GCSE English.

During their studies, students will read texts from various genres, including novels from a range of periods and cultures, poetry, plays, and a range of non-fiction texts. They will also learn to write in a range of forms, and for a wide variety of purposes. English isn't simply a curriculum area but a passport to life and the world of work.

The Independent School Criteria covered in English are:

communication skills;

speaking and listening;

reading;

writing;

ICT;

developing, planning and communicating ideas;

acquire an appreciation of, and respect for, their own and other cultures.

Reading, in particular, enables students to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a crucial role in such development.

In all year groups, each unit of work begins with reading a text. These texts are from various genres, including novels from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, poetry from different cultures, plays and a range of non-fiction texts.

English isn't simply a curriculum area - it is a passport to life; it prepares students for life and the world of work.

Implementation

How is this subject planned?

The National Curriculum is taught in KS3 (years 7 to 9), and AQA GCSE and NCFE Functional Skills is taught in KS4 (years 10 and 11).

The long term plans are broken down into units of work, based on a wide variety of rich text drivers.

Unit plans include learning objectives, assessment indicators and appropriate activities.

Writing units are based on the 3-stage planning process (stimulate and generate; capture, and sort; create, evaluate, refine).

How is this subject taught?

A minimum of twice weekly sessions for every year group – with additional sessions for year 11.

Where necessary and on an individual basis, there are regular reading and phonics sessions – children are taught in groups.

There are dedicated reading sessions for all classes.

High-quality texts are used throughout the school as stimuli for units of work.

English homework supports classroom learning and provides opportunities for enrichment and extension.

Opportunities to support English skills are promoted across the curriculum.

Impact

How is this subject assessed?

Skills Forward Initial Assessment and Diagnostic tests completed – specifically designed to assess NC, Functional Skills and/or GCSE objectives.

STAR Reader assessment;

Teacher assessment;

KS3 – Reading test, grammar, punctuation and spelling test, writing teacher assessment.

Reading will be monitored by teachers and Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reader assessments.

Progress in phonics and word recognition are tested through Twinkl Phonics Level assessments.

Regular spelling tests.

Children record their work in English books – which are marked and graded every week.

Children are regularly given opportunities to write at length (both long hand and using ICT).

Assessment of English is reported to parents termly.

How is this subject monitored?

The subject leader is responsible for monitoring the planning, teaching and assessment of the subject. This is achieved through book scrutiny and standardisation, pupil conferencing and questionnaires, discussions with teachers, and moderation sessions with other schools in the Independent Schools Network.

The school’s Accountability and Standards Group undertake regular monitoring visits in school and update the Senior Leadership Team of their findings.

Assessment data is analysed, reported to the Accountability and Standards Group, and used to inform future planning.