Our aims in teaching English are rooted in the 2014 National Curriculum and ensure that all children will:

• Develop the necessary skills to use the English language confidently, appropriately and accurately to the best of their ability
• Be able to speak clearly, fluently and cogently
• Be able to listen to the spoken word attentively with understanding.
• Be able to read a range of materials fluently and with understanding for enjoyment and for information
• Be able to write effectively for a range of audiences and purposes using spelling punctuation and syntax accurately and confidently

As the children progress through their years at Normandy Village School, they develop a strong command of language; as the curriculum is designed to continually develop and progress their learning across all aspects of English. Each week the children will focus on a text which they will study through a lens of comprehension, grammar, spoken language and writing. This allows the children to develop the necessary stamina for reading, writing and communicating that they will require to be ready for the next stages of their education.  

The English curriculum is organised as follows at South Farnham School:

• Daily English lesson timetabled with a focus on one genre / text type across the week. Children begin the week by exploring a text, explore a discrete aspect of grammar, further explore the text or genre through a variety of language rich spoken language activities, draft and rewrite a piece of extended writing based on the week's genre.
• We use a combination of commercially produced and school produced materials to deliver our curriculum which have been rigorously evaluated across many years as part of our 'mechanism for change' procedure.
• Equal importance given to all aspects of the English curriculum.
• Long-established South Farnham School reading scheme in place which draws on the highest quality texts available - mapped to pupils' emerging needs and regularly monitored.
• Daily phonics lessons at the Infant Site, grouped by ability until all children meet or exceed the required standard - we regularly exceed 99% phonics pass rate. This is using the Phonics Steps programme.
• Cross-curricular links are a fundamental part of English teaching and learning and are made both implicitly and explicitly during lessons across the curriculum.
• Provision is made for the full range of pupils needs and abilities by extra support from the SEN team both on individual basis and in Focus Groups within the classroom and by the use of classroom assistants under instruction from the class teacher.
• Rigorous standards of English upheld and in written work across the entire curriculum, not just in dedicated English lessons.

The ability to articulate thoughts and ideas and to listen to others are fundamental language skills. There are two dimensions to talk: Social and Cognitive - making connections through thought from concept to concept. Both need to be catered for in the classroom, especially the cognitive as this will influence a child's ability to learn right across the curriculum.

Spoken language at Normandy Village School is developed through:

• Providing a range of opportunities for children to talk and listen in formal and informal settings
• The use of drama and role play to explore imagined situations
• Links between language and music exploring rhythm
• A regular story time when the teacher or other adult reads aloud to the class
• Class discussion and debate on topical or contentious issues, both local and world-wide
• Showing times or news sharing when pupils are encouraged to speak to their assembled class
• Interviewing carried out as part of a topic or project
• Use of the Spoken Language objectives from the National Curriculum

Reading is a crucially important skill that allows children to better understand the world around them, to engage with ideas and concepts beyond their own reality, and to spark and fuel their imagination and creativity amongst a plethora of other benefits. At South Farnham School, we consider reading to be not only fundamental for accessing the full curriculum, but also to be integral for personal fulfilment. 

Studies have shown that children who choose theo read, enjoy reading and read regularly reap the following benefits:

• Socially (gaining an understanding of people, the world, life experiences and ability to empathise and interpret situations).
• Academically (through language acquisition, reading proficiency, improved comprehension, greater cognitive development and ability to absorb and understand information in all subjects).
• Areas of health (developing self-confidence, self-esteem and emotional vocabulary).

Reading at Normandy Village School is developed through:

• Providing a wide range of reading material and opportunities for children to select from this for information and for entertainment, freely accessible via our fiction libraries and non-fiction 'libraries without walls'
• Use of a structured reading scheme, refined and curated over many years to build confidence, fluency, and understanding (including the use of closely matched phonics books for those learning phonics)
• Regular 1:1 and small group reading in school with teachers, classroom assistants and parent volunteers
• Opportunities for independent quiet reading in class and in our inspirational libraries
• Home-school reading expectations with guidance available for parents to support children to develop both fluency and comprehension
• Dedicated comprehension lessons each week as part of timetabled English lessons
• A wide range of written resources used as part of other curriculum areas such as STEM, Humanities, Mental Wellbeing
• Inspirational reading resources played via our digital displays and video walls - celebration, inspiration, and augmentation of the reading curriculum
• Surprise Storyteller initiative for our younger pupils - including parents, local community and older pupil