English

Punctuation and Grammar

Handwriting

Reading at School

 - OLI's diverse canon of books -

At Our Lady Immaculate, we recognise that children are on personal journeys as readers and we aim to develop their skills so that they can become fluent and skilled readers, ready for their next steps at school and beyond.

We want them to discover books that they love to read and be readers for life. We have created a curriculum based on the teaching of quality texts.

Each text in our core spine has been purposely chosen to provide a rich, diverse and varied experience of reading. They act as windows, showing glimpses of other’s lives and experiences to build empathy; mirrors of their own lives to empower knowledge of who they are and sliding glass doors to allow them to walk in and out of the story, as global citizens, empowering change. 

View the bookcases below to see the texts explored and recommended in each year group.

 Reading at Home

Speaking and Listening

Our aim in English lessons and across the wider curriculum is to help the children build their identities as readers and writers and to become clear communicators.

We hope to enthuse children and develop a love of reading and writing for pleasure. We encourage them to understand and enjoy their journey as they learn to read and write and to know the many benefits of developing good literacy skills for their future success and wellbeing.

We build the confidence and curiosity to explore ideas, embrace our mistakes find ways to overcome obstacles and see that creativity requires time, space and a growth mindset.

We provide regular practice to develop spelling and handwriting as a means of clear communication through writing. Our approach to SPaG is to integrate its teaching, where possible, within the writing process.

Speaking and listening activities are used as a valued part of the writing process. We also develop these skills through learning and reciting poetry and drama activities to help the children become articulate and confident speakers.

Finally, but at the very heart of our English curriculum, is the use of high-quality, diverse texts to develop empathy, a love of language and to provide experience of a range of genres and to provide opportunities for widening their vocabulary not just in English lessons but across the wider curriculum.

- English Lead -