“The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.” (National Curriculum 2014)

English should be at the core of all subjects.  At Birch Hill we aim to develop a love of language both written and spoken that our children can use confidently throughout their lives.  We want every child to be able to read, write, listen and speak to a standard that enables them to engage throughout their lives and fully participate in society.  We want to show the children of Birch Hill how English can enrich all areas of their lives.

With this in mind we aim to:

• Create a safe caring environment in which all children feel encouraged to speak and listen as appropriate;
• Create lots of different types of opportunities for children to talk e.g. answering questions, presenting finding of an investigation to the class, performing in front of an audience;
• Encourage standard English when talking;
• Provide children with a structured programme of phonics to develop their knowledge for reading and spelling;
• Give children access to a wide variety of stimulating literary texts to read individually, as a group or class;
• Hear children read regularly and send books home to show how we work together in order for the child to progress;
• Provide children with opportunities to produce a range of written work developing skills across a variety of genre, e.g. – narrative, reports and poetry;
• Encourage accurate spelling and grammar;
• Encourage children to develop a clear and legible cursive handwriting style and enhances good presentation;