English
Rationale
English, and all its component aspects form an integral part of education and society. A high-quality education in English teaches children the art of speaking and listening, how to write and communicate ideas coherently for different purposes and how to read fluently with good understanding. At Ravenscote, we view both writing and reading and heavily interconnected disciplines. Children should be able to see a text from both the perspective of both the writer and reader, and consider both when writing texts of their own.
We endeavour to ensure all pupils have fluency and automaticity in reading and writing so that they can meet the expected standard in all aspects of English. Through reading and literature in particular, children have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Being immersed in good quality literature develops pupils’ acquisition of a wide vocabulary, thus addressing vocabulary gaps, and allows children to explore and appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage. We carefully select the literature we expose the children to so that we can plan for purposeful opportunities to discuss important aspects of British values, mental health and well-being and citizenship, thus developing children’s cultural capital.