English

English Intent 

Reading, writing, talking and listening lay the foundations for lifelong learning; they allow children to access all curricular areas and embrace a wider range of opportunities in all aspects of life.

At Lower Meadow, we recognise that the development of an effective literacy skillset is fundamental to the achievement of a rich and fulfilling life. We use these skills every day in order to communicate with, and make sense of, the world around us. As such, the better we are at these skills, the more successful we can expect to be in life.

We recognise that improving literacy and learning will have an impact on children’s self-esteem, motivation, behaviour and attainment. It allows them to learn independently and is empowering. Our curriculum is underpinned by developing children’s abilities to speak, listen, read and write for a wide range of purposes, including using language to learn, communicate, think, explore and organise. Helping our children to express themselves clearly, through development of vocabulary, both orally and in writing, enhances and enriches teaching and learning in all subjects and prepares them for life after school. We immerse all children in the wonders of well-considered high quality texts to instill a love for reading, a passion for discovery and a confidence to explore their imagination.

Reading Intent

Every child has the right to learn to read, regardless of social and economic circumstances, their ethnicity, home language and special educational need or disability. At Lower Meadow, it is our intent that every child will be able to read fluently and with confidence, therefore facilitating their ability to thrive in all areas of the curriculum. Both word recognition and language comprehension are essential to the success of achieving high reading standards for all children. Therefore, it is our intent that every child will access a planned and purposeful reading curriculum with specific and consistent teaching of both of these areas. The teaching of phonics underpins our reading curriculum so that all children are equipped with effective decoding skills.

We encourage children to read widely and often, for both purpose and pleasure. We encourage children to be reflective readers who can respond to a wide range of texts. It is our intent not only to teach each child to read effectively, but to immerse each child in a rich and varied reading environment, and create a climate where the love of reading is promoted and valued by all. At Lower Meadow, we are relentless in our determination to create lifelong readers.