We believe literacy is at the heart of all children’s learning and, at Queenswell, we strive for excellence in English achievement. English is central to children’s intellectual, emotional and social development as it enables them to communicate effectively through the spoken and written word. We develop the children’s abilities within a cross–curricular programme of reading, writing and oracy.

At Queenswell, we recognise the importance of language, particularly as we are a multi-cultural school where many children speak English as an additional language. In order to close the vocabulary gap and ensure that our children achieve their full potential, we provide a high-quality, vocabulary-rich environment.  

To ensure that all children benefit from an inclusive learning experience in English, we:

• immerse the children in a vocabulary-rich learning environment.
• model and develop the use of high-quality spoken and written language.
• provide opportunities for children to access a range of high-quality texts of different genres.
• provide opportunities for pupils to demonstrate a developing imagination.
• encourage children to develop and express their own opinions on issues in a safe and nurturing environment, promoting equality.
• reflect the children's diversity in our curriculum whilst opening their eyes to British culture.
• promote and develop a lifelong love of reading and writing through fun and memorable experiences.

We implement our English curriculum through a range of classroom activities which suit all types of learners. We have separate reading and writing lessons each morning, which are then enhanced in the afternoon with DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read) and a whole-class storytime at the end of the day. Each class reads Terrific Texts every half-term, to immerse the children in different cultures, time periods and genres; we use these texts to deliver reading comprehension lessons as well as English writing lessons. Children also have handwriting and spelling lessons to develop their transcription skills. 

Through our English curriculum, children are Happy to Learn and Inspired to Flourish.

Our Handwriting Style:

 Nursery and Reception printed letters                          Year 1 and beyond– Developing a cursive style                                                                                                   and progressing into joins