Gilbert Colvin Primary School

At Gilbert Colvin Primary school we believe that English is a core skill in life.

We want our children to leave Gilbert Colvin equipped with the necessary tools of writing and reading so that they are ready for the next chapter in life.

Through enriched texts, discussion and role play, we enable our children to enjoy what they read and write and understand that words are not just letters on a page but a gateway to the imagination.

Our pupils are provided with a challenging English curriculum where they read a wide range of exciting, high quality texts and from these they write a variety of English styles, for example diary entries, newspaper articles, fictional stories. The set texts have been specifically chosen for each year group and where possible, have been linked to the curriculum topics.

We help our children to develop their understanding of English through:

·        Phonics – We use the ‘Letters and Sounds’ scheme. 

·        Spelling – This is taught through the texts in class and weekly spellings tests take place. 

·        Grammar – This is taught through the texts in class but sometimes explicit lessons are taught.

·        Handwriting – ‘Letterjoin’ is taught in KS1 and this handwriting is expected to continue throughout KS2.  

·        Reading comprehension – Children are questioned about the class texts and separate who class reading lessons which teach the reading skills and strategies more explicitly.

What our children think about English at Gilbert Colvin Primary School

“I like that we learn new things and get to hear new stories.” Year 3 pupil	“I like writing – when we write, it is peaceful.” Year 4 pupil	“When we gather around and share out ideas and we can magpie ideas from one another.” Year 5 pupil
“I like using my imagination and predicting what will happen next in a book.” Year 5 pupil   “I like writing character descriptions.” Year 2 pupil	“I like the books we read – we read a large variety of books eg graphic novels, picture books, funny books.” Year 4 pupil	“I like it when you picture the things in your mind.” Year 5 pupil
	"I enjoy reading and discussing books with friends." Year 2 pupil
"I enjoy when we do role play in English and empathise with a character." Year 4 pupil	“When the teachers read the book to the class, they read with expressions. It makes the books more enjoyable.” Year 4 pupil	“I like that I get to learn new words and that I get to improve my handwriting.” Year 3 pupil