English

As we believe that Reading is the foundation of all learning and knowledge our intent at Heathfield Academy is to carefully select high quality, age appropriate yet challenging texts for each year group to study. These texts are planned out for each year group for each half term.

The texts are selected from careful research from our trust, trusted authors, our children’s interests, heritages and our wider curriculum. Where we can, we aim to link our text to another aspect of the curriculum to give both the text and the curriculum area a greater meaning. To summarise, we want to expose our children to readings, topics and subjects which they may not have access to in their ordinary lives with the aim to broaden their minds, language and life chances.

The writing is based around the text the children are reading and taught in units. These units can last from a few days up to over a week. The units will have a ‘Big Write’ outcome which will focus on different genres; diary, advertisements, letters, reports, non-chronological reports, narratives and instructional writing. The lessons which build up to the ‘Big Write’ outcome lesson will focus on teaching the skills and knowledge needed to access the outcome. E.g. when writing an informal letter in the skill and knowledge lessons may entail, contracted words and apostrophes, paragraphs, different sentences types and the appropriate punctuation.

The ‘Big Write’ work is taken from each year group, half termly, and moderated across the school so all teaching staff can see the progress the children are making from EYFS – Ks2.