"The ability to communicate effectively is a key skill, and the better we are at it, the better our quality of life will be."

At Sacred Heart, the core intent at the heart of the English Curriculum is to deliver a high- quality and engaging framework, which teaches pupils to speak, read and write fluently. We strongly believe that if our pupils develop a high standard of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, they will be at an advantage in the wider curriculum studies and will be confident, literate members of society, now and in the future.

English is a core subject of The National Curriculum 2014, and focuses on five key areas of learning:

• Reading
• Writing
• Spoken language
• Vocabulary development and
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar.

In order to implement our intent, great focus is placed on ensuring that the following is embedded throughout the school on: 

• Encouraging a love of literature by creating a ‘Reading Community’ and exposing our pupils to a range of genres.
• Creating a safe environment in which all pupils feel valued and are encouraged to communicate with confidence, fluency and understanding.
• Offering our pupils the best opportunities to acquire and develop speaking and listening skills by exposing and challenging them in these skills, in every area of the curriculum.
• Exposing our pupils to and letting them have an understanding of a variety of text types and appreciate our rich and diverse literacy heritage.
• Giving our pupils opportunities to use a wide variety of styles and forms and develop skills across a range of genres.
• Correcting spelling and grammar in a sensitive and constructive manner.
• Encouraging pupils to develop a clear and legible handwriting style

At Sacred Heart, we believe that quality children's literature is at the heart of all learning, and, as a school, we use the Center for Literacy in Primary Education's successful Power of Reading Scheme, which has supported thousands of schools in raising engagement and attainment in reading and writing for all children.

Our teachers plan for English on a termly and weekly basis and use The Power of Reading Approach to enhance lessons and text choices, in each year group. Across the school, form EYFS to Year 6, teachers plan highly engaging lessons, which promote active learning using either the Early Years Framework or the National Curriculum 2014. Our daily lesson planning includes units and genres to be taught with clear learning objectives and success criteria, and our English teaching is threaded throughout all areas of the curriculum and school life.

The following documents outline the content of the English Curriculum that is taught at the school. These documents should be read in conjunction with the Termly Curriculum Outlines, as these provide more detailed information of the how these objectives are to be taught.