Welcome to Churchfields Infants' School English page

My name is Mrs Osborne and I am the English Curriculum Champion. 

 

Oracy (Speaking and Listening)

At Churchfields, spoken language is at the core of our curriculum.  We want all pupils to have a voice, and for that voice to be heard.  We encourage children to speak in a loud, clear voice, considering their audience.  We teach children to answer questions, but more importantly, to ask questions of their own.  Children take part in a range of activities such as role play, philosophy, talk partners and performances to develop these skills.  Vocabulary is taught and embedded across all areas of the curriculum.  Therefore, our pupils have a wide range of general- and subject-specific vocabulary.

 

 

Reading

Our main aim is for children to develop a life-long love of reading and to see themselves, and the school community, as readers.  We have high-quality reading areas and libraries, to which all children have access. Reading takes high priority throughout the school day and children are read a wide selection of high-quality books during their time at Churchfields. 

Children are heard reading, both individually and in groups.  In school, children read phonetically decodable books and texts that run alongside the phonics teaching in class, so that they always feel a sense of achievement when they are asked to read such books. We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised phonics programme. (Please see our Phonics and Early Reading Policy below.) 

 

 

We create memorable experiences for the children and include families on a regular basis.  Some of these experiences include visits to the local library, class swaps, parents reading in a variety of languages and whole school reading sessions. 

 

Our pupils are encouraged to read a wide range of books, and to read for pleasure.  We value reading for its impact on vocabulary development and comprehension skills.  Children are given ownership over the books they choose to take home, showing that we value their choices and their interests. We have our very own telephone box lending library which is enables our whole school community to browse in their own time. 

Parents are given clear expectations about reading and are able to attend parent training and skill sharing sessions.

 

 

 

 

Writing

We understand the importance of developing pre-writing skills, such as fine and gross motor skills. 

We value all aspects of writing, and children’s early mark making is hugely encouraged and praised.  We want children to be able to use writing as a means for their voice to be heard. 

 

 

Writing is hugely influenced by the books we read, and our children are confident in writing for a variety of purposes and audiences. 

We promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the written word.  Pupils are taught to acquire a wide range of sophisticated vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for writing.  We develop writing skills so that our pupils have the stamina and ability to write at or above age-related expectations.

 

 

At Churchfields, we strongly believe that children need access to a wide range of activities such as drama and role play, the use of film and imagery, modelled, shared and guided writing, peer/self-editing and discussion. 

Talk for Writing is hugely important as it allows pupils to express their ideas, hear other opinions and develop and use sophisticated vocabulary.

 

 

 

 

Handwriting sessions are taught explicitly and also incorporated into English lessons. In Reception, the muscles in children’s shoulders, arms and hands are still developing, so we teach them to write in print. We teach children pre cursive writing from Year One, which results in beautifully joined handwriting in Year Two.

 

 

 

 

Meet Our Mini English Champions for 2023-2024!

These children applied to be mini English Champions because they are passionate about books and reading. Part of their role is to help our English Champion, Mrs Osborne and our English link governor, Mrs Wallis, ensure that all children develop a love of reading here at Churchfields Infants' School. 

“My name is Aaron. I like reading books and I really like Shifty McGifty books. I am looking forward to recommending books to a friend.”
	“My name is Florence. I enjoy reading because it is my favourite thing to do. I like Julia Donaldson books."
“My name is Hugo. I love reading and learning new facts. I really like History books. When reading fiction books, I like finding out what is happening at the end. I also like reading with friends."
	“My name is Kateryna. I love reading and tidying up. Reading is my favourite thing to do. I like really interesting books."
“My name is Mansa. I like History books. I read lots at school and lots at home."
	“My name is Meera. I am looking forward to tidying all of the books in the library. I read lots at home and I've got so many books!"
“My name is Sai. I like reading because I have a Roald Dahl collection and a Mr Men collection. I read a lot at home and in school."
	“My name is Sophia. I love reading books. It's good to read because some books are about real things and you can then learn new facts."