Pen Mill Infant and Nursery Academy

English is a core subject in the National Curriculum: it is a prerequisite for educational progress across the entire primary curriculum. At Pen Mill Academy, our aim is to equip our pupils with the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to become well-rounded, lifelong linguists with a real enthusiasm for reading and writing. We have developed our English curriculum with a focus on creating meaningful links with other subjects, exposing pupils to a wide range of high-quality texts and developing pupils’ vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills in context. English lessons at Pen Mill Academy act as building blocks leading up to final pieces of writing in which pupils demonstrate the wide range of skills they have learnt. Our lessons take pupils through a learning journey which equips them with the knowledge they require to become skilled readers and writers, by covering a range of skills: speaking and listening through drama and role play; analysis of exemplar texts; developing grammar and punctuation in context; and vocabulary activities. The work in pupils’ books illustrates a build-up of skills through word and sentence-level work, final writing pieces, and editing/improving. We aim for our pupils to have the necessary stamina and understanding to write at or above the expected standard.