At Parklands, English and the teaching of English is the foundation of our curriculum. Our main aim is to ensure every single child becomes literate and progresses in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening. 

Staff at Parklands feel it is seminal to highlight and be aware of the differing groups of learners and vulnerable children in their class.  Once this information is acquired, teachers can plan and teach English lessons which focus on the particular needs of each child and reasonable adjustments can be made so all children can access the learning.  We recognise that each child has their own starting point upon entry to every year group and progress is measured in line with these starting points to ensure every child can celebrate success.

English at Parklands will not only be a daily discrete lesson, but is at the cornerstone of the entire curriculum.  It is embedded within all our lessons and we will strive for a high level of English for all. Through using high-quality texts, immersing children in vocabulary rich learning environments and ensuring curriculum expectations and the progression of skills are met, the children at Parklands will be exposed to a language heavy, continuous English curriculum which will not only enable them to become literate but will also develop a love of reading, creative writing and purposeful speaking and listening.

Our Vision Statement highlights our Parklands Person ethos - Safe, Kind, Polite, Positive, Important, Respectful. This is referred to and emphasised throughout our English lessons and children are encouraged to demonstrate these values through both written and spoken work. 

Phonics at Parklands is taught through the Read Write Inc programme which is followed rigorously by all staff with fidelity to the programme. These lessons are taught daily allowing for consistent, well-planned practice. Children read books that closely match their phonic knowledge with words they can decode.  

English lessons are taught through the Focus Education English scheme which provides high-quality literacy lessons which are expertly adapted to suit all learners. Reading and Writing are developed in the Early Years and Key Stage One through the use of quality texts, which expose the children to inference, high-level vocabulary, a range of punctuation and characterisation.  Each text is purposefully selected in order to promote a love of reading, engagement and high quality writing from each child. Vulnerable children are highlighted to ensure a personalised approach that leads to rapid progress. 

As we believe consistency and well-taught English is the basis of a valuable education, at Parklands we ensure that the teaching of writing is purposeful, robust and shows clear progression for all children.  In line with the National Curriculum, we ensure that each year group is teaching the explicit grammar, punctuation and spelling objectives required for that age groups.  As well as teaching the objectives, teachers are able to embed the skills throughout the year in cross-curricular writing opportunities and ensure that most children are achieving the objectives at the expected level and that some children can achieve at a greater depth standard.

We understand that communication and language are the roots underpinning success in reading and writing which is why we ensure that all children from Nursery through to Year 2 have ample and various opportunities to explore their communication and language skills.