New English National Curriculum Information for Parents Meeting Wednesday 24 th June 2015

The Purpose of The New National Curriculum for English English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised. DfE 2013

The overarching aim for English in the New National Curriculum is to promote high standards of literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. All of these skills of language are essential to participating fully as a successful member of society. Aims

The New National Curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:  Read easily, fluently and with good understanding  Develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information  Acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language  Appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage  Write clearly, accurately and coherently for a range of contexts, purpose and audiences  Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate, debate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas.

What’s new for English…  Stronger emphasis on vocabulary development, grammar, punctuation and spelling (for example, the use of commas and apostrophes will be taught in KS1)  Priority for phonics in both key stages  A greater emphasis on reading widely, from our literary heritage and reading for pleasure.  A greater emphasis on reciting and learning poetry, off by heart (from Y1 to Y6)  Handwriting( not currently assessed under the national curriculum) is expected to be fluent, legible and speedy  Spoken English has a greater emphasis, with children to be taught debating and presenting skills and extend this to all areas of the curriculumdebating

The four areas of focus in the new English curriculum are: 1. Spoken language 2. Reading 3. Writing 4. Spelling, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation

Spoken Language This is integrated into reading and writing. The general curriculum focus is on:  Speaking clearly and confidently  Using standard English  Speaking should support good writing Students will be taught to:  Give well-structured descriptions and explanations  Speculate, hypothesise and explore ideas

Reading The curriculum areas are:  Word reading (decoding)  Reading comprehension (understanding) The overview focuses on:  Reading for pleasure  Wider reading  Fiction and non-fiction

Writing The curriculum areas are:  Transcription – spelling, handwriting and presentation  Composition – articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing  Vocab - grammar and punctuation The overview focuses on:  Developing stamina and skill to write at length with accurate spelling and punctuation in a range of styles, genres and text-types, across the curriculum e.g. A diary entry for a Roman soldier (Y4) An explanation of mummification (Y3).

 The following slides give an overview of what has been removed and what has been added.

Y1 Removed Added  Requirement to write non- narrative texts  Chronological & non-chronological texts  Typing skills  Reading of phonically-suitable texts  Reading words with contractions  Reading words with regular endings  Making inferences from texts  Learning and reciting poetry  Re-reading own writing to check for sense  Using capital letters for proper nouns  Name the letters of the alphabet  Spell the names of the days of the week  Adopt a suitable writing position  Form capital letters and digits 0-9  Practise handwriting letter ‘families’

Y2 Removed Added  Specific mention of group work and discussion  Use of syntax & context for reading unfamiliar vocabulary  Use of different presentational features  Word processing  Sooner use of phonics without overt blending  Contemporary & classic poetry  Reciting poetry  Evaluating & proof- reading own writing  Increased use of subordination  Higher expectations of spelling, including from dictation  Required introduction of joined writing

Y3 Removed Added (3&4)  Identifying presentational features of broadcast texts  Explicit mentions of drama (except performing scripts)  Use of layout, graphics & font for presentation  Keyboard/typing skills  Recognise different forms of poetry  Prepare poetry for performance  Using fronted adverbials  Increased requirements for spelling & grammar  Evaluate, edit & proof-read own writing

Y4 Removed Added (3&4)  Identifying presentational features of broadcast texts  Explicit mentions of drama (except performing scripts)  Explaining why writers write  Keyboard/typing skills  Recognise different forms of poetry  Prepare poetry for performance  Using fronted adverbials  Increased requirements for spelling & grammar  Evaluate, edit & proof-read own writing

Y5 Removed Added (5&6)  Specific mention of working in groups  Specific mention of dramatic skills  Creating multi- layered texts  Preparing poetry for performance  Learning poems by heart  Formal presentations about reading  Précising long passages of writing  Greatly detailed grammar specifics

Y6 Removed Added (5&6)  Specific mention of working in groups  Specific mention of dramatic skills  Comparison of writers’ styles from different times and places  Integrate words, images and sound  Using ICT to present text  Preparing poetry for performance  Learning poems by heart  Formal presentations about reading  Précising long passages of writing  Greatly detailed grammar specifics