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 who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.

                                                                                                            (National Curriculum 2014)

At Red Hill Field we have a love of language and literature.

We learn phonics ‘fast and first’ so that we can quickly decode words and become fluent readers.

We develop our comprehension skills through our experience of high-quality discussions with our teacher and peers, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction.

We read widely, across both fiction and non-fiction, to develop our knowledge of ourselves and the world we live in, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum.

We read to feed our imagination and open up a treasure house of wonder and joy for our curious young minds.

Our strong phonic knowledge supports us to learn to spell accurately, as well as our knowledge of spelling patterns and rules.

We learn to form our letters correctly in a cursive script to develop automaticity when we are writing.

We acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language.

We learn to write simple, compound and complex sentences; we develop and adapt these as we become more technically proficient.

We write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting our language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.

We learn the conventions of speaking and listening to enable us to make formal presentations, demonstrate to others and participate in debate; to elaborate and explain clearly our understanding and ideas.