The National Curriculum (2014) clearly states that the teaching of language is an essential, if not most essential, role of a primary school.

At Verwood First School and Nursery we celebrate that English is a tool for both our thinking and learning.  We continually work to develop our children’s ability to listen, speak, read and write for a wide range of purposes, including the communication of their ideas, views and feelings. In this way become empowered to interpret the world around them and to make sense of their experiences.

We want our children to be able to express themselves creatively and imaginatively.  We aspire for them to become enthusiastic and critical readers of stories, poetry and drama, as well as of non-fiction and a range of multimedia. Children gain an understanding of how language works by looking at its patterns, structures and origins, ensuring that they are at the heart of the learning experience.

English is in demand across all areas of the curriculum.  From this perspective English is a tool for both our thinking and learning.

The key strands for learning English are:

Spoken Language
Reading – decoding and comprehension
Writing  – Composition and Handwriting
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar