English at Spa Camberwell
The English Curriculum is taught to support students develop their skills in reading, writing and speaking and listening. Teachers thoughtfully plan their lessons and deliver bespoke resources for the needs and progression of each child. All pupils are set an individual target in Reading, Writing and Communication, which is assessed each week. The English Lead works closely with the Structured Play, Drama and Social Communication leads to ensure pupils Communication skills are developed to a high standard.
Throughout the work the students do in English, they are regularly meeting the outcomes on their EHCP. This work is a fundamental part of the English curriculum. The students also enjoy a wide range of enrichment activities through English such as dressing up as literary characters for World Book Day, visiting and signing up for the local library, going to the post office to buy stamps and post letters and experiencing a range of literary experiences like performing poetry and plays. Check out the CLPE Power of Reading report below - The case study from Spa School can be found on page 8.
Curriculum Organisation
Learning is structured through three key approaches:
- The Learning to Learn Curriculum
- The Learning Together Curriculum
- The Learning for the Future Curriculum
Pupils follow elements from one or both approaches depending on their strengths and needs, with a longer-term focus on the preparation for the future.
The Learning to Learn Curriculum
In Learning to Learn students are introduced to phonics through phoneme awareness activities and then individual sounds. They are also taught how sounds go together through dynamic blending. They are introduced to texts through a wide range of play opportunities and sensory stories. They develop their fine motor skills through multi-sensory pre-writing activities. This includes the Write Dance approach. Students learn to listen to individual sounds and then segment these in order to spell words. They learn how to construct simple sentences through the use of Colourful Semantics.
The Learning Together Curriculum
Through the Learning Together Curriculum students' phonic skills are developed where appropriate. Students begin to access more complex texts and a wider range of genres. They continue to use multi-sensory activities to access these texts meaningfully. The Talk for Writing approach is used so that students are able to compose their own stories. They learn different features of non-fiction texts and how to use these to research. Students begin to write extended sentences supported by the Colourful Semantics framework
The Learning for the Future Curriculum
In Learning for the Future, we continue to focus on the skills and techniques required to learn English skills. We introduce the students to a range of activities and texts more suited to a secondary school environment to move away from the primary curriculum. Students practice reading signs and symbols within the school, think about the emotional experiences of fictional characters and apply this to their own experiences. They investigate non-fiction texts finding information independently.
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