Intent Statement

Daniel 1:17

‘To those four young men, God gave knowledge and understanding of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand the visions and dreams of all kinds.’

This quote from the Book of Daniel, is a reminder to us all as teachers of English, that the study of literature enables our children to have a deeper understanding of themselves, others and the world around them. But it also empowers them to articulate their feelings, emotions and dreams as they grow culturally, intellectually, socially and spiritually into well rounded citizens of society.

Fundamental to the planning of a coherent five-year curriculum, are the choices of literature texts, both fictional and non-fictional, that we make to ensure that the children’s journey is rich, varied, enjoyable and stimulating. We feel strongly that challenging literature should underpin the speaking, listening and writing if engagement and progress is to be made from KS3 to KS4. Our curriculum is designed to integrate and highlight the connectivity of various components of Language and Literature over the 5-year study period. We aim to promote readers as writers and writers as readers. As many educational researchers can vouch, including Hochman in The Writing Revolution, ‘better readers make better writers, make better communicators,’ and, fundamentally, ‘reading elevates their thinking.’

Our overarching intention for the English curriculum programme is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to foster a love of literature. Through a wide study of literature through time, we also aim to provide pupils with an understanding of the universality of the human condition.

In placing so much value on the literature texts we have chosen for KS3 and KS4, it is worth noting that in adherence to the National Curriculum programme, pupils will be expected to read whole books in depth. ‘Reading at KS3 should be wide, varied and challenging,’ and should include two Shakespeare plays. We have planned a study programme for: ‘The Tempest’ in Year 7; ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in Year 9 and ‘Macbeth’ in Year 10 with appropriate further reading and interleaved activities to support pupils’ understanding.

The curriculum content is themed around a selection of literature which is appropriate to the age and interests of the year groups and which becomes increasingly challenging. For example, Year 7 is Childhood Experiences and their Place in the World. Texts range from: Shakespeare’s The Tempest and pre-19th Century poetry and short stories to 20/21st century novels. The Year 8 curriculum: Readers and Writers of the Big Issues introduces pupils to wider social issues of inequality and more challenging concepts of social theory. Year 9, The Writer’s Role in Society, introduces classic literary philosophy and theories such as Aristotle’s 5 elements of tragedy, Freudian Criticism and religious references, to promote conceptual thinking and a greater understanding of the writer’s role in society and universal themes in literature.

The aim of our KS3 programme is to empower our pupils by making the curriculum steps transparent and sequential. Mary Myatt in The Curriculum stresses the importance of curriculum planning as the, ‘architecture of children’s learning.’ With this also in mind, our intention is to provide facts and knowledge that are woven into the curriculum and interleaved and revised from KS2 to KS3 to KS4 (see Curriculum overview and Journey) alongside carefully planned choices of texts which are interconnected, allowing pupils to cross- reference, widen their views and deepen understanding.

It is our intention to make explicit to pupils from Year 7: what they are studying; why they are studying it and where they are going with their knowledge and understanding. It is important that they understand the big picture and are constantly reminded of the interconnectedness of the units they study and the cross- curricular significance of literature texts and literacy skills. It is crucial that yearly curriculum plans and visual journeys from year 7 -11 are shared with pupils and parents thereby providing them signposts that take them to their post 16 destination.

Critical to the success of the new curriculum is the planning of tier 2 and 3 vocabulary for each unit of work and ultimately this underpins pupil progress and achievement. A robust vocabulary improves all areas of communication: speaking, listening, reading, writing and therefore, our intention is to explicitly teach and promote the use of ambitious vocabulary in these 4 strands building on acquisition at KS2 through to KS4. The National Curriculum stipulates that, ‘Teachers should show pupils how to understand the relationships between words, how to understand nuances in meaning, and how to develop their understanding of, and ability to use figurative language.’

These skills are key to success at KS4 and are at the heart of our subject. Planning for vocabulary growth has been one of the factors that has determined the selection of literary texts we have included at KS3 and 4.

The rationale for curriculum planning in Year 9, ‘The Writer’s Role in Society’ is that it is a transition between KS3 and KS4. At the end of Year 9, we have included opportunities for consolidatory practice of skills developed over the year; refinement of revision techniques and managing of time.

The curriculum planning at KS4 is underpinned by the AQA assessment objectives for the final exams at GCSE and builds upon those skills and levels of engagement at KS3. Reading and writing opportunities continue to be increasingly sophisticated, allowing pupils to become more independent readers, writers and speakers. As with KS3, the rationale for the choice of texts and the order in which they are studied, is that pupils learn to appreciate the interconnectedness of texts. We have also chosen literature texts from the prescribed AQA list based on what we feel would optimise levels of interest.

Central to the curriculum planning, is our intention is to uphold the Gospel values such as: respect for others; global solidarity; the dignity of each person; the cherishing of the family unit, all of which can be fostered through discussion and debate in the English classroom. The 4 components of English: listening, speaking, reading and writing, when thoughtfully integrated into the curriculum, provide the opportunities for us as English teachers to both nurture our pupils and to model how to be a good person.

Finally, our vision is to ensure that the English curriculum is never static but is organic, drawing upon the wealth of material, current affairs and issues that enters the consciousness of our young people.

Our curriculum design is ambitious in its intent, and as English teachers, we are privileged to be in a position not only to equip pupils with essential literacy skills and knowledge, but to help them understand the nuances of language in all its forms and participate as confident and literate members of an ever-changing society.

Reading List

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