English

Curriculum Statement

That is the power of words; twenty six letters can paint a whole universe!

The English curriculum at BBAB is designed to support all students in becoming confident and effective communicators.  We teach the knowledge and skills necessary for our students to develop into critical thinkers who are able to read analytically and articulate ideas effectively, creatively and persuasively in speech and writing. 

Intent

In English lessons, we encourage students to develop an engagement with, and love of, language that appreciates the craft of the writer and recognises the power of language as a means of sharing ideas. We endeavour to foster a love of words as a means of sharing ideas and enriching our experiences as both independent readers and writers.

Classroom experiences create opportunities to experience and engage with writing in English from across the literary heritage.  The range of texts studied across the KS3, KS4 and KS5 curriculum represent different experiences, cultures and periods of history and recognise English as a world language. This raises the cultural capital of our students and their appreciation of the influence of different contexts on the construction of meaning.

Implementation

The English department is a collaborative department.  We plan, devise and review schemes of work collaboratively with a continuous cycle of revisions, amendments and updates, informed by developments in pedagogical research and thinking. 

The curriculum journey from Year 9 to Year 11 has been carefully thought out and developed with a clear journey towards our overreaching intent of developing effective and confident communicators.

We follow a spiral curriculum in which we continually revisit previous learning adding new knowledge.  We teach reading, writing and spoken presentation structures each year through a range of texts (fiction and non-fiction) with increasing complexity.

We aim to move students through Piaget’s model of cognitive development from concrete to formal operational thinking; becoming increasingly abstract in our exploration of ideas and concepts. This compliments the student’s additional needs and addresses areas that need development.

Our curriculum promotes cognitive acceleration and develops higher order thinking skills through the interrogation of texts.

Our curriculum design is delivered through a set of core lessons that have been developed for each year group. Individual class teachers adapt schemes of learning using their professional judgement as appropriate, in order to personalise the learning of individuals and meet the needs of their teaching groups. 

In English lessons you will see:

Declarative Knowledge -   Facts relating to texts; recollection of key quotations; subject terminology; knowledge of writing structures and conventions; academic register.  Content relating to texts, e.g. plot/characters/themes/context is substantive knowledge

Disciplinary knowledge – how to: write persuasively; structure a story; write an essay in response to a literary text; organise a letter; prepare a speech; organise and write an article or guide etc.

Procedural Knowledge – ability to action knowledge in the crafting of writing and speech for different audiences and purposes; reading for meaning; analysing the construction of meaning.

Retrieval:     

• Teacher recap and questioning
• BBA7 starter activities

Spacing:  Each unit incorporates and builds on the procedural knowledge developed the previous day, month, year, key stage.

Interleaving:  Key themes and concepts recur across topics: rhetorical devices; narrative structures and strategies; descriptive devices; essay writing conventions; literature as vehicle for the representation of ideas;

Schema: Problem/solution narratives; Essay writing (PEE); 5 paragraph structure for transactional/persuasive exam tasks; To SMILE analysis; Thesis statements; The development of an argument.

Impact

Results at GCSE and Level 1/2 Functional Skills, continue to show that achievement and progress in English is consistently high. BBAB offer intervention lessons as a means of supporting those pupils who need additional one-to-one tuition. This initiative has proven to be highly successful. The English department continues to foster an enjoyment and curiosity of the subject. The leadership within the department continues to place particular emphasis on selecting the most relevant and suitable texts to engage and interest our pupils. Keeping abreast of new releases as well as new technologies is a vital way of keeping the subject fresh and relevant; however, we also understand the benefits and importance of celebrating our diverse and fascinating literary heritage so that pupils are able to see the importance that texts play within society. Pupils are always encouraged to share their opinions of the texts that they study and the department uses this information to determine which texts are received most favourably by the pupils

As an English department, the moderation of pupil work continues to be an important aspect of our work. Moderation now takes place at both key stages and is a means of ensuring consistency of marking across the department and quality assuring the work that is scrutinised. The BBAB attainment tracker is used by all members of the department to ensure that the assessment and marking is valid and robust. This subsequently allows us to accurately determine which pupils need additional support. Book scrutiny is also held at various points in the year as a way of firstly ensuring that the curriculum intent is being met and secondly as a way of ensuring that there is a consistency of approach and standards across the department. 

Vision and aims

For the English department, the wonder of the word is rooted very much in the real world and we therefore endeavour to make learning enjoyable, relevant and purposeful. We believe that the study of English is the key to opening up opportunities in school and beyond. We provide a programme of study which enables students to access the curriculum at school and in the future; whilst at college, in training and when seeking employment We aim to develop students’ speaking and listening skills to ensure that they are confident communicators; who can listen to others and present their ideas and feelings effectively. Along with these foundation skills, we also offer opportunities to explore our rich literary heritage and develop creative potential. We are committed to ensuring that all of these skills are translated into recognised qualifications.

Bromley Beacon Academy Bromley is a dynamic, enthusiastic department; a collaborative approach to teaching and learning is embedded within daily practice and future planning. The Faculty is committed to continually reviewing and updating units of learning and teaching and learning styles, in order to engage students and facilitate achievement.

The accredited qualifications that we offer are board and supports students to build their skill set as well as striving for the best qualification for them. The accreditations are:

Year 9

Students will study a range of texts in preparing for their GCSE exam. Students will complete functional skills qualifications at either ELC3 and or level 1.　This will provide students with the core skills needed for their English GCSE while gaining up to two qualifications. Students will study a range of texts such as Shakespeare, modern literature and poetry.

Year 10

Students will study an array of texts including ‘Of Mice and Men’ and Shakespeare to widen their reading and to prepare them for their GCSE exam. Students will take part in speaking and listening activities to build confidence with the spoken word.

Year 11

Students will prepare for their GCSE exam with Cambridge iGCSE. This exam requires students to analyse language, summaries texts and evaluate key parts of a text. The course requires them to complete three pieces of coursework: describe, argue and respond. Students will also complete a 4 minute speaking and listening exam which will require them to present on a topic of their choice and have a short discussion afterwards.

KS5

Students will use Year 12 to boost their learning and complete their Level 2 Functional Skills exam. Whilst studying this course student will need to be able to:

• Select, read, understand and compare texts and Select and use different types of texts to use them to gather information, ideas, and arguments obtain and utilise relevant information and opinions.
• Write a range of texts, including extended Present information/ideas concisely, written documents, communicating information, logically, and persuasively ideas and opinions, effectively and persuasively.
• Make a range of contributions to discussions in a Consider complex information and give range of contexts, including those that are a relevant, cogent response in appropriate unfamiliar, and make effective presentations.

Useful websites:

• BBC Bitesize - English Literature
• BBC Bitesize - English
• Oxford University Press - Free Functional Skills English Resources

To view our curriculum map for English, please click here.

Knowledge organisers for English: