Statement of Intent

An enthusiasm and ability to use the English language with confidence is something all staff at Cockfield Primary school feel passionate about. A love of reading is central to this and can set a child up for future academic success and personal enjoyment. Through carefully planned use of texts, teachers inspire children and develop their creativity through challenging their ideas and understanding of language, characters, setting and plot. Teachers often link their reading and writing texts to give children extended opportunities to develop their understanding of the written word. Our reading spines move children through a variety of well-known texts by famous and lesser-known authors from a range of backgrounds. We include both children’s classics and more modern literature as part of our reading spines and writing lessons. Alongside this we aim to develop a love of poetry and story by regularly reading aloud to our children. Carefully planned sequences of work focus on areas of learning which have been assessed as needing development, ensuring that learning is deeply personalised to each class and tailored to individuals based on their strengths and vulnerabilities. As we continue to develop this subject we will place a greater emphasis on poetry to widen the children’s experience of the written word in different forms. This will include a knowledge of famous poetic works and poets.