English 

English - Speaking and Listening Intent Statement

When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”

- Malala Yousafza

At Cragside, we  believe in creating a culture of listening where all voices can be heard, and in teaching children both “through talk” and “to talk”. We aim to enable all children to unlock the power of their own voices, so that they can express themselves, build meaning through talk and actively contribute to their communities.

This means that staff take a deliberate and active role in developing children’s speaking and listening skills, just as they do for reading and writing, through all subject areas and in every aspect of school life.

English - Reading Intent Statement

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

- Frederick Douglass

At Cragside, we recognise the huge importance of reading and how it develops children’s agency, empathy, critical thinking and creativity.

We  implement an ambitious approach to the teaching of reading, with a love of books at the heart of all we do. This includes direct, rigorous teaching and practise of important skills such as phonic decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension, alongside inspiring a sense of joy and wonder in literature.

English - Writing intent statement

““I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

—Joan Didion

Writing is an essential skill for communication and self-expression. We want children to leave Cragside able to confidently and articulately express their ideas, thoughts and emotions through the written word.

Through high-quality texts and learning experiences, children at Cragside systematically develop their skills in transcription and composition. This includes opportunities to learn and practise , handwriting and grammar, spelling and punctuation rules, alongside how to write for different purposes and audiences. They learn how to plan, evaluate and edit their work, taking pride in the finished product. Children understand that they are authors and that their written work is valued and celebrated.