English Teaching at Fairhaven Primary School

At Fairhaven Primary School, our approach to teaching English is rooted in a structured, progressive and instructional model that supports all learners in becoming confident, articulate, and creative communicators. We use a blend of modelled, guided, and independent application to scaffold learning effectively:

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• My Turn (Modelled Teaching): Teachers explicitly demonstrate reading and writing strategies, making their thinking visible to pupils.
   

• Our Turn (Guided Practice): Pupils engage in shared activities with teacher support, allowing for targeted feedback, assessment for learning opportunities and collaborative learning.
   

• Your Turn (Independent Application): Children apply their skills autonomously, consolidating their understanding and developing fluency.

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To support automaticity in writing and reduce cognitive load, we embed daily transcription and handwriting practice into our routine. This ensures that children develop fluency in the physical act of writing, freeing up cognitive resources to focus on composition, grammar, and creativity.

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Our writing curriculum is structured around the BRANCH framework, which provides a coherent and purposeful sequence for developing writing skills:

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• B – Building Context Through Reading: Pupils immerse themselves in rich, high-quality texts to build background knowledge and understand vocabulary in context.
   

• R – Read and Reflect on Grammar in Context: Grammar is taught meaningfully through the texts children read, helping them understand how language works.
   

• A – Apply Grammar in Context: Pupils practise using grammatical structures in their own writing, reinforcing their understanding through purposeful application.
   

• N – Nurture Ideas Through Planning: Children are supported to generate and organise their ideas, using planning strategies that encourage creativity and coherence.
   

• C – Crafting With Clarity: Pupils write with clear success criteria, focusing on structure, audience, and purpose.
   

• H – Hone Through Editing for Impact: Editing is taught as a vital part of the writing process, enabling children to refine their work for clarity, precision, and effect.

 

This integrated approach ensures that children at Fairhaven Primary School develop not only the technical skills of reading and writing but also the confidence and independence to express themselves with clarity and purpose.

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Frontloaded Grammar

We deliver frontloaded grammar sessions at the start of each term to ensure grammar skills are secure. This helps to reduce cognitive load when writing in context within our writing BRANCH journeys.

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