ENGLISH

Staffing

The department has a team of highly motivated, innovative English specialists.

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Mrs R Robertson - Head Of Department

Mrs L Mcloughlin - Whole School Lead Practitioner, Second In Department

Mr P Stuchberry - Assistant Headteacher: Behaviour And Attitudes, Teacher Of English

Mr C Burke - Literacy Coordinator, Aspirations And Enrichment Lead, Teacher Of English

Mrs M Cookson - Induction Tutor For Ecf And Itt, Teacher Of English

Mrs S Price - Head Of Year & Transition, Teacher Of English

Miss N Sweeney - Head Of Year, Teacher Of English

Mrs L Topping - Teacher Of English

Mr J Pickles - Teacher Of English

Mr D Tomlinson - Teacher Of English

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Vision

The philosophy of the English Department is to encourage our learners to enjoy the English language, to be enthusiastic about their lessons and, therefore, to progress in their learning. English and literacy is at the heart of all subjects, which is the reason the department encourages and builds on skills to aid literacy development in all the subject areas.

The English department strives to realise this vision by:
• making learning as creative and fun through varied activities focusing on the key areas of Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing.
• allowing students to be creative thinkers, independent enquirers, team workers or effective participators, depending on whether they are writing in role, playing the mantle of expert or creating performance poetry.
• creating a love of literature and a desire for improving literacy skills for all abilities.

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Learning and Teaching

The department aims to:
• provide wide-ranging topics which promote literacy for students of all abilities so that they can develop their skills in a secure, happy and stimulating environment.
• encourage students to peer and self-assess in order to understand how to progress to the next sublevel of development.
• promote the enhancement of Writing, Reading and Speaking and Listening skills within the English curriculum, through clear target setting and an understanding of assessment focuses.
• support by giving students the functional literacy skills which will benefit them in their adult life.

The department has seven teaching rooms each equipped with a computer, smartboard and visualiser to improve the quality of learning and teaching. A suite of computers and a bank of laptops are additional resources that may be used by the students to research and extend learning.

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Enriching learning

The English Department works alongside the Drama Department and Learning Resource Base (LRB) to offer a range of enrichment opportunities for students:
• The department invites poets and authors into school to hold writing workshops with specific groups of children.
• The department offers students the chance to see plays or novels that they are studying in performance in order to give them a deeper understanding of characterisation and themes.
• The department offers students the chance to get involved in ‘Youth Speaks’, a local speaking and listening competition.
• We take students into the LRB on a regular basis to promote independent reading habits.
• All students in Year Seven are given a free book of their choice to promote independence in reading.

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Assessment

The English department has a rigorous assessment policy that allows pupils to clearly see their areas of strength and address their target areas to develop in order to progress onto the next sublevel.

At Key Stage 3, a formal assessment in either Writing, Reading or Speaking and Listening is produced every half term. Staff and pupils use Reading, Writing and Speaking & Listening assessment grids to clearly see which areas pupils do well and which areas to target in their next stage of development. All assessments and feedback show targets for improvement to maximize progress throughout the key stage.

At Key Stage 4, pupils follow the AQA examination syllabus, with all pupils completing a separate English Language and English Literature qualification. This consists of four terminal examinations. Ongoing results are regularly monitored and tracked with every pupil given an aspirational target.