The over-riding purpose of the English Department is the
same as that of the whole school. This means we must prepare
the pupils to live their adult lives to the full while
making their youthful years as pleasant and satisfying as
possible.English is the first language of the pupils in
Ashfield and the specific purpose of the English Department
is to encourage them to develop confidence and competence in
reading, writing, talking and listening and a love and
respect for the English Language. These four modes of
language development best, over time, in interaction,
feeding off and feeding into each other.
Reading Support and Literacy Support teachers work
closely with the Head of English and Head of Special Needs
to help raise reading ages, improve handwriting, increase
confidence in reading and writing among pupils and insure
the School's Consistency and Expectation standards are met.
It is recognised that the development of the English
Language does not lie solely within the domain of the
English Department but should reside also within the aims
and schemes of all other departments in the school,
(Language Across the Curriculum - L.A.C.), supported, where
necessary, by the expertise existing in the English
Department.
New
to the English Department is the introduction of
Renaissance Learning
and the Accelerated Reader
program which is very simple to use:
The pupil reads a book of their choice
from the school library, for which is there is an Accelerated
Reader quiz (now over 14,326 to choose from!)
Once the pupil has read the book, they take a quick
computer-based quiz. The quizzes are fun and encourage
motivation and enjoyment.
Instant feedback! The program automatically prints out a report
showing how well the pupil has performed.
The teacher has an opportunity to guide the pupil’s reading by
using the reports and ensuring that the child achieves success
and is therefore motivated to read another book - for fun!
English
Department