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15/03/24

🏃 Well done to our Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Cross Country teams today! You represented the school so well and showed great teamwork! 💚 pic.twitter.com/GcXEryXCT7

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08/03/24

📚 We had a fantastic day celebrating World Book Day today! Thank you to all our parents & carers for providing such wonderful costumes!💚 pic.twitter.com/KDy0P5lkk6

08/03/24

On we’re celebrating Jo Wilson 🙌 Office Assistant (Attendance) ➡️ Office Assistant (Communications) ➡️ Safeguarding Admin Assistant ➡️ Student Services and Safeguarding Lead at Cooks Spinney Primary 💚#IWD2024 pic.twitter.com/W7s28CW1b8

08/03/24

On we’re celebrating Jess Farrell 🙌 Trainee Teacher ➡️ Maths Lead ➡️ Assistant Headteacher at Cooks Spinney Primary 💚#IWD2024 pic.twitter.com/Of2b2MIFHv

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08/03/24

📚 World Book Day fun has officially begun at Cooks Spinney! The children are having a fantastic morning participating in a range of book-related activities! 📚 pic.twitter.com/vNKeMZaQYR

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01/03/24

☕️ Well done to the wonderful children who got chosen for Hot Chocolate Friday! Keep up the fantastic work! 💚 pic.twitter.com/oQCiaKR6U9

28/02/24

🏃 After presenting an amazing assembly, Olympic athlete delivered a round of energetic and engaging lessons to our students, instilling hope in their future of possible careers in sport 🏅 pic.twitter.com/va9fIq8xY9

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16/02/24

☕️ Well done to our pupils who got chosen for Hot Chocolate Friday this afternoon. What a delicious way to end the half term! 🍫 Have a lovely half term all. Thank you for your continued support. 💚 pic.twitter.com/aZTPvXmYez

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16/02/24

🧮 The children enjoyed a STEM-focused day where they got to test out their mathematical and scientific knowledge! 🧪 ✈️ Pupils took part in a range of activities, from designing robotic hands to building parachutes, planes and cars. 🪂 pic.twitter.com/xyVJhEfjaz

15/02/24

🎶 We started the day yesterday with a fantastic music assembly! Each year group performed the song they’ve been working on this half term! 🎤🎵 pic.twitter.com/tDLZaa0HLm

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13/02/24

🏃‍♀️ After learning all about Shrove Tuesday, Unicorns and Sprites Class took part in the ultimate pancake race!🥞 pic.twitter.com/RdSgqoq90B

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09/02/24

🏅 Today we welcomed European champion to Cooks Spinney. Tommy led a whole school assembly and then provided a fitness lesson for each KS2 class 🏃 pic.twitter.com/44X7cCuyRF

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09/02/24

☕️ Well done to our pupils who got chosen for Hot Chocolate Friday! What a fantastic end to the week! 💚 pic.twitter.com/MoLzi9juN8

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02/02/24

We’re looking for new members to join Cooks Spinney PTA!💚We’ll be holding a coffee morning on Monday 12th February to welcome new members and to also discuss exciting, upcoming events with current members! pic.twitter.com/1fY8y2LtJ0

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02/02/24

☕️ Well done to our fantastic pupils who got chosen for Hot Chocolate Friday! Keep up the great work! ✏️ pic.twitter.com/9jju0SKtVA

25/01/24

From the end of your street to the ends of the earth. Open a world of possibilities for children in your area.  Join our high-quality teacher training programme, train locally and start making a difference from day one with expert support at every stage.https://t.co/bBuGvnsFlS pic.twitter.com/Z62U8Dap0t

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25/01/24

From the end of your street to the ends of the earth. Open a world of possibilities for children in your area.  Join our high-quality teacher training programme, train locally and start making a difference from day one with expert support at every stage.https://t.co/bBuGvnsFlS pic.twitter.com/Z62U8Dap0t

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19/01/24

What a delicious way to end the week! ☕️ Well done to all pupils who were chosen for Hot Chocolate Friday this week! A very big thank you to our lovely school nurse Hannah for joining us! 💚 pic.twitter.com/QxMthfYqJh

19/01/24

BMAT have partnered with to provide School Centred Initial Teacher Training in Essex and London.Our programme offers PGCE with QTS at Primary and Secondary schools in Epping, Harlow, Stansted Mountfitchet and Newham.https://t.co/Rllv13cdOS pic.twitter.com/HgAkrpNCGz

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19/01/24

BMAT have partnered with to provide School Centred Initial Teacher Training in Essex and London.Our programme offers PGCE with QTS at Primary and Secondary schools in Epping, Harlow, Stansted Mountfitchet and Newham.https://t.co/Rllv13cdOS pic.twitter.com/HgAkrpNCGz

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English

English is taught using our set texts for each year group. These texts have been selected specifically for our curriculum.
Our full English curriculum overview can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.  

The criteria for choosing the set texts are; cultural capital, challenge, vocabulary, variation and conceptual richness. We also consider how these texts build upon knowledge and concepts year after year. We review our literacy canon regularly to ensure our pupils are exposed to a diverse range of authors, cultures and characters.

Here’s one example: Aesop’s Fables is read in year 1 - a culturally important, challenging text that teaches us that stories contain messages. This then leads to Winnie the Pooh in year 2 which moves us from moral to theme, and from fable to short story. This leads to Charlottes's Web in year 3 which develops the themes found in Winnie the Pooh - the transformative power of love and friendship and is culturally significant and challenging. This then leads to Philip Pullman’s Clockwork in year 4; again the book develops the theme of love's transformative power but also introduces a contemporary writer and a meta-story within a story (an idea that will come up again and again in fiction). Ultimately, this reading route can carry our pupils to the most complex texts ever written.

Our Literacy Canon 

Please see below for a list of our set texts for the current academic year. A copy of each book will be provided to each pupil for English lessons. 

EYFS 

The set texts, traditional tales and topic books for Nursery and Reception can be viewed by clicking HERE

Year 1 

The Oliver Jeffers Picture Book Collection by Oliver Jeffers (2007)

Aesop's Fables retold by Michael Morpurgo (2004)

The Story Tree by Hugh Lipton (2005)

Introduction to Poetry (Selected poems with an animal theme) including Brian Patten and Lord Tennyson.  

Little People, Big Dreams: Treasury by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara (2021)

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (1990) 

Shine by Sarah Asuquo (2020)

Year 2

Look Inside Space by Rob Lloyd Jones (2012)

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (retold by Andrew Matthews) (2003)

Little People, Big Dreams: Treasury by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara (2021)

The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton (1939)

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (1921)

Greek Myths retold by Geraldine McCaughrean (1993)

Year 3 

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (1968)

Beowulf retold by Rob Lloyd Jones (2009)

Traditional Tales by Various Authors 

The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl (1966)

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (1952)

The Street Beneath my Feet by Charlotte Guillain (2017)

Year 4 

Roman Diary – the Journal of Iliona – a Young Slave by Richard Platt (2014)

The Malfeasance by Alan Bond (1990) 

The Hippocrump by James Reeves (1957)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950)

Clockwork by Philip Pullman (1996)

Year 5 

Holes by Louis Sacher (1998)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling (1997)

Kick by Mitch Johnson (2017)

Overheard in a Towerblock: Poems by Joseph Coelho (2017)

Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo (1999)

Thief! by Malorie Blackman (1995)

Year 6  

Skellig by David Almond (1998)

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (2011)

Letters From The Lighthouse by Emma Carroll (2017)

Selected Speeches including Martin Luther King and Malala Yousafzai

The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane & Jackie Morris (2017)

 

The Write Stuff 

In KS2, extended writing is taught using the highly successful 'The Write Stuff' approach. This method allows pupils to improve their oracy and widen their vocabulary whilst deepening their understanding of writing choices. For more information about this approach, please click here

 

Specific Areas of Learning

Cooks Spinney's English curriculum focusses on the following areas of learning:

Language Development

We develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching; for pupils, understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum. Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects.

Speaking and Listening

One of our core values (5 A's) is being articulate. At Cooks Spinney, pupils are taught to speak clearly and convey ideas confidently. They learn to justify ideas with reasons; ask questions to check understanding; develop vocabulary and build knowledge; negotiate; evaluate and build on the ideas of others; and select the appropriate register for effective communication.

Reading and Writing

Pupils are taught to read fluently, understand extended prose and are encouraged to read for pleasure. Classrooms are well stocked with fiction, non-fiction and poetry books; and we set ambitious expectations for reading at home. Pupils develop the stamina and skills to write at length, with accurate spelling and punctuation. They are taught the correct use of grammar (see our Grammar and Punctuation Plan at the bottom of this page for more information). The writing they do includes narratives, explanations, descriptions, comparisons, summaries and evaluations: such writing supports them in rehearsing, understanding and consolidating what they have heard or read.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR english CURRICULUM PLEASE MAKE AN APPOINTMENT ON 01279 437590

 

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