English Language and Literacy

At Thornhill we aim: 

• to enable children to express themselves with confidence using an acceptable form of the language in  their speech and writing. 
• to teach children to read with understanding, fluency and expression.

• to develop the power to comprehend the spoken and written forms of the language. 
• to increase the vocabulary and give a fuller understanding of the finer details of the language. 
• to teach the basic grammatical structures of the language, so that English may be used with accuracy and understanding. 
• to provide the children with a wide variety of good examples of English literature, including poetry, and to help them to understand and appreciate it. 
• to stimulate their creativity through oral activities, writing, drama and art. 
• to enable children to develop effective listening skills. 

A holistic approach to the language is recommended, thereby providing extensive links with the other subjects taught.

At Thornhill we use a mixture of both the Ginn Reading Programme and the Oxford Reading Tree reading schemes.