English

 English is taught every day to all pupils and is embedded throughout all curriculum subjects so that they have opportunities to apply and access their learning in a range of contexts. All pupils receive five lessons of English a week. While in Key Stage 4, there is an added focus to apply reading, writing and communication skills within their vocational options. 

All pupils also undertake regular phonic and reading assessments to ensure our interventions and support are accurate, focused and allow continued progress. During phonics sessions, pupils are taught grapheme-phoneme correspondence, letter formation and segmenting and blending skills. They learn these within focused phonics sessions, as well as wider reading and writing activities. 

During English sessions, our pupils develop their reading, writing and speaking/ listening skills, and are exposed to a range of high quality texts including fiction, poetry, Shakespeare and non-fiction texts. They explore a range of genres and text lengths to expand their literary experiences and promote a love of the written word. Our pupils learn to develop their writing skills through a broad range of writing activities, linked to a central theme in KS3 while in KS4 there is an emphasis on exam preparation and functional skills. 

We also strive to give pupils as many enriching opportunities as possible including trips to the theatre and organising visitors to come into school. In the last few years, we have visited the Northcott Theatre and had visits from RAMM in Exeter. In addition, we have had visits from an artist, a sculptor and an author; who engaged our pupils in creative workshops and cross-curricular learning. 

Sadly, we have said goodbye to our library bus and have a temporary library inside the main building while we await the erection of our new purpose built library. We are proud to have a library bus, which is a sanctuary for reading, where pupils Pupils and choose, borrow and enjoy books at their individual level. Reading is encouraged and supported throughout the week individually and as a group during group reading sessions. These aim to prompt thought and discussion as well as a wider exposure and appreciation of different texts. and are excited about the prospect of a new library building in 2023 that will enhance our ability for group reading sessions with pupils.  

In Key Stage 4, pupils work towards a range of accreditations at various levels. We offer an Entry Level Certificate at Entry Levels 1, 2 and 3 and Level 1. We also offer Entry Level Functional Skills accreditation and GCSE in English Language. These qualifications have been chosen carefully to enable our pupils to prepare for the next phase of their education or work, and they are able to continue learning within these qualifications at their chosen college. Qualifications are chosen to allow our pupils to be ambitious in English but also give them the support to experience success and gain valuable functional skills for the next part of their education after Southbrook.