English & Literacy
At Woodlands we aim to give our students the best possible education in English and literacy that they can access. Literacy is taught in English lessons and intervention lessons, as well as being integrated across the school in the wider curriculum. We endeavour to encourage effective communication (written and spoken) both inside and outside of school, as a way of preparing our students for life after Woodlands. All our learners will also access Literacy assemblies
(with differentiated activities).
We offer 5 different pathways to gaining a qualification in English. These are; English Functional Skills (Level 1 or 2), Entry Level English Language, GCSE English Language, GCSE English Literature and A-Level English Language. We offer these different pathways because we offer a tailor-made English education that fits both the national curriculum and the learner as an individual.
During English lessons learners will be able to access an education based on their ability and their potential to gain which ever qualification fits them best. Our lessons break the English language down into manageable chunks that allow the learner to learn at a pace that suits them, in small classes, with lots of support. Reading books are selected for pupils that need extra encouragement or practise in reading; these are geared towards the needs and interests of the learner. We offer Oxford Reading tree, Billy Kool and the Download book series, to name but a few. For our less able readers we advocate that they read at home 5 times a week for at least 15 minutes. This is logged in a reading record and is returned to the English teacher weekly to allow for progress to be monitored. Differentiated spellings are also sent out on a weekly basis, and returned to the intervention teacher.
We also have an extensive library that features both fiction and non- fiction reading materials, for a range of reading abilities. We encourage our students to take ownership of the library and currently have 1 librarian who helps to organise it and take care of it.
Learners will also study English literature throughout their time at Woodlands, studying texts such as; ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘An Inspector Calls’ and ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. We are thrilled to be able to offer the AQA English Literature GCSE to those learners who are able to take this additional qualification on alongside the English Language GCSE.
At Woodlands School we are immensely proud to be able to offer English Language A-Level. This is a challenging 2-year course that is available to students that gain a GCSE Grade C or above in English Language.
As well as offering qualification-based courses, we offer intervention lessons for pupils who need extra literacy lessons. These lessons aim at raising literacy levels so the pupil can fully access all of their subjects and reach their full potential in school.
Our intervention lessons use a mixture of Dockside reading scheme, lifeboat intervention booklets and a range of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities to appeal to all our learners.
“I like getting to design things in English.”
“It gives me the chance to write creatively.”