SGOIL LIONAIL
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar
Department of Education 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE POLICY 

Introduction     English Language is at the heart of children's learning - because language is central to children's intellectual, emotional and social development, it has an essential role across the curriculum, and helps pupils' learning to be coherent and progressive.  Through language they receive much of their knowledge and acquire many of their skills, enabling them both to communicate with others effectively for a variety of purposes, and to examine their own and others' experiences, feelings and ideas, giving them order and meaning.  English is structured by referring to the four outcomes of language - listening, talking, reading and writing - and the purposes for which they are normally used.

Aims                Aims of Lionel School are subsumed in the English policy, for example to:

Provide a coherent, relevant, broad-based, balanced, differentiated bilingual curriculum, giving full consideration to national and local English guidelines.  The various elements of the courses are planned and taught in an appropriate sequence to meet the range of needs, abilities and aspirations of pupils, and to promote progression and continuity in pupils’ learning. Productive links are made with other curriculum areas or subjects eg ICT

Provide a learning environment which is stimulating and challenging, where teaching plans provide concise and clear specifications of what pupils are expected to learn, how and when learning is to be undertaken, and where learning outcomes and assessment strategies are clearly stated.

Objectives        The English policy reflects ambitious, excellent local and national priorities for improvement, shows consistency with education authority aims, and focuses on improving standards of attainment and the quality of pupils’ learning experiences, as follows:

Inclusion          All pupils are entitled to a range of learning experiences in English.  When setting work to pupils with special needs, we refer to those pupils’ Individual Education Plans (IEPs).  We value and celebrate the diversity of our pupils and their families, and we appreciate the enrichment that this brings.
 

Attainment outcomes and strands       English components are described in terms of attainment outcomes:

Listening - covering the strands listening for information, instructions and directions, listening in groups, listening in order to respond to texts, awareness of genre, and knowledge about language.

Talking - covering the strands conveying information, instructions and directions, talking in groups, talking about experiences, feelings and opinions, talking about texts, audience awareness, and knowledge about language.

Reading - covering the strands reading for information, reading for enjoyment, reading to
reflect on the writer's ideas and craft, awareness of genre, reading aloud, and knowledge about language.
.
Writing - covering the strands functional writing, personal writing, imaginative writing, punctuation
and structure, spelling, handwriting and presentation, and knowledge about language.
 

Learning and Teaching           The learning and teaching approaches used within Lionel School, together with coordinated planning, should enable pupils to study and understand the attainment outcomes and strands outlined within English, as follows:

Homework       The establishment of good study habits at an early age will contribute greatly towards the future educational success of pupils.  The most important support any parent can give to a student is to show a caring interest in the work done at home - provided the homework is not actually completed by the parent, the sharing of work can only be beneficial.  The school’s homework policy is complemented by advice from parentzonescotland.
 

Policy Handbook       The English Handbook contains detailed information about the work of the department.
 

Review            This policy was prepared in 2005 and will be reviewed in 2008.

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