Learning & Curriculum
Subjects

English

Link to English Progression Plan (KS3)

Link to English Language Progression Plan (KS4)

Link to English Literature Progression Plan (KS4 & KS5)

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Link to Year 7 English In Year Progression Plan

Link to Year 8 English In Year Progression Plan

Link to Year 9 English In Year Progression Plan

Assessment

Reading

Students are assessed for their ability to understand, interpret and analyse texts. Students will be given a single lesson to plan and write a response prompted by a question on either a character, relationship or theme that they are studying. Students will be provided with an extract to prompt their ideas. Class teachers mark these assessments and allow students to redraft and improve using focused feedback.

Writing

Students are assessed for their ability to write appropriately to task. If students are completing transactional piece such as letters then they will be assessed on their ability to write for purpose, audience and form. If students are writing imaginatively then they are assessed for their ability to utilise language and structure to form stories or descriptions. Students in Years 7 and 8 are provided the assessment question at the start of each term, they are then allowed to plan for ten minutes each week before writing their full response in a single lesson. Students in Year 9 are not provided the assessment ahead of time, they are expected to plan and write a full response in a single lesson to replicate the later examination process. Class teachers mark these assessments and allow students to redraft and improve using focused feedback.

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Bedrock Learning

We have invested in a wonderful online programme called Bedrock. This is an online programme where your child can access both non-fiction and fiction texts to improve their reading skills and learn new vocabulary that will enhance the way they read, speak and write across all of their subjects. As your child progresses through the Bedrock curriculum, they will study hundreds of new words.

After multiple lockdowns and missed learning time, students’ ability to read will have been hindered and the word gap will have increased. Pupils have had far fewer opportunities to, and exposed to, appropriate reading resources. Research has shown that there is a direct link between a student’s vocabulary size and their academic achievement. Children with a wider vocabulary make faster progress at school, in further education and beyond. Narrow vocabularies affect directly students’ grades. Following the two national lockdowns, helping students to improve and widen their academic vocabularies is essential if standards and outcomes are to improve.

Students will complete 2 lessons of Bedrock per week. Students will have 7 days to complete both lessons. Your child will need to leave 24 hours between each online lesson as the program is designed to develop memory retention. The work will be set as homework by their English teacher. This means that their English teacher will be monitoring the completion. The website to log in is here: https://app.bedrocklearning.org/

When students first log in they will be asked to complete an alpha test. This must be completed on their own as it means that the programme is designed around them.

Individual login details can be found by calling reception which have this. All students have their Bedrock passwords displayed in their classrooms also.

Please log in to the website above and have a look around. Your child’s English teacher will go through this in class with them but there are guides for parents and carers on the school website too.

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How can parents help?

1. Sit through one Bedrock lesson with your child. You’ll get a clear idea of how long it should take them and the level they should be working at.

2. If you have not done so already, create your Bedrock parent account. You will require the access code sent to you from Harris Merton by email and the student code sent to your child’s email address. Click HERE to download the Bedrock parent guide, if you need help.

3. Check the Vocab Notebook and the recent activity report to monitor your child’s progress. Congratulate them when they complete a topic- this will keep them motivated through the next one!

Harris Merton Competition

Each week students are celebrated in school and their names are displayed in the hallway of the English corridor as models of excellence. Each term, the top 10 performing students will receive an award and certificate and at the end of the year, the top three will receive a £25 Amazon voucher.

If you have any further questions about this programme then please direct them to info@harrismerton.org.uk and you will be directed to the Bedrock Lead.