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13/03/23

To celebrate the end of Careers Week, the children had the opportunity to apply for job positions around the school and become part of the Cooks Spinney staff. They all did a fantastic job and kept the staff in check. https://t.co/WD85pUma1d

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08/03/23

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

On International we’re celebrating Amber Wade 🎉 From Trainee Teacher to Head of School at 👏 https://t.co/2pEPzPmO9z

08/03/23

Thank you, Sue, for all you do here at Cooks Spinney! https://t.co/vd4QYJR8NU

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08/03/23

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

Notice: All BMAT Schools are open as usual this morning. Teams have been working to ensure sites are accessible and safe. ❄️ If anything changes schools will contact parents directly. Please take care travelling to and from school and wrap up warm. ⛄️ https://t.co/VPZayVxJ9a

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06/03/23

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
Jamie Johnson

Really enjoyed talking to the students at Cooks Spinney primary school about journalism as part of their careers week. Great questions on what it’s like to be a journalist - and plenty of interest in Harry Kane, Alligators and the war in Ukraine. https://t.co/Pv42yvedHl

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03/03/23

We thoroughly enjoyed celebrating ! The children had a fantastic day taking part in different activities based on the teachers' favourite books. Thank you to all of the families for the wonderful costumes! Have a lovely weekend and we'll see you on Monday! https://t.co/lh3VGdHyCc

03/03/23

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

As part of our strategy, we have launched our SEND parent forum. Find out more here 👇 https://t.co/sX63K3tvD1

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01/03/23

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

It's tomorrow! 👀 Keep an eye on our socials throughout the day to see what's happening in our schools 📚 https://t.co/hkBFxvPbo0

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24/02/23

We brought 2 teams to The Girls Tag Rugby Festival at The Harlow Rugby Club today. Both teams did amazingly well. Students played 4 games each against different schools. We are so proud of their performances. Miss Jordan https://t.co/RSfeeeJ6Tm

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10/02/23

Amazing Architects in Year 1! Jayden built this fantastic bridge as part of the Year 1 study into famous architects. https://t.co/yKsNBcv1gQ

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19/01/23

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

‼️TENDER OPPORTUNITY‼️ BMAT Education are inviting tenders for out of school hours hire of (Harlow) swimming pool 🏊 April '23 - Aug '26. For full details and tender pack please visit https://t.co/Qw7TwEWwjQ https://t.co/Bo3ZNoHrbp

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12/01/23

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

🕑 The deadline to apply for a primary school place in Essex is Sunday 15th January. 💻You can apply online at https://t.co/mSPxT0TdTV 🌟 Harlow 🌐 Harlow 🌳 Harlow 🏰 Stansted Mountfitchet 🌳 Roydon https://t.co/TkDxQXa1Ue

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10/01/23

Dear parents/carers, This half term we are running an exciting competition that we hope all the children in the school will get involved in. Please see the attached poster for full details. We look forward to seeing your photos! Good luck! https://t.co/bXwsasRdAk

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05/01/23

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

Happy New Year 🎉 and welcome back to our students across Essex and Newham! Starting 2023 with big smiles 😀 https://t.co/zqoPaQsRbe

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04/01/23

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

Happy New Year 🎉 This morning we welcomed back our teaching and support staff to our schools. 😀 Smiles all round as they prepare in anticipation of our students returning tomorrow. https://t.co/UbV199lNn9

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16/12/22

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

Merry Christmas to all our students, staff and families. We hope you enjoy the festive break. 🎅🎄❄️☃️ https://t.co/9nrG8Eb1dN

16/12/22

Children’s knowledge of famous works of art was commended during a gallery tour, as Year 3 pupils visited the National Gallery. https://t.co/zuMGJHMdjr

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30/11/22

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy & Nursery Retweeted
BMAT

Our friends at are hosting a Santa's Grotto 🎅 at the GPCA in Harlow on 10th December. Full info and booking on https://t.co/RAbXDxVPwx https://t.co/RgZ6IsZ1CO

24/11/22

Year 3 artists had an amazing time at the National Gallery seeing Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Rousseau (the tiger painting) Stubb's horse and much more. Their behaviour was exemplary and were a credit to the school. Please click on the link for a short video. https://t.co/xWAyTEoSKe

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17/11/22

England Rocks at Cooks Spinney! https://t.co/WqyMn4JwEV

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English

English is taught using our set texts for each year group. These texts have been selected specifically for our curriculum. 

The criteria for choosing the set texts are; cultural capital, challenge, vocabulary, variation and conceptual richness. We also consider how these texts build upon knowledge and concepts year after year. 

Here’s one example: Aesop’s Fables is read in year 1 - a culturally important, challenging text that teaches us that stories contain messages. This then leads to The Velveteen Rabbit in year 2 which moves us from moral to theme, and from fable to short story. This leads to Charlottes's Web in year 3 which develops the themes found in The Velveteen Rabbit i.e. the transformative power of love and is culturally significant and challenging. This then leads to Philip Pullman’s Clockwork in year 4; again the book develops the theme of love's transformative power but also introduces a contemporary writer and a meta-story within a story (an idea that will come up again and again in fiction). Ultimately, this reading route can carry our pupils to the most complex texts ever written.

Our Literacy Canon 

Please see below for a list of our set texts for the current academic year. A copy of each book will be provided to pupils for English lessons. 

Year 1 

The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers (2007)

Pirate Stories by Emma Young (2007)

The Story Tree by Hugh Lipton (2005)

Aesop's Fables retold by Michael Morpurgo (2004)

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (1990)

Selected Poems

Year 2

Poems on a Happy Theme - Selected Poets

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (1921)

The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton (1939)

Greek Myths retold by Geraldine McCaughrean (1993)

Look Inside Space by Rob Lloyd Jones (2012)

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (2014)

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (1922)

Year 3 

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (1968)

Traditional Tales by Various Authors

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (1952)

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou (1978)

The River by Valerie Bloom (2000)

Beowulf retold by Rob Lloyd Jones (2009)

The Street Beneath my Feet by Charlotte Guillain (2017)

Year 4 

Journey to Johannesburg by Beverley Naidoo (1985)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950)

Roman Diary – the Journal of Iliona – a Young Slave by Richard Platt (2014)

Clockwork by Philip Pullman (1996)

The Malfeasance by Alan Bond (1990)

Year 5 

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan (2000)

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (1845)

Kick! by Mitch Johnson (2017)

Holes by Louis Sacher (1998)

Tom's Midnight Garden by Phillipa Pearce (1958)

Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo (1999)

Year 6  

Skellig by David Almond (1998)

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798)

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (2011)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2008)

Letters From The Lighthouse by Emma Carroll (2017)

Selected Speeches including Martin Luther King and Malala Yousafzai

 

The Write Stuff 

In KS2, writing is taught using the highly successful 'The Write Stuff' approach by Jane Considine. This method allows pupils to improve their oracy and widen their vocabulary in every lesson, whilst deepening their understanding of writing choices. For more information about this approach, please click here

 

Specific Areas of Learning

Cooks Spinney's English curriculum focusses on the following areas of learning:

Language Development

We develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching; for pupils, understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum. Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects.

Speaking and Listening

Pupils are taught to speak clearly and convey ideas confidently using Standard English. They learn to justify ideas with reasons; ask questions to check understanding; develop vocabulary and build knowledge; negotiate; evaluate and build on the ideas of others; and select the appropriate register for effective communication.

Reading and Writing

Pupils are taught to read fluently, understand extended prose and are encouraged to read for pleasure. Classrooms are well stocked with fiction, non-fiction and poetry books; and we set ambitious expectations for reading at home. Pupils develop the stamina and skills to write at length, with accurate spelling and punctuation. They are taught the correct use of grammar. The writing they do includes narratives, explanations, descriptions, comparisons, summaries and evaluations: such writing supports them in rehearsing, understanding and consolidating what they have heard or read.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR english CURRICULUM PLEASE MAKE AN APPOINTMENT ON 01279 437590

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