THE STANWAY SCHOOL
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
English is the lead department in our Humanities specialism. The team has worked
extremely hard to raise standards and continue to receive good results. Results at both key
stages are above national average.
The department has drawn on the experience and expertise of its members to develop
resources. Through sharing ideas and working together, a range of interesting and attractive
teaching materials have been developed and there is room for enthusiastic members to
contribute new ideas to further develop the new syllabus and move the department forward.
All resources are stored centrally to allow for easy access and maximum flexibility and
support for the staff who wish to use them.
The school follows a one-week timetable and each period is 50 minutes long. Years 7 to 11
are allocated four periods per week for English.
The English department is housed within eight classrooms and is based on the first floor of
the main school building. Most full time teaching staff have their own dedicated classroom;
there is also a large, well equipped combined work and social area in the middle of this floor
which is shared by all staff who teach on this level. There is a central stock room for English
which are conveniently situated between the classrooms, offering storage for class sets of
teaching materials and also additional storage space for personal resources.
The department is well-resourced with course books, literary texts and a variety of teaching
materials. Dictionaries and Thesauruses are available in each teaching room and seven rooms
are equipped with Interactive Whiteboards and integrated DVD/video players.
TEACHING GROUPS
At present students are taught in sets for both Key Stage 3 and for the GCSE English and
English Literature courses in Years 10 and 11.
GCSE groups are organised on the basis of teacher assessments and the suitability of the
student to the two specified tiers of entry identified in the GCSE syllabi.
THE OUTCOMES
Students in years 7, 8 and 9 also have a Reading Record diary, in which they are expected to
complete and record 30 minutes of reading at home each week. This record is signed by the
parent and monitored by the class teacher and one lesson a week is dedicated to either the
Accelerated Reader programme, which is an initiative based on improving reading ability for
students who find reading more challenging, or private reading.
Within the department we are currently reviewing our Schemes of Work for KS3 to bring
them in line with the new National Curriculum. A number of them are already in place but
there is always room to collaborate with a dynamic and receptive team. Similarly, KS4
continues to undergo change due to the changes being introduced to the curriculum.
ASSESSMENT
Our assessment procedures are based on:

formative procedures where students are involved. For example:
a. All students are encouraged to plan and draft their work before the completion of a
final, ‘best’ copy. This enables the student to involve the teacher during the planning
stage, get advice and help and alert the teacher to difficulties and individual needs.
b. The student's completed work is marked by the teacher using the new assessment
without levels guidance for Reading, Writing or Speaking and Listening as appropriate.
Skill based targets will be set at the end of each piece of work according to the student’s
individual data/flightpath, to allow them to take responsibility for their own progress.
AWL is in place cross many of the Schemes of Work and is expected to be varied every
half term.
c. AWL is being used across the department to encourage self and peer assessment and a
more collaborative approach to learning.
d. A whole school marking policy has been in place since September 2011.

summative procedures are in place where teacher assessed coursework and assignments,
completed under supervised classroom conditions, and the end of Key Stage 3 tests are
marked against specific AWL skills and GCSE criteria as appropriate.
The Thomas Lord Audley School
English Department
The English department is committed to raising standards, increasing progress for all
students and is seeing the benefit of this in lessons and achievement.
The department has a wealth of experience and work effectively as a team to keep
developing and supporting each other. Sharing of good practice, ideas and working
together, a range of interesting and attractive teaching materials are highly valued
and new ideas are welcomed.
We have embraced the changes to the national curriculum and all schemes of work
are linked to the new number Grading system and Assessment Foci.
The school follows a one-week timetable and each period is 50 minutes long, with
Years 7 to 11 allocated four periods per week for English.
The department enjoys close links with the library, with all Year 7 students following
a comprehensive induction process. Also, in Years 7 and 8 students follow an ICT
based reading scheme (Accelerated Reader) that has resulted in significant
improvements in reading ages.
The English department is housed within six classrooms and is based in the main
block of the school building. All full time teaching staff have their own dedicated
classroom; there is also a large, well equipped work room. There are three central
stock rooms for English which are conveniently situated between the classrooms,
offering storage for class sets of teaching materials and also additional storage
space for personal resources.
The department is well-resourced with course books, literary texts and a variety of
teaching materials. Dictionaries and Thesauruses are available in each teaching
room and all five rooms have Interactive Whiteboards or Smart TVs.
The department is involved in the training of SCITT students, who are attached to
classes across the department.
At present students are taught in sets for both Key Stage 3 and for the GCSE
English and English Literature courses in Years 10 and 11. Key Stage 3 setting
arrangements are based on National Curriculum levels and teacher assessment.
GCSE groups are organised on the basis of Year 9 teacher assessments, as well as
KS2 entry levels and the suitability of the student to GCSE specifications on offer.