In NSW, your ATAR is based on an aggregate of scaled marks in 10 units of HSC courses comprising your:
best 2 units of English
best 8 units from your remaining units, which can include no more than 2 units of Category B courses. (Note that from 2025 there will be no distinction between Category A and Category B courses.)
so basically, english is always included in the atar calculation: the remaining 8 units used in the calculation will be your best performing units aside from the mandatory 2 units of english