Our Approach to English
At our school, English is at the heart of the curriculum.  We believe that strong oracy, reading, writing, spelling and hadndwriting skills empower children to access the wider curriculum and to express themselves with confidence.  Or approach to English is carefully structured, progressive and inclusive, and is rooted in our ACORN values of Ambition, Community, Opportunity, Resilience and Nurture.

Oracy (Speaking and Listening)
Oracy sits at the heart of our English curriculum and underpins both reading and writing.  We believe that confident speaking and attentive listening are essential life skills that enable pupils to articulate their ideas, deepen their understanding and engage meaningfully with others.
Pupils are provided with regular and purposeful opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills across all areas of the curriculum.  Through high-quality talk, we nurture confidence, build  resilience and foster a strong sense of community within the classroom.

Developing Oracy Skills
Pupils are explicity taught key oracy skills, including:
Speaking clearly and confidently
Listening actively and respectfully
Using appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures
Building on and responding to the ideas of others
Adapting speech for different audiences and purposes.

Oracy in Practice
Opportunities to develop oracy include:
Poetry recitals and performances
Structured debates and discussions
Drama and performance linked to class texts
Partner, group and whole-class talk
Daily classroom practice focused on questionning, explanation and reflection.

These experiences provide children with the opportunity to express themselves, challenge ideas and develop ambitious use of language, prparing them to become confident communicators both in and beyond the school.

Reading
Early Reading and Phonics
In the early stages, children learn to read through the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme. This systematic and structured approach ensures that pupils rapidly develop secure decoding skills and a strong foundation in early reading. Through this approach, we nurture confidence and resilience, enabling children to become independent readers.

Whole School Reading and Comprehension
As children progress, we adopt a whole-school approach to reading comprehension. Vocabulary and comprehension skills are explicitly taught and developed progressively across year groups, ensuring that pupils are ambitious readers who can engage with increasingly challenging texts. This reflects our value of Ambition, as children are supported to deepen their understanding and broaden their language.

Reading for Pleasure
Teachers read aloud to their class every day using pre-set, high-quality class texts that are carefully chosen to reflect diversity, different cultures and experiences. This shared reading experience builds a strong sense of Community and helps children see themselves and others reflected in literature.

Children are actively encouraged to read for pleasure. Our school library is organised by genre, giving pupils the opportunity to explore a wide range of texts, discover new authors and develop lifelong reading habits.

Writing
Writing Through Quality Texts
Our writing curriculum is closely linked to our class texts, ensuring that children are immersed in rich language and strong models of writing. In the lower school, the focus is on developing accurate spelling and handwriting, supported by high-quality literature and carefully chosen texts that inspire young writers.

The Writing Process
As pupils become more confident, they are taught to write through a clear and consistent process:
Read and respond
Prepare
Plan
Draft and write
Edit
Publish

This structured approach builds resilience, teaching children that writing is a process which improves through reflection and revision. Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation expectations are clearly set out for each year group, supporting progression and ambition for high standards.

Spelling
Spelling is taught through the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme in the lower school, ensuring strong links between phonics and early spelling.

As children become more confident spellers, we introduce the Spelling Shed scheme alongside regular practice of common exception words. This provides children with repeated opportunities to practise, apply and secure their spelling knowledge across the curriculum.

Handwriting
Handwriting is taught daily and progressively across the school. Pupils begin with the Read Write Inc. Handwriting programme and are gradually introduced to cursive handwriting. This carefully sequenced approach ensures that handwriting skills are secure, fluent and legible, while also nurturing pride in presentation and written work.

Our ACORN Values in English
Through our English curriculum, we aim to:
Foster Ambition by developing confident, articulate readers and writers
Build Community through shared texts and inclusive literature
Provide Opportunity for all children to access a rich and varied English curriculum
Develop Resilience through structured practice, editing and reflection
Nurture a lifelong love of reading, writing and language

English at our school equips children with the skills, confidence and curiosity they need to succeed, both academically and beyond the classroom.