Intent

At our school, we aim to develop confident, articulate and thoughtful readers and writers who can communicate effectively for a wide range of purposes and audiences. We want children to develop a genuine love of language and literature and to see themselves as successful communicators.

Through high quality teaching and rich exposure to language, we ensure that pupils: 

• Become fluent readers who understand and respond to a wide range of texts
• Develop strong phonics knowledge and secure spelling skills
• Write with accuracy, creativity and control
• Use ambitious vocabulary and well-structured sentences to express ideas clearly
• Develop confidence in speaking and listening so they can share ideas and explain their thinking

We aim for every child to leave each stage of their education with the literacy skills needed to succeed across the curriculum and beyond school.

Implementation

Reading and writing are taught daily through a carefully structured and progressive curriculum that builds knowledge and skills over time.

^{Speaking and Listening}

• Structured opportunities for discussion, explanation and presentation across the curriculum
• Encouragement of confident spoken language using accurate and expanding vocabulary
• Use of talk to support thinking, reasoning and writing development

^Reading

• Daily phonics teaching in Early Years and Key Stage 1 using a systematic synthetic phonics approach
• Regular guided and shared reading sessions to develop fluency, comprehension and vocabulary
• Exposure to high quality texts, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry
• Structured progression in comprehension skills including retrieval inference and evaluation
• Encouragement of reading at home to build fluency and enjoyment

^Writing

• Clear and systematic teaching of transcription skills, including spelling, punctuation and handwriting
• Explicit teaching of grammar and sentence structure applied within meaningful writing contexts
• Opportunities to write for a range of purposes including narrative non-fiction and poetry
• A writing process that includes planning, drafting, editing and improving
• Emphasis on vocabulary development and ambitious word choices

^{Adaptive Teaching}

• Teaching is carefully adapted to meet the needs of all learners so that every child can access and succeed within the curriculum.
• Scaffolds such as sentence stems, visual prompts and vocabulary support are used to support pupils who need additional structure.
• Challenge is built in through deepening tasks, richer vocabulary expectations and greater independence in writing.
• Timely intervention and targeted support ensure gaps are identified and addressed quickly.
• Pupils are grouped flexibly where appropriate to support progression and confidence

Impact

By the end of each key stage, pupils will
• Read fluently and with understanding across a range of genres
• Demonstrate secure phonics knowledge and effective spelling strategies
• Write clearly, coherently and with increasing sophistication
• Use ambitious vocabulary and accurate grammar in both spoken and written language
• Show confidence in discussing and explaining their ideas
• Develop a positive attitude towards reading and writing and a lifelong enjoyment of language

Assessment is ongoing and used to inform teaching, ensuring that all pupils make strong progress from their starting points and are well-prepared for the next stage of their education.

Song of Sounds Phonics Scheme

We use the Song of Sounds phonics scheme to teach early reading and spelling. It is a systematic, synthetic phonics programme that helps children learn the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and their written letters (graphemes) in a clear and structured way.

Children are taught to recognise, say, read and write sounds through daily lessons, songs and repeated practice. This multisensory approach helps pupils to build strong foundations in decoding words for reading and encoding words for spelling.

As children progress, they apply their phonics knowledge to read books that are closely matched to the sounds taught, helping them to develop fluency, confidence and enjoyment in reading from an early stage.

Parents are supported through guidance on how to practise sounds at home, so learning can be reinforced beyond the classroom.

We nurture confident, fluent and enthusiastic readers who engage thoughtfully with a rich and varied range of texts. Through high-quality daily reading experiences including phonics, shared reading, guided reading and independent reading, children are supported to develop strong comprehension, broaden their vocabulary and deepen their understanding of what they read.

We view writing as a powerful form of intellectual expression. We aim to develop articulate, confident and imaginative writers who can shape language with precision, purpose and flair. Writing is not simply a skill to be mastered but a craft to be refined over time, enabling children to communicate ideas with clarity, sophistication and individuality.

Our handwriting curriculum is designed to develop fluent, legible and confident writers who take pride in the presentation of their work. From the earliest stages, children are taught correct letter formation using a consistent and structured approach with a clear focus on posture, pencil grip and letter orientation.

As pupils progress, they are taught to join their handwriting in a neat and efficient style which supports both speed and accuracy in writing. Regular practice ensures that handwriting becomes automatic, allowing children to focus on the content and quality of their writing.

Teaching is adapted to meet individual needs so that all pupils can develop secure handwriting habits at an appropriate pace. This includes targeted support for those who need additional practice and appropriate challenge for those ready to refine fluency, consistency and speed.

We place high importance on presentation and expect all children to produce work that is tidy, consistent and reflective of their best effort.