Intent:

At Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, we believe that a high quality English curriculum will give our children the best possible chance to become competent communicators and thinkers, who love reading and writing. We advocate that children in EYFS and Year 1 use phonics as the first strategy for decoding unfamiliar words. We provide a rigorous and well-organised English curriculum that is underpinned with high quality texts to support our children to develop a rich and varied vocabulary. These progressive texts are used to teach children to write with grammatical accuracy, apply spelling patterns and produce a range of independent writing that is celebrated for each individual child. Our staff model writing using neat handwriting and expose our children to a wide range of vocabulary, providing them with opportunities to apply their language skills. By the time they leave our school, we want every child to be a confident reader, who can read fluently and widely, expressing their preferences and opinions.

Subject Leader - Mrs Speke 

Our writing curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. We follow the award-winning Ready Steady Write from Literacy Counts to develop confident, independent and successful writers with high aspirations.

Our writing curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, carefully designed to support all children to master the foundational skills and write for a clear audience and purpose. Through the use of high-quality, vocabulary-rich texts, we provide exciting and meaningful reasons to write. Children are immersed in literature and taught to craft their writing with precision, using a range of pedagogical approaches, including sentence accuracy, modelled writing and shared writing, as well as regular opportunities for editing.

We value spoken language as a foundation for writing. Through structured talk, drama and vocabulary exploration, children learn how to organise and express their ideas clearly before writing them down. Our aim is for every child – regardless of need – to write fluently and take pride in their work. We want our pupils to leave primary school as enthusiastic writers, ready for the next stage of their education.

Impact

At our school we understand that reading is an essential skill for life and so we strive to ensure that our children:

  •  - Are confident and skilled decoders and interpreters of the written word.

 - Understand its vital importance to the success of their education and future life.

- Develop the foundations of a life-long love of literature.

Implementation:

Phonics EYFS-Y1

The teaching and learning of phonics is the core purpose of the Reception Year. We teach phonics as the key strategy to decoding through the careful, consistent implementation of our phonics programme, Little Wandle. Children read sounds and blend them into words using the Little Wandle scheme. Children practise building fluency and expression using books that are closely matched to their phonic knowledge and ability. For more information see the tab on our school website under Pupil Learning > Early Reading and Phonics.

Shared Reading EYFS-Y1

We teach a structured shared reading lesson daily to ensure children can access the vocabulary and meaning of the text before they apply their reading skills. We ensure there is a balance of text types which engage and excite our children. In KS1 and Foundation Stage, pupils can be given up to two of our Big Cat phonics books and these are changed weekly. For more information see the tab on our school website under Pupil Learning > Early Reading and Phonics.

Reading Y2 - Y6

At Sacred Heart we teach our English curriculum using the Literacy Counts, Read to Write Scheme. These units of work are adapted to meet the needs of our children and inspire our children through high quality literature. All year groups immerse themselves in a new ‘vehicle text’ each half term; this vocabulary-rich text drives learning and hosts a wealth of writing opportunities across the curriculum.

In KS2, pupils select a book from our Accelerated Reader selection (please see Accelerated Reader pdf. for more information) based on their reading ability and are free to change their book after completing it and taking a short quiz which formatively assesses their understanding of what they have read.

At Sacred Heart, it is incredibly important to us that our pupils share our love of reading which is why classrooms at Sacred Heart have designated reading areas where children can access a wide range of texts including: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and comics and magazines. These inviting, calm spaces allow children to enjoy reading for pleasure and develop a real respect for books and literature. Adults model reading to children daily. Children also have the opportunity to regularly visit our school library, our local library and our outdoor reading areas. We often invite mystery readers into our school to share their love of literature with our pupils and we never hesitate to celebrate special occasions such as World Book Day and other literary events such as National Poetry Day.

Writing

Our writing curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. We follow the award-winning Ready Steady Write from Literacy Counts to develop confident, independent and successful writers with high aspirations. Our writing curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, carefully designed to support all children to master the foundational skills and write for a clear audience and purpose. Through the use of high-quality, vocabulary-rich texts, we provide exciting and meaningful reasons to write. Children are immersed in literature and taught to craft their writing with precision, using a range of pedagogical approaches, including sentence accuracy, modelled writing and shared writing, as well as regular opportunities for editing.

We value spoken language as a foundation for writing. Through structured talk, drama and vocabulary exploration, children learn how to organise and express their ideas clearly before writing them down. Our aim is for every child – regardless of need – to write fluently and take pride in their work. We want our pupils to leave primary school as enthusiastic writers, ready for the next stage of their education.

Spelling

Our spelling curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. We follow the award-recognised Ready Steady Spell by Literacy Counts to ensure that all pupils become fluent, accurate spellers. Our spelling curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, helping children secure the essential skills and strategies they need to spell confidently across the curriculum. Through engaging activities, consistent teaching routines and regular opportunities to revisit prior learning, we help children move spelling knowledge into their long-term memory.

Our aim is to build confident writers who are equipped with the tools they need to communicate clearly and effectively. Spelling is taught in a clear and systematic way, with regular reviews and assessments. Additional support is provided through Ready Steady Spell: Go sessions, which offer targeted intervention for pupils who need further consolidation.

Handwriting

Handwriting is taught explicitly in EYFS using Read Write Inc letter formation. Handwriting is taught explicitly from Year 1 - Year 6 using Letter-Join. Children in KS1 use pre-cursive handwriting and KS2 are taught cursive handwriting.