English

At St Francis Church of England Primary School and Nursery, we believe that children should develop skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. It enables them to express themselves creatively and imaginatively and to communicate with others effectively. The aim for our English curriculum is to promote high standards of literacy by equipping children with a strong command of the written and spoken word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. Our curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding;
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information;
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions of reading, writing and spoken language;
• appreciate our rich and varied literacy heritage;
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences;
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas.

Speaking and Listening

We believe that the quality and variety of language that the children hear and speak are vital for developing their vocabulary, grammar and their understanding of reading and writing. We ensure the children’s continual development of their confidence and competence in spoken language. All children are screened on entrance to our school using the Wellcomm toolkit. This identifies any early needs which allows interventions to be put into place immediately. At St Francis, we are very aware of the importance of oracy as a limited vocabulary has been shown to impact educational attainment. In contrast, a wide vocabulary impacts positively on reading comprehension and the ability to make inferences. It enables pupils to make sense of what they are reading. Teaching oracy skills helps children who may be struggling to work or play well with others.

Writing

At our school, we use Literacy Tree as a key driver for our English curriculum, placing high-quality, diverse children’s literature at the heart of all learning. This approach enables our pupils to immerse themselves in rich, engaging texts that not only capture their imagination but also provide meaningful contexts for developing essential literacy skills. By centring our teaching around carefully selected books, we ensure that children experience a wide range of authors, themes, and perspectives, helping to nurture both a love of reading and a deeper understanding of the world around them.

Through structured and progressive sequences of learning, Literacy Tree supports pupils in developing their skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in a cohesive and purposeful way. Each unit is designed to build knowledge and skills over time, allowing children to explore texts in depth, analyse language, and understand how authors craft their work. Writing opportunities are meaningful and engaging, with clear purposes and audiences, enabling pupils to see themselves as real writers.

In writing, we place equal importance on both composition and transcription. Composition is developed through rich discussion, drama, and oral rehearsal, enabling pupils to plan, structure, and articulate their ideas with increasing clarity and creativity. Children are taught to consider purpose, audience, and form, and to refine their work through editing and redrafting. Alongside this, transcription skills are explicitly taught and practised, including spelling, handwriting, and punctuation. Pupils are supported to develop fluent, legible handwriting and accurate spelling through systematic teaching and regular practice, ensuring that the physical process of writing becomes increasingly automatic and does not limit their ability to express ideas.

Our use of Literacy Tree also places a strong emphasis on vocabulary development, creativity, and critical thinking. Children are encouraged to discuss, question, and reflect on what they read, helping them to become confident communicators who can express their ideas clearly and thoughtfully. Teachers adapt lessons to meet the needs of all learners, ensuring that every child is supported and challenged to achieve their full potential.

Ultimately, Literacy Tree helps us to create a vibrant and inclusive English curriculum where all children can succeed. By fostering enthusiasm for reading and writing from an early age, we aim to equip our pupils with the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need for their future learning and beyond.

Transcription

Nelson Handwriting is used throughout school and is taught during a dedicated weekly lesson throughout Key Stage One and Two. In EYFS, the children are taught letter rhymes that help them recall how to correctly form each letter. These are taught in line with our phonics scheme, ELS, and begin during their first weeks in school.

Spelling

Across the school, we use the ELS (Essential Letters and Sounds) approach to ensure the consistent and systematic teaching of spelling. This builds on pupils’ early phonics knowledge and provides a clear progression in spelling skills as they move through the school. By using a whole-school approach, we ensure continuity and consistency, enabling children to apply their understanding with increasing confidence and accuracy.

Spelling is taught explicitly and regularly, with a focus on developing pupils’ understanding of phonics, spelling patterns, and rules. Children are supported to make connections between sounds and letter patterns, helping them to become more confident in both encoding (spelling) and decoding (reading). As pupils progress, they are introduced to more complex spelling conventions, including morphology and etymology, enabling them to understand how words are constructed and how spelling links to meaning.

Opportunities to practise and apply spelling are carefully planned across the curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to use their spelling knowledge independently in their writing, supported by strategies such as editing, proofreading, and the use of word banks or displays where appropriate. Teachers provide targeted support and feedback to address misconceptions and ensure that all pupils make strong progress.

Through our use of ELS, we aim to develop confident, accurate spellers who can apply their knowledge across all areas of the curriculum. This consistent approach supports pupils in becoming fluent writers, ensuring that transcription skills do not limit their ability to communicate ideas effectively.

Reading

Early reading and phonics

• Essential Letters and Sounds phonics programme

Supporting Reading at Home

• Children will only read books that are entirely decodable, this means that they should be able to read these books as they already know the code contained within the book.
• We only use pure sounds when decoding words (no ‘uh’ after the sound)
• We want children to practise reading their book 4 times across the week working on these skills:
• Decode – sounding out and blending to read the word.
• Fluency – reading words with less obvious decoding.
• Expression – using intonation and expression to bring the text to life!

We must use pure sounds when we are pronouncing the sounds and supporting children in reading words. If we mispronounce these sounds, we will make reading harder for our children. Please watch the videos below for how to accurately pronounce these sounds.

At the beginning of each academic year, we will hold an information session for parents and carers to find out more about what we do for Phonics, Reading and English at our school.  Please do join us.

Reading after phonics and in KS2

Once children are fluent in their phonic knowledge and are able to decode a wider variety of texts, they will be assessed and placed on the corresponding coloured book band. Children are expected to practise their reading both at school and at home and once they are showing the necessary fluency, they will be moved up to the next coloured book band. We always encourage children to also enjoy a ‘choice’ book. This may be from home, the public or school library and should be enjoyed with the adults at home (until it can be accessed independently).

The coloured book bands continue throughout school and help your child to choose and access books that are appropriate to their reading level. The banded scheme ensures children are given the opportunity to choose books of different text types as well as from a range of authors. These should be accessed alongside the children’s own ‘free reader’ choice book.

Reading lessons

We are developing our approach to teaching guided reading by using evidence-based research from Christopher Such. Our timetables for guided reading include fluency practice, extended reading and close reading. Guided reading lessons are taught on a whole-class basis, using quality, age-appropriate texts from a variety of authors.

As such our Reading lessons follow the following structures:

1. Fluency Read
2. Extended Read (increase reading experience)
3. Close Read (discuss texts in depth)
4. Shared reading (story time/reading for pleasure)

Every class across school teaches phonics/reading on a daily basis and enjoys a dedicated slot to read for pleasure.