English
Reading Rationale
At St Luke’s CE Primary, we are readers. We want our children to develop a lifelong love of reading and to see themselves as readers with limitless potential. We aspire for our pupils to grow up inspired to become authors, journalists, poets, teachers and communicators who use language confidently and purposefully.
Our reading curriculum has been carefully designed to develop pupils’ word reading, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension knowledge so that they become confident readers, speakers and writers. Pupils are encouraged to read widely across a broad range of high-quality and diverse texts and to discuss, recommend and reflect upon the books they enjoy.
Intent
At St Luke’s CE Primary School, from Early Years to Year 6, our English curriculum is designed to develop children’s love of reading, writing and spoken language while preparing them to become successful, responsible and articulate members of society. We place high-quality literature at the heart of our curriculum to inspire curiosity, creativity and a deep appreciation of language.
We nurture a culture where children take pride in their writing, communicate clearly and confidently, and adapt their language and style for a range of audiences and purposes. We encourage pupils to become confident speakers and active listeners who use discussion to deepen understanding and support learning across the curriculum.
We aim to develop children’s word-reading and comprehension strategies so that they can access the wider curriculum and develop a lifelong love of reading. From the moment children begin their journey in Reception, we prioritise early reading through the systematic teaching of phonics and high-quality language-rich interactions. As pupils progress, comprehension skills are developed through carefully planned discussions around ambitious and engaging texts.
At St Luke’s, we recognise the strong connection between reading, vocabulary development, spelling, handwriting and writing. Alongside the teaching of phonics in Early Years and Year 1, spelling is taught through a morphological approach from Year 2 onwards. This enables pupils to understand how words are constructed and supports them in becoming accurate and confident spellers. Children learn to break words into morphemes — the smallest units of meaning — including roots, prefixes and suffixes. Through the exploration of morphology, etymology and word families, pupils develop a deeper understanding of vocabulary, spelling patterns and the origins of language. This approach strengthens spelling accuracy, broadens vocabulary and supports reading comprehension across the curriculum.
In addition, we use the Read Write Inc. handwriting programme consistently throughout the school to develop fluent, legible and automatic handwriting. Alongside our morphological approach to spelling, this strengthens pupils’ transcription skills through daily short practice sessions. These sessions focus on developing correct letter formation, joins and fluency, while encouraging children to memorise spelling patterns and sentence structures rather than relying on copying. This promotes accuracy, automaticity and confidence, enabling pupils to focus more effectively on composition and content in their writing.
Once children have secured phonics, they take a Star Assessment to identify their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) as part of our Accelerated Reader programme. We place a strong emphasis on the application of English skills across the wider curriculum, ensuring pupils can articulate their knowledge and understanding through discussion, reading and high-quality writing in subjects such as science, geography and history.
In Reception, children develop communication, language and literacy skills through carefully planned continuous provision. Writing and mark-making opportunities are embedded throughout the indoor and outdoor environments, encouraging children to apply their phonic knowledge in meaningful contexts across all areas of learning.
Careers in English
In our English curriculum, we aim to show children how communication skills are essential within the wider world and across a wide range of careers. Through reading, writing, speaking and listening, pupils learn how language enables people to express ideas, solve problems, collaborate effectively and influence others.
We encourage children to explore how English skills are used in careers such as journalism, publishing, teaching, law, marketing, broadcasting, acting and public services. Pupils learn that strong communication skills are valuable in almost every profession.
Throughout their learning, children will:
- discover how English is used in different careers and industries
- understand the importance of effective communication in sharing ideas and solving problems
- develop confidence in presenting ideas, performing, debating and collaborating
- apply reading and writing skills across a range of purposeful contexts
- recognise how strong literacy skills can open doors to future opportunities
By the end of their primary education, pupils will understand the importance of English within the wider world and feel inspired to continue developing their language and communication skills.
Implementation
Reading and writing are taught through carefully selected, high-quality texts which are often linked to wider curriculum topics. These texts act as a stimulus for learning and inspire pupils to read, write, discuss and think critically. We believe that engaging contexts and meaningful learning experiences are essential in fostering a love of reading and writing.
Our English lessons develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, spelling and handwriting. Children are taught how to write effectively within a range of genres while developing an understanding of the structural and language features needed to communicate successfully.
Writing
Writing Rationale
At St Luke’s, we are writers. Using high-quality texts as stimuli and a consistent approach to teaching writing through The Write Stuff approach, we inspire children to enjoy writing and see themselves as authors. We place great importance on the core components of writing, including grammar, handwriting, vocabulary, composition, punctuation and spelling, enabling pupils to communicate clearly, creatively and effectively.
Our writing curriculum is carefully sequenced to develop confident, fluent and articulate writers. Through explicit modelling, carefully scaffolded practice and opportunities for independent application, pupils learn how to craft writing for a range of audiences and purposes. High-quality texts are used as models to expose children to rich vocabulary, varied sentence structures and effective authorial techniques. As pupils progress through school, they increasingly develop their own writer’s voice and style.
At St Luke’s, we recognise the strong relationship between reading, vocabulary development and writing success. Alongside the teaching of phonics in Early Years and Year 1, spelling is taught through a morphological approach from Year 2 onwards. This enables pupils to understand how words are constructed and supports them in becoming accurate and confident spellers. Children learn to break words down into morphemes — the smallest units of meaning — including roots, prefixes and suffixes. Through the exploration of morphology, etymology and word families, pupils develop a deeper understanding of word meaning, spelling patterns and the origins of language. This approach strengthens spelling accuracy, broadens vocabulary and supports reading comprehension across the curriculum.
In Reception and Year 1, carefully planned continuous provision allows children to build strong foundations for writing development. Both the indoor and outdoor environments foster curiosity, communication and purposeful mark making through play. Skilled practitioners support and extend learning opportunities across all areas of provision, ensuring children apply their phonic knowledge within meaningful contexts. Writing and mark-making opportunities are carefully embedded throughout the environment to engage and inspire children to communicate independently.
We also want our pupils to articulate their knowledge and understanding across the wider curriculum through high-quality academic writing. By providing purposeful opportunities to write in subjects such as science, geography and history, pupils learn how to organise and communicate their thinking clearly, coherently and confidently.
Writing Implementation
In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, we use the Grammasaurus Place Value of Punctuation and Grammar units at the beginning of the academic year to secure the fundamental grammar and sentence skills required for effective writing. Following this, writing is taught through The Write Stuff approach by Jane Considine, using carefully selected units that ensure progression, challenge and full coverage of the National Curriculum.
This approach supports pupils in developing the key areas of writing identified nationally as barriers to progress, while also placing a strong emphasis on vocabulary development and sentence construction. Lessons are broken down into manageable chunks to support children at the point of writing and reduce cognitive overload. Teaching is built around three key elements:
- Engage – immersing children in high-quality texts and developing ambitious vocabulary
- Model – explicit teacher modelling of writing skills and composition
- Enable – opportunities for pupils to practise, apply and refine their writing independently
From Year 2 onwards, spelling is taught through a structured morphological approach. Pupils explore the relationship between spelling, meaning and word structure through the teaching of roots, prefixes, suffixes and etymology. This supports children in understanding why words are spelt in particular ways, rather than relying solely on memorisation. The curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure progression and opportunities to revisit prior learning, enabling pupils to make meaningful connections between words and apply their understanding across reading and writing.
We aim to help children develop the following skills as they progress through the writing curriculum at St Luke’s:
- identify the audience and purpose for writing and select appropriate forms
- develop and refine ideas through reading, discussion and research
- write narratives inspired by high-quality literature and language models
- select ambitious vocabulary and grammatical structures to enhance meaning
- describe settings, characters and atmosphere effectively
- use dialogue purposefully to convey character and advance action
- build cohesion within and across paragraphs
- structure writing effectively using organisational devices such as headings, bullet points and subheadings
- evaluate and edit their own and others’ writing
- make purposeful changes to vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to improve clarity and effect
- write with increasing accuracy in spelling, tense and subject-verb agreement
- adapt language and register appropriately for different audiences and contexts
Pupils also regularly apply their writing skills across the wider curriculum through carefully planned topic essays in science, geography and history. These extended pieces allow children to articulate their knowledge clearly and coherently while applying the writing skills they have developed in English lessons.
Our grammar, spelling and handwriting curriculum maps ensure that pupils are taught age-related content progressively while revisiting and embedding prior learning. Through this carefully sequenced approach, pupils develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to become successful writers across the curriculum and beyond school.
Reading
Throughout Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, English is taught through high-quality picture books, novels, poetry and non-fiction texts that engage pupils through a wide range of teaching approaches. We use carefully selected texts and resources to motivate and inspire children to become enthusiastic readers.
As children begin their reading journey in Reception, we balance reading for pleasure with the teaching of early reading skills to ensure children develop accurate and fluent decoding skills. At St Luke’s, the systematic teaching of phonics is prioritised within Early Years and Key Stage 1 through the Read Write Inc. (RWI) synthetic phonics programme developed by Ruth Miskin. Children are encouraged to ‘keep up, not catch up’ through targeted interventions and daily fast-track tutoring where appropriate.
Alongside phonics teaching, Reception and Year 1 promote reading for pleasure through daily story sessions and carefully planned books within continuous provision. In Reception, high-quality picture books are used as part of the Read Write Inc. Talk Through Stories programme to develop vocabulary and oral language comprehension.
Within continuous provision, high-quality books are accessible across all areas of learning. Children are encouraged to retell familiar stories, discuss illustrations and apply their understanding through play and exploration.
For early readers and pupils still accessing phonics, reading books are closely matched to the grapheme-phoneme correspondences they have been taught. We use RAMP (Reading and Modelled Practice) Reading, based on the Reciprocal Reading approach, to model key comprehension strategies and support pupils in articulating their understanding during guided reading sessions.
This approach focuses on the following key skills:
- activating prior knowledge
- making predictions
- clarifying vocabulary
- asking questions
- discussing authorial intent and language choices
- inferring information
- summarising
We recognise that reading is the key to unlocking the wider curriculum and aim to develop fluent, confident readers. Pupils who require additional support with decoding in upper Key Stage 2 access the Fresh Start Phonics programme.
We aim to help pupils develop the following skills as they progress through the reading curriculum at St Luke’s:
- read fluently, accurately and with understanding
- develop the habit of reading widely and often for both pleasure and information
- acquire a broad vocabulary and understanding of language conventions
- appreciate and engage with a rich and varied literary heritage
- communicate ideas clearly through discussion and writing
- explain and justify their understanding and opinions confidently
Once pupils complete the phonics programme, they access Accelerated Reader to support independent reading development. Star Assessments identify pupils’ ZPD levels and support appropriate book selection. Regular quizzes monitor comprehension and progress.
Pupils also have access to MyON, which provides a wide range of online texts across genres and subjects. Teachers create curated text collections to support wider curriculum learning and encourage reading around topics of interest.
Impact
We use both formative and summative assessment in reading and writing to ensure all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, make strong progress and achieve highly.
Teachers use ongoing formative assessment during guided reading sessions, writing lessons and independent application across the curriculum to identify misconceptions and inform planning. Summative assessment information, including PIRA and Star Assessments, is used to identify strengths, gaps and next steps in learning.
The essential knowledge, skills and concepts within reading and writing are progressive and build systematically year upon year. Through our carefully sequenced curriculum, pupils develop as confident readers, accurate spellers, articulate speakers and effective writers who are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
Reading for Pleasure
At St Luke’s, we are committed to fostering a lifelong love of reading. In EYFS and Key Stage 1, children access a lending library which allows them to share books at home with their families alongside their phonics books. This helps to promote positive reading habits and strong relationships between home and school.
In EYFS, secret readers — including parents, family members and members of the local community — regularly visit to share stories with the children.
Each class also enjoys a shared class text, providing opportunities for social reading, discussion and recommendation. Our ‘Six to Get Started’ packs ensure every year group has access to a range of high-quality texts that encourage reading for pleasure.
Children discuss books, recommend texts to their peers and contribute reviews to class reading rivers, helping to shape future book purchases. Funds raised through our annual book fair are used to further develop high-quality reading for pleasure collections across the school.
English reading progression map
English writing progression map
Please click the link here for Accelerated reading.
Click the link below to view our English school blog page to see some examples of how our pupils flourish in English at St. Luke’s: