‘The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.’
The Primary National Curriculum Framework 2014
Reading
Aims
At Abbey CE VA Primary School, our primary aim is to nurture passionate, confident readers who read for both pleasure and purpose. We believe that reading is the gateway to learning and strive to ensure every child develops strong reading skills alongside a genuine love of books. Our curriculum aims to create readers who can understand and interpret texts at a deep level, make meaningful connections with what they read, and use reading as a tool for expanding their knowledge and understanding of the world. We believe that becoming a skilled reader is fundamental to success across the curriculum and in later life.
How We Teach Reading
Our approach to teaching reading is comprehensive and carefully structured, combining systematic phonics teaching in the early years with broader reading comprehension strategies as pupils progress. Daily phonics lessons, using Essential Letters and Sounds, in Reception and Key Stage 1 provide pupils with the fundamental skills they need to decode words confidently. As pupils develop their decoding skills, we increasingly focus on reading comprehension through guided reading sessions and whole-class reading lessons.
Teachers use high-quality texts selected to engage and challenge pupils while broadening their literary experience. Reading is taught through a combination of whole-class lessons, guided reading sessions, and one-to-one reading with adults. We explicitly teach reading comprehension strategies including prediction, questioning, clarifying, summarising and making connections. Teachers model expert reading behaviours and lead discussions that deepen pupils’ understanding of texts.
Regular assessment ensures we match texts to pupils’ reading abilities while providing appropriate challenge. We maintain close communication with parents through reading records and provide guidance on supporting reading at home. Our well-stocked library and reading areas in classrooms give pupils access to a wide range of engaging texts.
What Skills and Knowledge Will Your Child Learn?
Throughout their time at Abbey, your child will develop essential reading skills and knowledge. In the early years, pupils learn letter sounds and names through systematic phonics teaching, building their skills in blending sounds to read words. They develop fluency in reading simple texts and begin to understand basic comprehension strategies.
As they progress, pupils learn increasingly sophisticated reading skills. They develop their understanding of vocabulary through exposure to rich texts and explicit teaching of word meanings. Pupils learn to read with growing fluency and expression, using punctuation to help them understand meaning. They study different types of texts and their features, understanding how to adapt their reading strategies accordingly.
By Upper Key Stage 2, pupils will have acquired the knowledge and skills to tackle challenging texts independently. They will understand how to:
- Read fluently and with expression
- Understand increasingly complex vocabulary
- Make inferences about characters and events
- Identify themes and conventions in different text types
- Discuss and evaluate authors’ language choices
- Retrieve and summarise information
- Make comparisons within and across texts
- Use evidence from texts to support their ideas
These skills and knowledge are developed systematically through the year groups, ensuring pupils make consistent progress in their reading development. Our balanced approach to teaching reading ensures pupils become confident, skilled readers who are well-prepared for secondary school and develop a lifelong love of reading.
The progression of skills includes:
- Secure phonics knowledge for decoding
- Growing comprehension and inference abilities
- Expanding vocabulary knowledge
- Understanding of different text types and genres
- Critical reading and evaluation skills
- Reading fluency and expression
- Text analysis and comparison skills
Throughout their journey, we maintain a strong focus on reading for pleasure alongside the development of technical reading skills, believing that both are crucial for creating successful, enthusiastic readers.
- Reading Skills Progression of Skills (112.46KB)
- Hearing your Child Read at Home (87.92KB)
Writing
Aims
At Abbey CE VA Primary School, our fundamental aim is to develop pupils into confident, creative and effective writers who can express themselves clearly across all forms of writing. We strive to ensure every child develops a love of writing whilst mastering the essential skills needed for their future education and life beyond school. Our curriculum aims to create writers who can adapt their style for different purposes and audiences, use language imaginatively, and communicate with clarity and precision. We believe that becoming a skilled writer opens doors to self-expression, academic success and future opportunities.
How We Teach Writing
Our approach to teaching writing is systematic and engaging, built upon proven teaching methods that support all pupils to succeed. Every day, pupils participate in focused English lessons following the Write Stuff approach, where writing skills are explicitly taught and practised. We use high-quality texts as models, helping pupils understand what makes effective writing before they create their own.
Teachers guide pupils through the complete writing process, from gathering and planning ideas to drafting, editing and improving their work. Writing is taught both as a discrete subject and through cross-curricular opportunities, allowing pupils to practise their skills in meaningful contexts. Our teaching emphasises the links between reading and writing, using quality literature to inspire and inform pupils’ own writing.
Regular assessment informs our teaching, ensuring we provide the right level of challenge and support for each pupil. Teachers give specific feedback that helps pupils understand how to improve their writing, and pupils are taught to evaluate and edit their own work with increasing independence as they progress through the school.
What Skills and Knowledge Will Your Child Learn?
Throughout their journey at Abbey, your child will develop a comprehensive set of writing skills and knowledge. In the early years, pupils master the foundations of writing, learning correct letter formation, basic punctuation and how to construct simple sentences. They develop their understanding of phonics and how to apply this knowledge to spelling.
As they progress, pupils learn increasingly sophisticated aspects of grammar and punctuation, enabling them to craft more complex and varied sentences. They develop their vocabulary through reading and discussion, learning to choose words precisely for effect. Pupils study different text types and their features, understanding how to adapt their writing style for various purposes such as narrating, explaining, persuading and informing.
By Upper Key Stage 2, pupils will have acquired the knowledge and skills to write extended pieces with clear organisation and purpose. They will understand how to use advanced punctuation, vary sentence structures for effect, and craft cohesive paragraphs. Pupils learn to develop their own distinctive writing style while maintaining accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Throughout their time at our school, pupils develop crucial writing skills including:
Planning and organising ideas effectively
Using accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling
Writing with clarity and coherence
Adapting writing style for different purposes and audiences
Editing and improving their own work
Using increasingly sophisticated vocabulary
Developing legible, fluent handwriting
These skills and knowledge are built systematically year by year, ensuring pupils make consistent progress in their writing development and are well-prepared for their next stage of education.
- Writing Skills Progression of Skills (86.64KB)
- Writing Curriculum Overview (97.47KB)
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (GPS)
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (GPS) teaching is interwoven into English lessons taught in a meaningful context with opportunities to apply learning across the curriculum.
- SPAG Knowledge Organisers Year 1 (594.74KB)
- SPAG Knowledge Organisers Year 2 (499.03KB)
- SPAG Knowledge Organisers Year 3 (344.52KB)
- SPAG Knowledge Organisers Year 4 (318.88KB)
- SPAG Knowledge Organisers Year 5 (346.33KB)
- SPAG Knowledge Organisers Year 6 (223.98KB)
Enrichment opportunities
World Book Day March 2023
