Writing

We follow a Mastery approach to English through the programme ‘Pathways to Write.’ Units of work are delivered using high quality texts and children in all year groups are given varied opportunities for writing. Skills are built up through repetition within the units, and children apply these skills in the writing activities provided. Many opportunities for widening children’s vocabulary are given through the Pathways to Write approach and this builds on the extensive work we do in school to provide our children with a rich and varied vocabulary.

You will find the end of year expectations for writing, reading and spoken language for each of our year groups on the curriculum by subject page. For further detail on the skills that your children are learning on a termly basis, please contact your class teacher.

Reading

We use a Mastery approach to teaching English through the Pathways to Read programme. Lessons are based around high-quality texts, and children across all year groups have regular and varied opportunities to read. Key reading skills are built up through repetition within each unit, and pupils are encouraged to apply these skills through focused reading activities.

In key stage 2, Pathways to Read is delivered through whole class shared reading lessons. In year 2, children take part in one whole-class lesson each week and also have small group reading sessions, as well as individual reading time.

For pupils in years 2 to 6 who still need phonics support, we provide an individual reading programme that uses phonically decodable texts to build confidence and fluency.

Each whole class reading session has a clear teaching focus, giving pupils the opportunity to develop and master key reading skills. Follow up tasks allow them to demonstrate these skills independently.

The Pathways to Read programme also provides regular opportunities to expand children’s vocabulary, supporting our wider work in school to help pupils develop a rich and varied vocabulary.

You can find the end of year reading expectations for each year group or phase on our curriculum by subject page. If you’d like more detail about the specific reading skills your child is learning each term, please speak to your class teacher.

Using both Pathways to Read and Pathways to Write ensures meaningful links between the texts and topics used in literacy, humanities, and science.

Reading for joy

Reading For Pleasure Spine

Our reading spine is a thoughtfully curated collection of books chosen to inspire a lifelong love of reading.

We believe that reading should be an enjoyable and enriching experience, and our selection of texts reflects this belief.

Every day, our staff take time to read these carefully chosen stories with the children, simply to share the joy of reading together.