Intent
At Usworth Colliery Primary School, we believe that a high-quality English curriculum is fundamental to pupils’ success both in school and beyond. We aim to develop confident readers, purposeful writers and effective communicators who have the knowledge and skills to participate fully in the world around them.
We place reading at the heart of our curriculum. We want pupils to become fluent, confident readers who read widely, understand what they read and develop a lifelong enjoyment of books. Through a rich and diverse range of high-quality texts and a strong reading culture, pupils encounter ambitious language, broaden their knowledge and develop their understanding of themselves and the wider world.
We aim to develop confident and increasingly independent writers who can communicate their ideas clearly and accurately. Pupils develop secure transcription and composition skills and learn to make purposeful choices about vocabulary, grammar and structure according to audience, purpose and context.
Speaking and listening underpin our English curriculum. We provide opportunities for pupils to articulate ideas, listen and respond to others, participate in purposeful discussion and develop an increasingly rich and precise vocabulary.
Across reading, writing and spoken language, our curriculum is carefully sequenced and ambitious for all pupils. Knowledge and skills are explicitly taught, practised and revisited so that pupils become increasingly fluent and independent. Where pupils require additional support, teaching is adapted and targeted to enable them to access the curriculum and make progress.
At our school, we follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, a validated, systematic phonics programme that ensures all children learn to read and write confidently and fluently. The programme is based on the latest reading research and provides a clear, consistent approach to phonics teaching across the school.
In Reception, children start Phases 2, 3 and 4. They learn new letter sound correspondences daily and are taught how to blend sounds to read words and segment sounds to spell. Lessons are taught every day and are short, engaging and carefully structured to allow children to practise, revisit and apply their learning. By the end of Reception, children are supported to read simple sentences and books with increasing accuracy and confidence.
In Year 1, children continue with Phase 5, where they learn alternative spellings and pronunciations of sounds. This phase focuses on building reading fluency, developing spelling knowledge and improving comprehension. The aim is for all children to become confident, fluent readers who can access the wider curriculum.
Reading Practice Sessions
Children take part in weekly reading practice sessions in small groups. During these sessions, children read fully decodable books that are closely matched to the phonics they are learning. Each book is read several times across the week, with a clear focus on:
- Decoding (reading the words accurately)
- Prosody (reading with expression and fluency)
- Comprehension (talking about what has been read)
This repeated reading approach helps children build confidence, accuracy and enjoyment in reading.
Rapid Catch Up and SEND Support
We are committed to ensuring that every child keeps up, not catches up. Children who are identified as needing additional support, including those in our Base access Little Wandle Rapid Catch Up or the SEND programme. This is a targeted, structured intervention programme that mirrors the main phonics lessons but is delivered at a pace and level appropriate to the child’s needs.
Rapid Catch Up sessions are short, frequent and focused on addressing specific gaps in phonics knowledge. Progress is closely monitored so that children can rejoin whole-class phonics teaching as quickly as possible. Adaptations and additional support are put in place where needed to ensure all children can succeed.
Supporting Reading at Home
Little Wandle provides clear guidance for families so that phonics and reading are supported consistently. You can find helpful videos, explanations of how phonics is taught, and guidance on supporting reading at home in the Little Wandle Parent Area:
https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
By using a consistent, evidence-based approach to phonics and reading, Little Wandle helps children develop the skills, confidence and love of reading they need for lifelong learning.
Learning to read is one of the most important things children will learn to do at school. At Usworth Colliery Primary School, we aim for every child to become a fluent, confident and enthusiastic reader who develops both the skills needed to read successfully and a lifelong enjoyment of books.
Reading at Home
We recognise the important role families play in developing confident readers. In the early stages of reading, children take home books that are carefully matched to their secure phonics knowledge, allowing them to practise reading successfully and develop fluency.
Children also have opportunities to choose books to share and enjoy with their families. These books are not expected to be fully decodable by the child; instead, they provide opportunities to enjoy stories, talk about books and encounter a wider range of language and vocabulary.
We encourage families to make reading a regular and enjoyable part of life at home by listening to their child read and sharing books together.
Reading Aloud
Reading aloud is an important part of our reading culture. Adults regularly read high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry to pupils, exposing them to language, vocabulary, authors and texts beyond those they may yet be able to read independently.
Through being read to, pupils experience the enjoyment of books, encounter new ideas and vocabulary and hear fluent, expressive reading modelled by adults.
Whole Class Reading
Whole Class Reading provides pupils with regular opportunities to engage with a wide range of high-quality texts and develop the fluency, vocabulary and comprehension needed to become confident, independent readers.
Through Whole Class Reading, pupils encounter a rich range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and real-world texts, enabling them to broaden their reading experiences and develop their knowledge of language and the wider world.
Our approach includes:
- Explicit teaching and modelling of reading fluency, including accuracy, automaticity and prosody.
- Direct teaching and exploration of vocabulary within meaningful contexts.
- Explicit teaching of comprehension, including retrieval, inference, prediction, explanation and summarising.
- Teacher modelling and think-aloud strategies to demonstrate how skilled readers make sense of texts.
- High-quality book talk and discussion, giving pupils opportunities to articulate, justify and develop their ideas.
- Opportunities to revisit and consolidate reading knowledge and strategies so that pupils can apply them increasingly independently.
- Carefully selected texts that provide appropriate challenge, variety and opportunities to build knowledge.
- Support and scaffolding to ensure all pupils can access and participate meaningfully in lessons.
Book Club forms part of our wider reading provision, giving pupils opportunities to explore books, discuss their reading and develop their identities as readers.
Reading for Pleasure
At Usworth Colliery Primary School, we want every child to develop a positive relationship with reading and to see themselves as a reader. We recognise that reading for pleasure supports pupils’ language, vocabulary, imagination and wider knowledge, while opening the door to a lifetime of enjoyment through books.
We aim to build a strong reading community where books are valued, discussed, recommended and enjoyed by pupils and adults.
Pupils have regular opportunities to:
- choose from a diverse and engaging range of books within their class libraries
- hear high-quality texts read aloud by adults
- talk informally about books, authors and their reading preferences
- recommend and share books with one another
- discover new authors, genres and types of text
- spend time reading independently for pleasure
- take part in Book Club, providing dedicated time to read, discuss and respond to books
- participate in wider reading opportunities and celebrations across the school.
At Usworth Colliery Primary School, we want every child to develop as a confident, fluent and purposeful writer who can communicate their ideas effectively.
The National Curriculum identifies two key dimensions of writing:
- Transcription – spelling and handwriting
- Composition – articulating, developing and structuring ideas in speech and writing
Both are essential in developing successful writers. We teach transcription skills explicitly and systematically so that spelling and handwriting become increasingly accurate, fluent and automatic. This allows children to focus more of their attention on developing and communicating their ideas.
Composition is developed through rich spoken language, reading and vocabulary development. Children learn to generate and rehearse ideas orally, construct and develop effective sentences and make purposeful choices about vocabulary, grammar and structure. High-quality texts provide rich models of language and help children understand the choices effective writers make.
Through explicit teaching, modelling and guided practice, children learn to shape their writing for different audiences and purposes. As their knowledge and confidence develop, they become increasingly independent in planning, drafting, rereading, editing and improving their work.
Our Aims
We aim for children to:
- write confidently and purposefully for a range of audiences and purposes
- develop and communicate their ideas clearly and coherently
- develop and use a rich and increasingly varied vocabulary
- construct effective sentences and make purposeful choices about language and grammar
- develop accurate spelling and fluent, legible handwriting
- apply their knowledge of spelling, punctuation and grammar within their writing
- draw on their reading and wider knowledge to enrich their writing
- reread, edit and improve their work with increasing independence
- take pride in their writing and recognise themselves as writers
Spelling
Spelling is taught explicitly and progressively across school.
In EYFS and Year 1, spelling is closely linked to our Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised phonics programme, enabling children to apply their growing phonic knowledge when spelling words.
From Year 2 to Year 6, we use Grammarsaurus to support the systematic teaching of spelling. Children build their knowledge of spelling patterns, conventions and word structures and develop strategies to become increasingly accurate and independent spellers.
Across all year groups, children are encouraged to apply their spelling knowledge within their independent writing.
Handwriting
Handwriting is taught explicitly and progressively across school using Letter-Join, our whole-school handwriting programme.
From EYFS onwards, children develop the foundations for successful handwriting, including correct posture, pencil grip and letter formation. As they progress through school, they develop increasingly fluent and legible handwriting, moving towards joining when developmentally appropriate.
Regular practice supports children to develop increasing fluency and automaticity, enabling them to focus more of their attention on the content and quality of their writing.