English

Our Vision

At Brightwalton, English develops confident communicators who can read fluently, write effectively and express themselves clearly. We want our children to develop a love of reading and writing, enabling them to succeed across the curriculum and in the wider world.

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Intent: What We Want for Our Children

 

Our English curriculum ensures that all pupils:

• Become fluent, confident readers

• Develop into purposeful, independent writers

• Build a rich vocabulary and understanding of language

• Communicate ideas clearly for a range of purposes and audiences

 

Learning is carefully sequenced so that pupils build on prior knowledge over time, enabling them to know more and remember more. Skills are taught in small, progressive steps, ensuring all pupils can access learning and succeed.

Our curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, supporting both accuracy and creativity.

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Reading

Implementation: How We Teach Reading

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum.

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Early Reading (EYFS and KS1)

• Children learn to read through A Flying Start, our systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP)

• Teaching is:

  • Daily, structured and cumulative

  • Focused on decoding (segmenting and blending)

  • Carefully sequenced to build knowledge over time

Children read books that are fully matched to their phonics knowledge, ensuring success and confidence.  

Please click link below to take you to our EYFS page for further information on Early Years.

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Developing as Readers

As pupils progress, they develop:

• Fluency – reading accurately and with expression

• Comprehension – understanding and interpreting texts

• Vocabulary – understanding and using new language

Pupils read a wide range of high-quality texts, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

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Reading for Understanding

 

Lessons focus on:

• Retrieval

• Inference

• Explanation

• Prediction

• Vocabulary development

 

Pupils are taught to think deeply about texts and make connections across their learning.

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Reading for Pleasure

• Pupils are encouraged to develop a love of reading

• Opportunities include:

  • Independent reading

  • Reading aloud

  • Sharing books with adults and peers

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Supporting All Readers

• Regular reading opportunities with adults

• Targeted support to ensure pupils keep up, not catch up

• Ongoing assessment to inform next steps in teaching

• Additional phonics support where needed, following the A Flying Start programme

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Progression in Reading

 

EYFS 

• Develop early language and listening skills

• Begin decoding through phonics

• Please click link below to take you to our EYFS page for further information on Early Years.

Key Stage 1

• Secure decoding and early comprehension

• Develop fluency

Lower Key Stage 2

• Develop comprehension and vocabulary

• Read with increasing confidence

Upper Key Stage 2

• Analyse and interpret texts

• Develop deeper understanding and inference

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Impact (Reading)

 

By the end of Year 6, pupils will:

• Read fluently and accurately

• Understand and interpret a wide range of texts

• Use reading to support learning across the curriculum

• Show a love of reading and literature

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Writing

Implementation: How We Teach Writing

Writing is taught through a structured and progressive approach, where pupils develop both technical accuracy and creativity.

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Early Writing (EYFS)

• Strong focus on:

  • Phonics (linked to A Flying Start)

  • Mark-making and early writing

  • Letter formation

Children begin to write words and simple sentences, building secure foundations.

* Please click link below to take you to our EYFS page for further information on Early Years.

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Developing as Writers

Pupils are taught the writing process:

• Plan

• Draft

• Edit

• Improve

A consistent approach supports pupils in developing confidence, stamina and independence.

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Building the Foundations of Writing

Teaching focuses on:

            Transcription:

• Spelling:

  • Taught through a structured progression using Spelling Shed

  • Builds on phonics knowledge and develops understanding of patterns and rules

• Handwriting:

  • Taught using the Letter-join developmental handwriting programme

  • Ensures progression in letter formation, joins and presentation

     Composition:

• Sentence construction (grammar and syntax)

• Writing for different purposes and audiences

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Teaching for Success

• Use of high-quality texts to inspire writing

• Clear modelling (I Do – We Do – You Do)

• Explicit success criteria

• Opportunities for:

  • Guided practice

  • Independent writing

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Supporting All Writers

• Learning is broken into small, manageable steps

• Scaffolds and support where needed

• High expectations for all pupils

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Progression in Writing

EYFS

• Mark-making and early writing

• Simple words and sentences

• Please click link below to take you to our EYFS page for further information on Early Years.

Key Stage 1

• Secure sentence construction

• Early punctuation and grammar

Lower Key Stage 2

• Develop structure and detail

• Write for different purposes

Upper Key Stage 2

• Develop control, cohesion and style

• Write independently with increasing accuracy

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Impact (Writing)

By the end of Year 6, pupils will:

• Write clearly and accurately for a range of purposes

• Use grammar, punctuation and spelling effectively

• Edit and improve their work

• Apply writing skills independently across contexts

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Why English Matters

English enables our children to:

• Communicate effectively

• Access all areas of the curriculum

• Develop confidence and independence

• Engage with the world through reading and writing

Through English, our vision of children as a “Shining Light” is realised—they are equipped with the skills to succeed and express themselves confidently.