At St. Catherine’s, our English curriculum is designed to foster a love for both writing and reading, ensuring a well-rounded literacy education for all students.
Writing Curriculum: Our writing program is structured around Jane Considine’s “The Write Stuff,” supplemented by engaging units from Literacy Shed. The curriculum is divided into four key strands: Writing to Entertain (narratives, poetry, etc.), Writing to Inform (instructions, reports, etc.), Writing to Persuade (adverts, letters, etc.), and Writing to Discuss (introduced from Year 4 onwards). These strands are thoughtfully distributed throughout the academic year to provide a balanced and comprehensive learning experience. Lessons are built around “sentence stacking” sessions, where students learn the intricacies of grammar and sentence structure. Additionally, ‘experience days’ offer hands-on activities that inspire and enrich students’ writing. Non-fiction units begin with a ‘jigsaw lesson,’ helping students understand the structure and features of various text types.
Reading Curriculum: Our reading program ensures comprehensive development across the Primary phase. Key components include:
- Daily phonics lessons for pupils in Reception and KS1.
- Reactive daily intervention phonics lessons for Reception and KS1.
- Weekly phonics intervention sessions for KS2 pupils who did not pass the phonics screen check.
- Daily class reading sessions to foster a love for reading.
- Weekly reading sessions either 1-1 or in small groups.
- Daily Guided Reading (VIPERS) lessons for all KS2 classes and for children who have completed phonics.
- Weekly reading books sent home, matched to pupil ability.
- Access to comprehensive school and class libraries for pupils to choose books and develop a love of reading.
Together, our writing and reading programs at St. Catherine’s aim to cultivate proficient, enthusiastic, and confident young readers and writers.