English
English
Intent
At Guston Primary School, the teaching of English is the foundation of our curriculum. Our main aim is to ensure every child becomes literate and progresses in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Due to the diverse needs of learners, lessons are tailored to support children or groups of children’s needs. Progress is measured from each child’s starting point to ensure all students can experience success.
At Guston, English is central to the entire curriculum, not just taught as a daily lesson. By integrating high-quality texts, rich vocabulary, and a focus on skill progression, the school fosters a language-rich environment. This approach aims to develop literacy, a love for reading, creative writing, and effective communication in all students.
Implementation
Reading
At Guston, early reading begins with the Little Wandle phonics programme, which uses a systematic, synthetic phonics approach. To support this approach, small group shared reading sessions are also delivered focusing on word reading, expression and comprehension.
Using a continuous and a variety of assessment methods, reading is further developed by providing children with a book appropriate to their reading level and phonic knowledge using pure decodable books; we encourage our children to take home and share these books with their parents/ guardian alongside a book of their choice to enjoy. We further develop our confident readers using ‘Accelerated Reader’, which provides books appropriate to each child’s word knowledge and checks for understanding through comprehension questioning linked to the National Curriculum domains.
At Guston, reading is celebrated throughout the school with inviting book corners, author displays, reading reward schemes, and a well-stocked library. The school promotes reading for pleasure through events like World Book Day and author visits. These initiatives aim to enrich learning and inspire children to become lifelong readers.
Writing
Writing is taught through the Pathways to Write programme, which uses high-quality texts to inspire and model excellent writing. Lessons are designed to build vocabulary, grammar, and composition skills progressively. Writing is embedded across the curriculum, ensuring children apply their skills in a range of contexts and subjects.
Speaking and Listening
Our approach to reading and writing is underpinned by the development of speaking and listening, where children develop their listening skills and acquire vocabulary to build knowledge, present and justify their ideas, ask questions and communicate effectively.
Handwriting
Developing the presentation of our writing begins early on in EYFS with children using a range of manipulatives and writing tools to facilitate the development of writing. From Year 2, children begin to learn to write cursively.
Impact
The intended impact of our approach is good progress for all children, regardless of their starting point. Through a well-established writing journey and a strong emphasis on reading, children develop sustained learning and transferable skills across the curriculum.
As pupils gain opportunities to clarify and organise their thinking, they become more confident speakers, readers, and writers. By upper Key Stage 2, children are familiar with a range of genres of reading and writing, allowing teaching to focus on creativity, writer’s craft, sustained writing, and the manipulation of grammar and punctuation.
Ultimately, we aim for children to leave Guston with a passion for English, high aspirations, and the confidence to continue growing as creative and literate individuals in their future education and beyond.