Aims

Through our teaching of English we aim to equip our pupils with the skills and knowledge to thrive throughout their lives. We aim to foster a life-long love of literature and an ability to communicate in speech and writing, allowing our pupils to capitalise on all the opportunities life presents to them.

We aim to use the English curriculum to challenge, develop and inspire resilient pupils who are capable of tackling challenging texts. Pupils who are inspired by notable authors from different eras and cultures, pupils who can read and write with empathy and pupils who can speak their mind articulately using evidence, justification and an ever expanding lexicon.

To develop our pupils as speakers and listeners we:

• Give them opportunities to express their ideas to a range of audiences
• Given them opportunities to take part in group discussion and drama activities
• Encourage them to listen and respond appropriately to others.
• Help them to understand the need to adapt their speech for different situations
• Give them opportunities to evaluate and reflect on their own speech
• Encourage them to use the vocabulary and grammar of Standard English

To develop our children as readers we:

• Place a high importance on the teaching of phonics as the foundation of learning to read.  In Reception and KS1 a discrete phonics lessons is taught daily following Supersonic Phonic Friends
• Teach phonics to KS2 children who still require the support
• Teach them to read accurately and fluently using a range of strategies both at school and at home
• Help them to understand and respond to what they read using inference and deduction where appropriate
• Encourage them to read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books,  including classic fiction
• Encourage them to read independently and with enjoyment
• Teach them to seek information and learn from what they read
• Encourage them to use their reading skills as an integral part of their learning across the curriculum
• Read class novels regularly to children so as to model good practice in reading
• Give children to visit the school library to take books home to read

To develop our children as writers we:

• Teach them to write effectively for a range of purpose and readers, adapting their vocabulary
• Encourage them to write with interest, commitment and enjoyment
• Show them how to write in a variety of forms such as stories, poems, reports and letters through good quality teacher modelling
• Teach discrete grammar sessions, modelling the correct use of terminology
• Teach discrete spelling lessons concentrating on rules and patterns of words
• Show them how to evaluate and improve their own writing
• Teach children how to punctuate to make meaning clear to the reader
• Give them the knowledge and strategies to become confident and accurate spellers
• Teach them a fluent and legible style of handwriting, promoting an understanding of how to present work appropriately

Reading and Phonics

English is central to all learning, and indeed to life. Children need to develop the capacity to use the English language in all its forms.

Our school reading scheme from Reception to Year 6 is Collins Big Cat. EYFS & KS1 use Big Cat: Letters and Sounds alongside a range of phonetically decodable books to provide range and balance, which allows children to use books that focus on practising reading with fluency. Within the EYFS and KS1 are a range of books from different schemes to give children a breadth of books that are phonetically decodable. 

We use Supersonic Phonic Friends to teach daily phonics in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2.

The Phonics Scheme is designed for Year R, Year 1, Year 2 and for some children in KS2 who would benefit from extra support. It aims to build children's speaking and listening skills in their own right as well as to prepare children for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. It is a fully systematic, synthetic programme for teaching phonic skills. Supersonic Phonic Friends also enables children to apply their phonics within their writing, further embedding their phonetic understanding and enabling our children to develop as readers and writers with the use of the phonics scheme.

Use the link below for more information on our Phonic Scheme.  

Supersonic Phonic Friends

Celebrating Reading

World Book Day 2025

To celebrate all things reading, the children have a day filled with activities from author visits, poetry, book scavenger hunts and extreme reading.
 

World Book Day is an important day at St Laurence’s as it allows us to focus on the joy of reading and the importance that reading has on our wellbeing.

Library Visits

To embed a love of reading, children have the opportunity to visit the school library to take a book home to read. Children may choose to read a book that has been promoted by another child, a book that they find interesting or a book that they would like to read with an adult at home.

We have librarians from Year 5 who help to organise and keep the library running smoothly.

Author Visits  - Dara McAnulty, Sean Perkins, Floella Benjamin, Pamela Butchart, Jen Carney

Author visits, both virtual and in person, are a great way for the children to hear from authors about their process, inspiration and love of writing books. These visits give children motivation and inspiration, ensuring children all see themselves as authors.

Writing and Performing Poetry