English

“The value of English in the curriculum? What can I say? Without English, nothing. And without good English, nothing very well.“ Anne Fine, author.

English is a core subject and is at the heart of our curriculum. We aim to develop every child’s ability to communicate effectively in speech and writing and to listen with understanding. We encourage our pupils to be enthusiastic, fluent and responsive readers who can learn and gain pleasure from the written word.

We have created a bespoke curriculum for children at Framlingham Sir Robert Hitcham's. Using the 'Literacy Tree' and a variety of wonderful texts at the centre, we aim to inspire a passion for reading and writing. Our topics are closely linked to our texts, giving purpose to our learning.

Children begin their reading journey with ‘Supersonic Phonic Friends’ a synthetic phonics scheme, which teaches the 44 phonemes through rhymes and actions. Please see our phonics page for further information.

The main reading schemes that we use are Big Cats, Phonics Bug, Oxford Reading Tree and Ginn 360. We teach reading using a variety of strategies to engage and inspire children as readers. We also place emphasis on the importance of understanding and responding to reading and therefore comprehension skills are taught throughout the school.

We feel that the correct use of English grammar, spelling and punctuation, as well as a wide vocabulary, are very important – and we aim to equip our pupils with the tools needed.

As a school we are passionate about the importance of oracy. We understand how oracy can benefit children in all aspects of their lives as well as their education. We offer a creative approach in which children are able to develop their oracy skills before transferring these skills into their writing. We give pupils many opportunities to use drama as a means of expression, and we take groups to the theatre to view professionally produced performances when appropriate. Year 6 pupils deliver an annual production in a professional theatre to hundreds of parents.

We encourage parents to take an active role in their child’s development through listening to their reading, talking to them about home learning tasks and helping them to learn their spellings.

English Curriculum Statement

Intent - What do we want children to learn?

At Framlingham Sir Robert Hitcham’s CEVAP School, we believe that a high-quality literacy curriculum should ignite children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. Our English curriculum is designed to foster a deep appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage while developing confident, fluent readers and articulate writers. We aim for children to read widely and often, take pride in their written work, write clearly and accurately, and confidently edit, evaluate and refine their writing. We place strong emphasis on purposeful talk, encouraging children to explain their thinking, listen respectfully and use discussion to deepen understanding and drive learning.

We recognise that secure literacy skills are fundamental to children’s success across the whole curriculum and beyond school. Our literacy provision follows a clear, progressive pathway, enabling all pupils to build knowledge and skills systematically as they move through the school. A strong foundation in reading and writing equips our children with the tools they need to succeed academically and in later life.

Implementation - How are we going to achieve our intent?

Our English curriculum is delivered through ‘The Literacy Tree’, a carefully sequenced, book-based approach that places high-quality children’s literature at the heart of teaching and learning. Each unit is centred around a carefully chosen, engaging core text that provides rich contexts for reading, writing, speaking and listening. Texts are selected to expose pupils to a wide range of genres, authors and themes, whilst promoting diversity, inclusion and cultural awareness.

Through The Literacy Tree, children experience:

Purposeful reading opportunities that develop comprehension, vocabulary and inference
Structured writing pathways that support planning, drafting, editing and publishing
High-quality model texts that demonstrate authorial techniques and language choices
Explicit teaching of grammar and punctuation in meaningful contexts

Teachers adapt lessons to meet the needs of their classes, providing appropriate challenge and support to ensure all pupils can achieve their potential. Opportunities for cross-curricular learning are woven into literacy wherever possible, ensuring learning remains stimulating, relevant and engaging.

Our English curriculum fully aligns with the National Curriculum for English (2014), ensuring that pupils:

Read fluently with understanding
Develop a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure and information
Acquire a broad vocabulary and strong understanding of grammar and language conventions
Appreciate our literary heritage
Write clearly and coherently for a range of purposes and audiences
Develop confidence in speaking, listening and discussion

Phonics and Early Reading

We begin our reading journey with the Supersonic Phonic Friends synthetic phonics programme. This systematic and engaging scheme teaches children the 44 phonemes through memorable characters, actions, songs and rhymes. Children learn to blend sounds to read words and segment words to support spelling.

Phonics is taught daily in EYFS and Key Stage 1 and continues into Key Stage 2 where necessary to ensure rapid catch-up and secure progress. Lessons are active, inclusive and carefully matched to children’s current phonics knowledge. Alongside phonics, children are supported to develop fluency, accuracy and confidence in reading.

Reading for Pleasure and Home Reading

In addition to daily English lessons, pupils are encouraged to develop a love of reading through a range of carefully matched reading schemes including Oxford Reading Tree, Big Cats, Phonics Bug and Ginn 360. Guided reading sessions, teacher-read-aloud time and independent reading opportunities take place regularly across the week.

Children are expected to read regularly at home, building strong home–school partnerships that support reading progress and enjoyment. Parents are provided with guidance to support reading at home across all key stages.

Writing, Vocabulary and Enrichment

Phonics, spelling and vocabulary development are integral to our daily teaching. Vocabulary acquisition underpins children’s ability to write imaginatively and speak confidently.

We enrich our English curriculum through a wide range of experiences including:

Author visits and workshops
National events such as World Book Day and National Storytelling Week
Poetry competitions across both key stages
Performances, including the Year 6 production
Opportunities to read, perform and present during school and church services

These experiences ensure that pupils’ reading, writing, speaking and listening skills are continually developed in purposeful, memorable ways.

Impact - What will it look like when we have achieved our intent?

As a result of our English curriculum, pupils at Sir Robert Hitcham’s are enthusiastic, confident readers and writers who enjoy sharing and celebrating their work. They are willing to take risks in their learning, use subject-specific language accurately and talk confidently about their reading and writing.

Teachers have a strong understanding of age-related expectations and immerse pupils in high-quality language through expert modelling and carefully planned lessons. We strive for attainment at the end of EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 to be at or above national averages, while ensuring that every child develops a lifelong love of reading and writing.

Find more about the Literacy Tree 'Teach through text' approach by clicking on the picture below to take you to the Literacy Tree website

See our English Posts on the Blog.

Phonics & Reading

see our Phonics page here or in the sub menu to the right

Here at Sir Robert Hitcham’s CEVAP School we are passionate about teaching children to read for pleasure as well as for knowledge and information.

Phonics is a skill that enables a reader to decode words that are unknown to aid reading and spelling. We begin our reading journey with the ‘Supersonic Phonic Friends’ synthetic phonics scheme.

Children are taught the 44 phonemes with a picture, rhyme and action. Through this scheme, children will learn how to blend sounds together to create words and segment words into sounds to spell. Children take part in active and engaging phonics lessons daily.

You can find a number of resources below, to support your child with phonics at home.