Intent
At St. Gregory’s, we believe that a rich and ambitious English curriculum empowers children to communicate with confidence, think critically and develop a lifelong love of reading and writing. Through speaking and listening, reading and writing, we aim to nurture articulate, fluent and imaginative learners who can use language with purpose and pleasure.
Our curriculum is underpinned by our trust virtues, which shape our expectations and daily practice:
- Self-belief & confidence – children believe they are readers, writers and speakers.
- Resilience – pupils persevere through drafting, editing, challenging texts and new vocabulary.
- Responsibility – children take ownership of their learning, choices and outcomes.
- Respect & compassion – pupils value diverse stories, voices and viewpoints.
- Honesty – children reflect truthfully on their progress and respond to feedback.
- Justice – all learners receive equitable access to high-quality teaching and rich literature.
Our aims are for all children to:
Speaking and Listening
- Communicate clearly, confidently and appropriately for different audiences and purposes.
- Listen attentively, respond thoughtfully and engage respectfully in discussion.
- Use Standard English where appropriate.
- Develop high-quality oracy skills: questioning, reasoning, debating, storytelling and performance.
Reading
- Develop strong phonics knowledge for secure decoding.
- Become fluent, enthusiastic and reflective readers.
- Build deep comprehension skills through VIPERS.
- Experience a wide, diverse range of high-quality texts.
- Develop rich vocabulary and a lifelong love of reading.
Writing
- Develop a positive attitude to writing and see themselves as authors.
- Write clearly, accurately and imaginatively for a variety of purposes.
- Use ambitious vocabulary and secure grammar.
- Apply all stages of the writing process: plan, draft, revise, edit and publish.
- Develop fluent, legible handwriting and accurate spelling.
Implementation
Whole-School Pedagogy: “I Do – We Do – You Do”
Across the whole school and all subjects — including English — we use the I Do – We Do – You Do instructional model:
- I Do: Teachers explicitly model skills, strategies, vocabulary and processes.
- We Do: Teachers and pupils work together, practising and refining ideas.
- You Do: Pupils apply skills independently, developing confidence and resilience.
This consistent pedagogical approach strengthens self-belief, responsibility, independence and clarity of learning across the curriculum.
Speaking and Listening
Speaking and listening is explicitly taught from Nursery to Year 6. Teachers model high-quality language, Standard English and ambitious vocabulary. Pupils engage in:
- Role‑play, drama and storytelling
- Debates, presentations and performances
- Paired and group discussions
- Oral rehearsal before writing
- Vocabulary-rich conversation and dialogue
These experiences build the foundations for reading comprehension and written composition.
Phonics and Early Reading
In Nursery, children develop phonological awareness through:
- Rhythm, rhyme and oral language
- Sound discrimination
- Oral blending and segmenting
- Vocabulary-rich storytelling and talk
From Reception, children follow Read Write Inc. (RWI) to learn to read. Pupils:
- Have daily phonics sessions
- Read fully decodable books matched to their phonics level
- Are assessed regularly and regrouped
- Develop fluency through repeated practice
Home reading books align with each child’s RWI stage to support secure decoding.
VIPERS Comprehension (Nursery – Year 6)
All classes — including Nursery and Reception — have weekly VIPERS lessons to develop the key comprehension skills:
- Vocabulary
- Inference
- Prediction
- Explanation
- Retrieval
- Sequencing / Summarising
Nursery and Reception use images, oral stories and simple texts.
KS1 and KS2 deepen these skills through carefully selected fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
Whole-Class Reading (KS1 – KS2)
Once pupils are secure decoders, they take part in daily whole-class reading, using:
- High-quality age-appropriate texts
- Explicit vocabulary teaching
- Structured VIPERS questioning
- Retrieval, inference, explanation and evaluation tasks
- Rich discussion and annotation
Reading for pleasure is promoted through:
- Library access
- Author visits
- Reading celebrations
- Daily independent reading
- Attractive class book corners
Writing Through Pathways to Write (Reception – Year 6)
Writing is taught through Pathways to Write (P2W) in all classes from Reception to Year 6.
Key Features of Pathways to Write
Pathways to Write:
- Follows a mastery learning model, where key writing skills are taught, practised and revisited.
- Uses high-quality core texts as the stimulus for each unit.
- Provides explicit teacher modelling, guided instruction and scaffolding.
- Includes short‑burst writing to practise skills in context.
- Ends with a high‑quality extended independent write every 4–6 weeks.
- Supports the development of all five stages of the writing process:
planning → drafting → revising → editing → publishing - Must be taught 5 hours per week in the order suggested by the programme.
- Provides adaptive materials to support all pupils inclusively.
Progression in Writing
Nursery
- Mark making, pattern work and emergent writing
- Oral storytelling and vocabulary building
- Early phonological awareness
- Writing opportunities in continuous provision
Reception
- Beginning Pathways to Write
- Letter formation through RWI
- Writing simple words and sentences
- Immersion in high-quality picture books
- Oral rehearsal and early composition
Key Stage 1
- Clear sentence structure and punctuation
- Expanded sentences with description and detail
- Writing for a range of simple purposes
- Early editing skills
- Growing vocabulary and independence
Key Stage 2
- Writing for a wide range of purposes:
entertain, inform, explain, persuade, discuss - Cohesion within and across paragraphs
- Ambitious vocabulary and effective grammar choices
- Independent drafting and editing
- Developing an authentic authorial voice
Handwriting and Spelling
Handwriting
- Taught explicitly from EYFS
- Children progress from print to joined handwriting when secure
- Pen licences awarded for fluent, joined handwriting
Spelling
We teach spelling using Spelling Shed, which provides:
- Systematic progression of spelling rules
- Explicit teaching and practice
- Online games and activities to strengthen recall
- Weekly practice at home and in school
- Regular assessments to inform next steps
Spelling Shed supports resilience, confidence and responsibility in spelling accuracy.
Impact
By Year 6, pupils at St. Gregory’s are:
- Fluent, confident and thoughtful readers
- Skilled, imaginative and precise writers
- Articulate speakers who listen respectfully
- Learners with rich vocabulary and effective comprehension
- Children who demonstrate resilience, responsibility, honesty and self-belief
- Ready for the demands of KS3 and the wider world
Impact is monitored through:
- RWI assessments and Year 1 Phonics Screening
- VIPERS and whole-class reading outcomes
- Independent Pathways to Write outcomes
- Book scrutiny and moderation
- Lesson observations and learning walks
- Pupil voice discussions
- End-of-year assessment and progress data
Our pupils leave St. Gregory’s with the literacy knowledge, skills and virtues needed to thrive in secondary school and beyond.