‘Making sure that children become engaged with reading from the beginning is one of the most important ways to make a difference to their life chances, whatever their socio-economic background’
The Reading Framework July 2021
Our English Leader is Miss Lally.
At St William’s, we have created an ambitious curriculum which is bespoke to our children and encourages them to become enthusiastic and engaged with English. We aim to develop pupils’ abilities within an integrated programme of speaking and listening, reading, writing & vocabulary. Pupils are given opportunities to interrelate the requirements of English within a broad and balanced approach to the teaching of English across the curriculum, with opportunities to consolidate and reinforce taught literacy skills. At St. William’s, we are committed to providing rich and varied opportunities for children to become literate pupils. Through our English Curriculum, we strive to teach the children how important their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills will be in the real world. By giving this context to their learning, the children understand the value of English to them now, and in their futures.
High quality and ambitious texts support every aspect of our curriculum. In EYFS and Key Stage 1, The Oxford Reading Tree scheme is carefully matched to support children’s phonics ability. As they move into key stage 2, children continue to develop fluency using the reading scheme until they are confident and able enough to become ‘free readers’. ALL children in school take home library books to share with their family from our recently replenished library.
INTENT
We aim for pupils to:
- Develop a love of speaking, reading and writing.
- Develop the ability to speak confidently, read fluently and write for a range purposes.
- Understand the purpose and the importance of being able to speak, read and write with a good command of the English language for success in school and beyond.
- Develop imagination and creativity through meaningful experiences, inspiring children to speak, read and write for a range of purposes and audience.
IMPLEMENTATION
English is delivered through a variety of teaching methods and approaches with a firm emphasis on oracy and vocabulary..
Click here for more information about our writing sequence; this explains how we implement the writing curriculum.
IMPACT
St William’s is a nurturing, supportive school and celebrates success. Children experience challenge
and success in English: they get support when they need it and are provided with the scaffolding
necessary to become independent and resilient writers who can write for a range of purposes. Regular and ongoing assessment for
learning and intervention supports and enables the success of every child. Attainment and progress at
the end of KS2 is well above national average.
YEAR % OF PUPILS ACHIEVING THE EXPECTED STANDARD
2025 87%
2024 83%
2023 83%
2022 78%
2021 83%
2020 83%
Policies
Click here for our 2025-2026 Handwriting Policy.
Click here for our 2025-2026 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Policy.
HOW YOU CAN HELP AT HOME
Click here for things to think about when you read at home with your child.
Click here for a recommended reading list for 3-11 year olds.
