Curriculum Overview and Policy
Download: Ready Steady Write – Curriculum Coverage [PDF]
Download: Ready Steady Write – Progression [PDF]
Download: September 2025 – Reading Overview [PDF]
Download: Year 2-6 – Spelling Overview 2025-2026 [PDF]
View our English Policy on our Curriculum Policies page
View our Handwriting and Presentation Policy on our Curriculum Policies page
View our Phonics Policy on our Curriculum Policies page
Reading Spines
Download: Year 3 – Reading Spine [PDF]
Download: Year 4 – Reading Spine [PDF]
Download: Year 5 – Reading Spine [PDF]
Download: Year 6 – Reading Spine [PDF]
Read Write Inc. Spelling
At St Oswald’s, we use the RWInc Spelling scheme throughout Years 2 – 6. Year 1 have a tailored spelling scheme, which is based around the same concept as the RWInc Spelling scheme.
Read Write Inc. Spelling is a 15 / 20 -minute-a-day programme for Years 2 to 6. The programme runs on a one- week cycle per unit, consisting of five sessions per week.
Using a proven approach underpinned by phonics, fast–paced lessons and an online subscription, Read Write Inc. Spelling prepares children for the higher demands of the statutory spelling assessments in England.
How does each unit run?
Session one: focuses on a rapid recall of the previous units spelling to consolidate their learning. This session then introduces the new sound / spelling rule for the unit through a short video. This is then followed with a spelling zone activity.
Session two: Dots and dashes and word changing activities (understanding how many sounds are in words as well as understanding root words, prefixes and suffixes)
Session three: Choose the right word activity (understanding how to use spelling words in context)
Session four: Four in a row activity (an opportunity for children to test each other on their spelling words)
Session five: Dictation (Partner work – Children read sentences to each other and peer assess each other’s spellings)
All activities are completed in a spelling practice book and mistakes are noted in a log book for future reference.
Download: Spelling Overview [Coming Soon]
Download: Year 2-6 Spelling Overview 2025 [PDF]
Year 4 – English
Reading and Phonics – Curriculum Drivers
Language – Learning to read opens up a whole world of opportunity. Using a phonics-based approach to effortlessly decode text provides our children with the capacity to comprehend and develop a deep understanding of books. At St Oswald’s, we strive for every child to find pleasure and enjoyment through reading. (Faith in Our Voice)
Diversity and Inclusion – Providing children with the tools to confidently read and explore a range of texts which celebrate the diversity of cultures and communities within our school is crucial. The knowledge and understanding these books bring helps encourage acceptance and prepares pupils to thrive in an exponentially diverse world. (Faith in Others)
Resilience – Mastering the phonemes, graphemes and spelling rules of the English language will challenge even the most resilient of learners. Children are encouraged to take on unfamiliar words and texts, applying their knowledge of phonics and word recognition, with a confident and positive attitude. (Faith in Ourselves)
Enrichment – Fostering a love of reading and celebrating our commitment to all children being life-long readers doesn’t end in the classroom. A range of local and national enrichment events, competitions and activities benefit all involved. At St Oswald’s we strive to provide opportunities that children may not have had otherwise. (Faith in Our Journey)
Reading – Intent
At St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School, our curriculum is aligned with our mission statement that ‘Together with Jesus, we will Learn and Grow in Faith’ thus ensuring that ALL pupils have access to a broad, balanced, supportive, sequenced and ambitious curriculum which provides them with the knowledge, skills and experiences’ they need to succeed in life.
Reading is the key that unlocks the whole curriculum. At St Oswald’s we strive to inspire enthusiastic, fluent, lifelong readers with good comprehension skills; developing a broad vocabulary which children use to effectively express themselves. Our priority is to enable children to fully access the wider curriculum showing competence and confidence when reading subject specific texts. We want children to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. Children have access to texts which celebrate the spectrum of diversity and cater for the needs of all children including SEND.
The importance of early reading can not be understated in St Oswald’s. Using the Read Write Inc synthetic phonics programme, we will teach our children the core skills of segmenting and blending to start them on their ‘reading journey’. Children learn a simple alphabetic code, followed later by a more complex code. All reading books progress cumulatively, matched to the sounds children have learnt in school. This provides children with the opportunity to apply their learning and celebrate their reading progress in school and at home.
Reciprocal reading strategies are used to develop comprehension skills and deepen understanding of a broad range of texts. Children develop skills to recognise and understand Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval, Sequence, Summarising and questioning. Alongside this, children have opportunities to acquire and utilise an ever increasing and complex vocabulary, preparing them for future success and employment.
Reading – Implementation
Reading throughout school
At St Oswald’s, we have a rigorous and well organised English curriculum and framework, that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading and discussion. Following guidance from the Early Reading Framework, back and forth interactions between pupils and adults are encouraged, helping children learn and practise new language. We use a wide variety of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children. Teachers also ensure that cross curricular links are woven into the programmes of study. All pupils receive a daily English lesson, with additional phonics lessons taught in EYFS and KS1.
Every child will experience a full range of reading experiences during their time in school from reading with an adult 1:1, reading in small groups of similar ability children and as part of a whole class lesson. Our younger children in EYFS and KS1 will read routinely as individuals with an adult in a 1:1 session and in guided read small group sessions. This will allow adults to attend to the needs of the individual child. Some children in KS2 will also continue to have this support. Small Group sessions will focus on reading a text suited to the children in the group which allows them to develop decoding, prosody and comprehension skills. Whole Class reading will allow children to all read a text matched to the expected level for their year group. Again, within this lesson children will have the opportunity to read independently and work on comprehension skills. ‘Story time’ happens every day in every class in KS1 and frequently in KS2 with staff and children modelling reading. We subscribe to Oxford Owl E books to ensure the children have opportunity to read at home. We have audited reading books and invested in fully decodable books in Ks1 and some for KS2. Children take a reading book home daily and parents are encouraged to hear them read and write in their Reading Record book.
Reciprocal Reading strategies are taught from EYFS to Year 6 to develop and deepen comprehension skills.
Teaching a range of genres across the school (progressing in difficulty) both in English and other curriculum areas; results in pupils being exposed to, and knowledgeable about, literary styles, authors and genres. They can express preferences and give opinions, supported by evidence, about different texts.
Phonics
Read, Write, Inc. Phonics is an inclusive programme for all children learning to read. Starting in the Summer term of Nursery, children begin to learn the 44 common sounds in the English language and how to blend them to read and spell. The use of pictures and memorable phrases is used to aid children’s retention and recall of phonemes for reading and spelling. All children are given ample opportunities to orally explore characters’ action, thoughts and feelings and to rehearse their writing.
The R.W.I sessions are expected to occur each day with no exceptions, as the continuity and pace of the programme is key to accelerating the progress of children’s reading development. All staff (including those who are not classroom based) are trained and the expectation is that these staff will provide cover for staff absence, should the need arise. In this way, daily provision is consistent and uninterrupted.
Pupils work within ability groups which are defined by their performance on R.W.I. phonic assessments. Pupils are re-assessed every 6 weeks and the groups are reorganised accordingly.
Teacher generated planning is minimised as the planning is integrated into the teacher’s handbooks and follows set routines. Each group leader has a printed format for planning ditties or storybook lessons. To this framework, is added the particular ditty/ storybook being studied, new phonic elements that are being introduced and any other points worthy of note for future use.
Delivery of Phonics
- Initial sounds are taught in a specific order.
- Sounds taught should be ‘pure’ ie ‘p’, not ‘puh’ as this is central to phonic teaching and ability to recognise sounds in words.
- Children are to be taught that the number of graphemes in a word always corresponds to the number of phonemes. This greatly aids spelling.
- Set 2 sounds are to be taught after Set 1 (initial sounds)
- Letter names are to be introduced with Set 3.
Assessment and Recording
Children are assessed throughout every lesson. Every time partner work is used the teacher assesses the progress of the children. The teacher assesses how children:
- read the grapheme chart
- read the green and red word lists
- decode the ditty/story
- comprehend the story
Each group leader is requested to keep a register to identify pupils that are absent or pupils that need extra reinforcement of a particular element that has been covered.
Formal assessment is carried out periodically by the phonics lead to ensure consistency using the R.W.I. phonic checks.
For more information on the Read, Write Inc scheme please visit the website https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/
Subject specific vocabulary is high profile on all class displays and a vocabulary focus is a priority at the start of every whole class guided reading session enhancing and encouraging a wider use of vocabulary. During comprehension lessons reciprocal reading strategies are used and the clarification of vocabulary in the shared text is examined. Vocabulary mats are used where needed and thesauruses and dictionaries are easily accessible for pupils to use. Using strategies from the ‘Opening Worlds’ program, children will be pre taught vocabulary which benefits all children including SEND. Repeating new vocabulary using different voices is just one of the strategies used to embed new subject specific language.
Speaking and listening is planned so pupils discuss and present their ideas to each other by talking, being able to elaborate and explain themselves clearly, make presentations and participate in debates.
English Working Walls are high profile in every classroom identifying the writing process as it happens. Headings show the reading and analysing, gathering content, planning, drafting and editing process. These change regularly to keep pace with the genre being studied.
Teachers create a positive culture in school by planning exciting reading opportunities throughout the year to encourage and promote reading and for pleasure.
At St Oswald’s, we identify children who need support and provide intervention in the most effective and efficient way that we can. We run intervention groups for reading and phonics and feedback to the intervention team after eight weeks. Teachers plan and teach English lessons which are differentiated to the particular needs of each child. We help each child maximise their potential by providing help and support where necessary whilst striving to make children independent workers once we have helped to equip them with the confidence, tools and strategies that they need.
Assessment and Monitoring in English
The impact of our English curriculum is measured through the monitoring cycle in school:
- Lesson observations, book monitoring and learning walks
- Skills progressing (grammar and punctuation) throughout the school is evident in children’s books.
- Gathering pupil voice – to check understanding, understanding of key skills and knowledge, progression, confidence in discussing English
- Moderating pupils work in school and in cluster meetings with other schools to ensure accurate assessments are made
- Tracking pupils’ progress each term in Reading and Writing. This informs planning and any intervention needed
- Pupil progress meetings ensure different groups (including EAL, PP and SEND) and individual progress is monitored, and interventions organised to support good and better progress
- Parents and carers will understand how they can support spelling, grammar and composition and home, and contribute regularly to homework.
- Monitoring is also used to identify gaps in the curriculum that may need to be addressed across the school, or within individual year groups. Monitoring is an ongoing cycle, which is used productively to provide the best possible English curriculum for our children and to ensure it is inclusive to all.
Writing – Curriculum Drivers
Language – The development of language in writing lessons is paramount. At St Oswald’s, we encourage children to develop a love of writing and to express their thoughts and ideas creatively through the written word, within a language rich environment. Children are encouraged to adapt their language and style accurately for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. (Faith in Our Voice)
Diversity and Inclusion – Children at St Oswald’s are given a broad and balanced writing curriculum, incorporating authors from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. They are exposed to diverse and inclusive books, as well as studying characters that are traditionally under-represented in children’s stories. Equal opportunities are provided for all children, regardless of need. (Faith in Others)
Resilience – At St Oswald’s, children develop self-esteem and confidence through the development of their writing skills. They are given opportunities to discuss their writing in a supportive, non-threatening environment where it is safe to share their thoughts with others. Peer assessment is an integral part of the writing process as it enables children to give each other valuable feedback so they learn from, and support each other. (Faith in Ourselves)
Enrichment – At St Oswald’s, children foster an enjoyment of writing, and a recognition of its value through a stimulating curriculum and school environment. We are passionate about enabling children to experience the magic of books, meet their favourite writers and discover new ones. (Faith in Our Journey)
Writing – Intent
At St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School, our curriculum is aligned with our mission statement that ‘Together with Jesus, we will Learn and Grow in Faith’ thus ensuring that ALL pupils have access to a broad, balanced, supportive, sequenced and ambitious curriculum which provides them with the knowledge, skills and experiences’ they need to succeed in life.
At St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School, Our English curriculum has been developed to recognise the importance of writing in every aspect of daily life and to develop children’s love of writing and discussion. We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in writing, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. Our aim is to provide children with key transferable writing skills to build on year on year that can be used throughout each phase of their education. We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high- quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.
Teaching children to write for a range of purposes and audiences is very important at St Oswald’s, where we provide children with a range of engaging hooks to capture their imagination. We aim to provide the children with varied reasons for writing and believe that this not only produces higher quality writing, but allows our learners to apply their skills to a range of different contexts. Writing across all subject areas will prepare our children for high school and the more in-depth approach to analysing, planning and innovating their writing.
At St Oswald’s we encourage the children to develop a love of writing and to be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively through the written word, adapting their language and style accurately for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. We want children to confidently use the essential skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling correctly in their writing. Cross curricular writing tasks are planned with regular opportunities to edit and improve their own writing.
Handwriting, spelling and grammar will be explicitly taught to ensure that children are able to understand the conventions of writing and manipulate language to create effects for the reader. We believe that good presentation skills are important as we want children to value their own work and take pride in their writing. We aim for our children to develop a clear cursive handwriting script that they are proud of. We expect and encourage children to present their work neatly so Handwriting and fine motor skills are taught throughout the school.
Our classrooms are language-rich environments and through our curriculum, children are exposed and actively engaged with high quality language in meaningful, deliberate and engaging ways. Children have opportunities to acquire and utilise an ever increasing and complex vocabulary and an understanding of grammar and linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language.
We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and to be able to use discussion to communicate and to learn; they should be able to elaborate and clearly explain their understanding and ideas.
Our aim is for ALL learners to achieve their full potential in writing and we are committed to providing the scaffolds and challenges needed in order for our children to achieve this.
Writing – Implementation
At St Oswald’s, we have a rigorous and well organised English curriculum and framework, that provides many purposeful opportunities for writing and discussion. Teachers create a positive culture in school by planning exciting writing opportunities throughout the year to encourage and promote writing for pleasure.
We use a wide variety of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children. Teachers also ensure that cross curricular links are woven into the programmes of study. Children are expected to transfer their key spelling, grammar and punctuation knowledge and vocabulary in Science, History and Geography into their writing and vice versa. We expect the high standards for writing in Literacy lessons to be evident within the work in all books.
All pupils receive a daily Literacy lesson and are exposed to age-related expectations for writing within a range of texts.
The teacher provides appropriate initial support (Shared and Guided writing) that is gradually reduced so the child is ultimately capable of completing the activity independently. Teachers carry out shared writing sessions with a whole class and also in groups. Group shared writing is often carried out for lower-ability writers who need more support, or for more able writers, in order to show them to use a feature the rest of the class are not ready for yet. Teachers model a piece of writing in order for the children to experience what good writing looks like. Sharing an example allows the children to understand the features of writing that is expected of them. There are weekly opportunities for the children to write independently.
We use the ‘Immerse, Analyse, Write’ teaching sequence to ensure that children have opportunities to practise the key skills whilst building the understanding and knowledge to apply these skills across a range of genres. The immersion stage begins with developing pupils’ speaking and listening skills and wider understanding of language through immersion of the topic to ensure children are familiar with the genre. This supports children to practise essential skills for effective writing, as well as capturing ideas and the opportunity for oral rehearsal. This leads into our analyse stage where pupils are taught to use strategies for planning and monitoring their writing. Children will be introduced to, then practise, these skills with feedback from the teacher and peers. The aim is for them to increase the fluency of these skills and techniques so that they may become automatic. Finally, we focus on the writing stage where the teacher provides appropriate initial support, through Shared and Guided writing, which is gradually reduced so the child is ultimately capable of completing the activity independently. Children do this through a process of plan, draft, proofread and edit and finally publish.
Children use editing lists to edit their writing. This is an integral part of the writing process as peer assessment enables children to give each other valuable feedback so they learn from and support each other.
Age appropriate spellings and common exception words are sent home weekly for pupils to practise their words and to write a sentence containing each word at home. Weekly spelling rules are taught throughout the school following the statutory spelling lists for each year group.
In EYFS, the focus is on letter recognition and formation. From Y1, children will learn the pre-cursive script and will present their writing in a variety of ways. Pupils are expected to start using a joined script in Year 3 and continue to develop this into Year 4, 5 and 6. Teachers model the school’s handwriting style when marking children’s work, writing on the board and on displays around the school. Handwriting is taught and practised regularly in separate books but is expected to be evidenced throughout all work produced.
We encourage our pupils to develop a wide and growing vocabulary in a number of ways, these include:
- Subject specific vocabulary is high profile on all class displays
- ‘Wow word’ wall, spelling rule of the week and word of the week displays
- Using the correct vocabulary orally
- Using dictionaries, thesaurus and vocabulary mats
- Carrying out systematic testing and providing feedback to pupils
- Targeted one to one/ small group support, where appropriate
Speaking and listening is planned so pupils discuss and present their ideas to each other by talking, being able to elaborate and explain themselves clearly, make presentations and participate in debates.
English Working Walls are high profile in every classroom identifying the writing process as it happens. Headings show the reading and analysing, gathering content, planning, drafting and editing process. These change regularly to keep pace with the genre being studied.
Displays of writing in class, around the school and on the school website and Twitter, giving a purpose and audience, to encourage pride in work and to show that work is valued. Central areas in KS1 and KS2 have writing journey displays showing the development of writing from nursery to Year 6.
At St Oswald’s, children who need writing support are identified and intervention is provided in the most effective and efficient way that we can. Intervention groups for writing take place and are fed back to the intervention team after eight weeks. Teachers plan and teach English lessons which are differentiated to the particular needs of each child. We help each child maximise their potential by providing help and support where necessary whilst striving to make children independent workers once we have helped to equip them with the confidence, tools and strategies that they need. Support in class may include small group work with an adult during lessons to model key skills, scaffolds created by the teacher to assist with completion of work and word banks/sentence openers provided to assist the child when writing.
Gaps in the English curriculum coverage due to Covid have been identified and a catch-up curriculum was put in place which consolidated the previous year’s key objectives. Prior learning was tracked and objectives were highlighted to ensure they were planned for in the current year group.
Assessment and Monitoring in English
The impact of our English curriculum is measured through the monitoring cycle in school:
- Lesson observations, book monitoring and learning walks
- Skills progressing (grammar and punctuation) throughout the school is evident in children’s books.
- Gathering pupil voice – to check understanding, understanding of key skills and knowledge, progression, confidence in discussing English
- Moderating pupils work in school and in cluster meetings with other schools to ensure accurate assessments are made
- Tracking pupils’ progress each term in Reading and Writing. This informs planning and any intervention needed
- Pupil progress meetings ensure different groups (including EAL, PP and SEND) and individual progress is monitored, and interventions organised to support good and better progress
- Parents and carers will understand how they can support spelling, grammar and composition and home, and contribute regularly to homework.
- Monitoring is also used to identify gaps in the curriculum that may need to be addressed across the school, or within individual year groups. Monitoring is an ongoing cycle, which is used productively to provide the best possible English curriculum for our children and to ensure it is inclusive to all.
Common Exception Words
Download: Year 1 Common Exception Words [PDF]
Download: Year 2 Common Exception Words [PDF]
Download: Year 3 and 4 Common Exception Words [PDF]
Download: Year 5 and 6 Common Exception Words [PDF]
Read Write Inc.
Download: RWI Curriculum Matching Grid for England – Early Years Foundation Stage [PDF]
Download: RWI Curriculum Matching Grid for England – Year 1 [PDF]
Download: RWI Curriculum Matching Grid for England – Year 2 – Spoken Language [PDF]
Parent Information
Download: Fine Motor Skills – Five Steps to Function Booklet [PDF]
Download: Developing Pencil Grip [PDF]
Download: RWI Parent Booklet 1 [PDF]
Download: RWI Parent Booklet 2 [PDF]
Download: RWI Parent FAQs [PDF]
Download: RWI Letter for Parents – FAQs [PDF]
Download: Brilliant Books to Share with Children (EYFS – Year 6) [PDF]
Download: How to Develop your Childs Reading [PDF]
Download: How to Improve your Childs Writing [PDF]
Download: The New National Curriculum – A Guide for Parents [PDF]
Download: Glossary of Terms Used in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Teaching in Primary Schools [PDF]
Download: KS1 Parent Writing Leaflet [PDF]
Download: KS2 Parent Writing Leaflet [PDF]
Download: Primary Glossary Parent and Carer Information [PDF]
Download: Year 1 – 6 Glossary Parent and Carer Information Sheets [PDF]
Additional Resources
Download: Phonics Screening – Guide for Parents (Year 1) [PDF]
Download: Phonics Screening – Guide for Parents (Year 1) [PDF]
Download: Reading – Recommended Books for Foundation Stage [PDF]
Download: Reading – Recommended Books for Reception [PDF]
Download: Reading – Recommended Books for Year 1 [PDF]
Download: Reading – Recommended Books for Year 2 [PDF]
Download: Reading – Recommended Books for Year 3 [PDF]
Download: Reading – Recommended Books for Year 4 [PDF]
Download: Reading – Recommended Books for Year 5 [PDF]
Download: Reading – Recommended Books for Year 6 [PDF]
Download: School Improvement Liverpool – EYFS Recommended Reading List [PDF]
Download: School Improvement Liverpool – Year 1 Recommended Reading List [PDF]
Download: School Improvement Liverpool – Year 2 Recommended Reading List [PDF]
Download: School Improvement Liverpool – Year 3 & 4 Recommended Reading List [PDF]
Download: School Improvement Liverpool – Year 5 & 6 Recommended Reading List [PDF]
Download: Inclusive Books Posters KS1 and KS2 [PDF]
Download: Reading – Top tips for reading with your child at home [PDF]
Download: Spelling – Help Your Child With Spelling (A4 Poster) [PDF]
Download: Vocabulary – Explanation Sheet [PDF]
Download: Writing – Information for Parents [PDF]
