English

Writing Curriculum

At St Joseph’s Catholic Academy, our writing curriculum enables children to express ideas clearly, creatively and confidently. We nurture imagination, precision and pride in written work, rooted in our Gospel values and a shared love of language and literature.

Writing is a vital tool for communication, reflection and creativity. Through carefully chosen texts, purposeful teaching sequences and high expectations for all, we support pupils to develop as confident writers who understand the power and importance of the written word.

Intent

We intend for all pupils to become fluent, confident and imaginative writers who can communicate effectively for a wide range of purposes and audiences. Our writing curriculum is designed to develop pupils who:

• Write with purpose and adapt their writing for different audiences and contexts
• Use ambitious and precise vocabulary drawn from high-quality texts
• Organise ideas coherently and structure writing appropriately
• Use sentences, grammar and punctuation purposefully to create meaning and effect
• Spell accurately, applying phonics and spelling patterns confidently
• Take pride in handwriting, presentation and published work
• Reflect on and improve their writing through editing and feedback

Ultimately, we aim for children to develop a genuine love of writing and leave our school equipped with the skills, confidence and creativity they need for future learning and life beyond school.

Implementation

Curriculum Structure and Progression

We follow the English National Curriculum for writing, supported by a clearly sequenced progression of skills from Early Years to Year 6. This ensures that learning builds cumulatively over time and that pupils develop secure knowledge and skills in:

• Writing composition
• Oracy and vocabulary
• Grammar and punctuation
• Handwriting and presentation

(See our Writing Progression of Skills document for detailed progression.)

Book-Based Approach

Writing is taught through a rich, book-led approach. Carefully selected, high-quality texts provide meaningful contexts and strong models for writing. Texts are chosen to expose pupils to a wide range of genres, authors, cultures and styles, ensuring an ambitious and varied reading and writing experience.

High-quality literature supports pupils to develop vocabulary, language patterns, structural awareness and an understanding of authorial voice.

St Joseph’s Writing Process

Writing is taught through a writing cycle, used alongside the school’s Teaching and Learning Structure. This shared approach ensures clarity, coherence and high expectations across all year groups.

Each unit is centred around a core text and begins with a purposeful hook to engage pupils emotionally and intellectually.

                         

The writing journey follows four interconnected stages:

Introduction of the Text

• Exploring structure and key features of the genre
• Identifying and magpieing ambitious vocabulary and phrases
• Understanding success criteria and writing purpose

Reading Comprehension

• Close reading of the core text
• Questions linked directly to meaning, language and authorial choices
• Development of decoding, fluency and understanding

Grammar and Punctuation

• Grammar and punctuation taught explicitly and in context
• Sentence structure linked to the text and genre
• Understanding how grammatical choices shape meaning and effect

Writing

• Short writing opportunities to apply new skills
• Planning for extended writing
• Drafting, editing and improving
• Producing a polished published piece

This writing process ensures that pupils are supported to gradually move from modelling and guided practice to independent application and reflection.

Spelling, Handwriting and Transcription

Secure transcriptional skills are a key priority.

Spelling is taught daily through Sounds-Write, a cumulative phonics-based programme that develops strong understanding of sound–spelling relationships. As pupils progress, teaching includes morphology and etymology to support accurate spelling and confident application within writing.

Handwriting and presentation are taught through a structured programme, ensuring fluent, legible handwriting and high standards of presentation across the school.

Writing Across the Curriculum

Pupils are given regular opportunities to apply and transfer their writing skills across a wide range of subjects. This supports purposeful writing, deepens learning and helps pupils adapt their writing to different audiences, purposes and disciplines.

Impact

Our writing curriculum ensures that pupils make strong progress from their individual starting points and develop into confident, capable and enthusiastic writers.

By the end of each key stage, pupils are able to:

• Write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences
• Use a wide and ambitious vocabulary
• Craft writing with clarity, detail and imagination
• Apply grammar, punctuation and spelling accurately
• Organise ideas logically and coherently
• Demonstrate fluent handwriting and pride in presentation
• Reflect on and improve their writing using feedback

Assessment is embedded throughout the writing process. Teachers use formative assessment to identify next steps and adapt teaching, while summative assessments inform judgements against age-related expectations.

Through our writing curriculum, pupils leave St Joseph’s Catholic Academy as confident communicators, reflective learners and motivated writers who value writing as a powerful tool for communication, creativity and learning.

 

 

Reading Curriculum 

At St. Joseph’s, we are committed to providing a curriculum that is purposeful, progressive and empowering for every child. We value each child as an individual and celebrate the diversity of experiences, needs, interests and achievements within our school community. Our curriculum is designed to spark curiosity, inspire enjoyment and nurture a love of learning, with Christ at the centre of all that we do.

A shared love of literature runs throughout our school and is closely connected to our faith life, Gospel values, Trust Character Virtues and British Values. These work alongside our curriculum drivers—the key principles that make our curriculum unique to St. Joseph’s. They are embedded throughout teaching and learning and reflect our belief that our role is to support children in understanding their identity and place in the world: in their local community, in our country, and as global citizens.

Our curriculum provides rich and memorable experiences that contribute to each child’s personal life story. We aim to broaden horizons and raise aspirations, helping children recognise that the world is full of opportunities waiting for them beyond the school gates. Our reading curriculum is designed to remove barriers to learning, ensuring that all pupils, including the most disadvantaged and those with SEND, can access ambitious texts and become confident, independent readers.

Intent

At St. Joseph’s, we intend for children to:

• Read fluently with confidence and understanding
• Read widely and often, both for pleasure and for information
• Develop a rich vocabulary and a broad knowledge base through exposure to a wide range of genres and text types

Implementation

At St. Joseph’s, we teach the National Curriculum for Reading. Our Progression of Skills in Reading ensures that knowledge and skills are carefully sequenced, introduced, practised and deepened year by year so that pupils build secure foundations and make sustained progress as they move through the school.

Teachers use a wide range of high‑quality texts and written materials during group and whole‑class reading sessions. Texts are thoughtfully chosen and often linked to writing genres or wider curriculum topics, enabling pupils to make meaningful connections in their learning and apply reading skills across subjects.

Reading lessons are delivered in line with the school’s Teaching and Learning Structure, ensuring consistency in retrieval, explicit instruction, modelling, guided practice and independent application across all year groups.

Our Whole School Reading Spine ensures that all children encounter a rich, diverse and ambitious range of texts, including fiction, non‑fiction and poetry, during their time at St. Joseph’s.

Throughout Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, reading lessons focus on the development of key skills including:

• Retrieval – locating and recording key information from a text
• Inference – using evidence to understand deeper meaning, including characters’ thoughts, feelings and motives
• Summarising – identifying the main ideas across paragraphs or sections
• Prediction – anticipating what may happen next using clues from the text
• Vocabulary – understanding and discussing new or challenging words in context
• Questioning and Commentating – asking and answering questions to deepen understanding
• Authorial Choice – recognising how language, structure and presentation create meaning and effect

Teacher assessment is ongoing and informs planning, teaching and targeted support. Teachers use observation, discussion, questioning and written comprehension tasks to identify misconceptions, assess fluency and deepen understanding over time.

EYFS and Ke Stage 1

In EYFS, reading development begins through a strong focus on phonological awareness, high‑quality story time, language‑rich provision and systematic phonics teaching. These foundations ensure children are well prepared for the transition into Key Stage 1 reading.

To support the development of early reading skills, children in Early Years and Key Stage 1 take part in two guided reading sessions each week. During these sessions, children are introduced to and practise key reading skills including decoding, prosody (expressive reading) and comprehension. These focused activities help to build accuracy, fluency and confidence, laying strong foundations for future reading success.

Key Stage 2

In Key Stage 2, reading is taught through whole‑class reading sessions four times a week, from Year 3 to Year 6. These sessions last between 30 and 45 minutes and provide children with shared, structured reading experiences that build confidence, fluency and understanding.

Two sessions each week follow a carefully designed curriculum that immerses children in high‑quality fiction, non‑fiction and poetry through the use of linked texts. These texts complement one another in theme, author, topic or style, allowing children to develop deeper knowledge and appreciation of literature while encountering a wide range of ambitious and engaging material.

The remaining two sessions focus on the class novel, selected from the Whole School Reading Spine. These lessons provide opportunities for rich book talk, where children engage in thoughtful discussion, share ideas and respond to the text with their teacher and peers. A strong emphasis is placed on vocabulary development and spoken language to support comprehension and confidence.

As part of the writing cycle, children complete a formal comprehension task based on a published text that aligns with their current writing focus. This supports pupils in understanding authorial choices, vocabulary and structural features, and enables them to apply these skills within their own writing.

Support and Progression

Children who require additional support in reading receive targeted 1:1 or small‑group interventions matched to their specific needs. Staff closely monitor progress to ensure that disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND make strong progress from their individual starting points. Adaptations may include pre‑teaching vocabulary, scaffolded questioning, additional adult support or alternative text formats where appropriate.

From Year 2 onwards, pupils also access Accelerated Reader, an online reading platform that recommends books matched to pupils’ reading levels and personal interests. After reading a book, children complete a short quiz to monitor understanding and deepen engagement. Accelerated Reader can also be accessed at home, supporting the home‑school partnership in reading.

Impact

By the time pupils leave St. Joseph’s:

• They read fluently and confidently across a wide range of genres
• They demonstrate strong comprehension skills and a secure understanding of vocabulary
• They are able to apply reading skills independently across the wider curriculum
• They talk positively about books and display a genuine enjoyment of reading
• Gaps between groups are reduced through early identification and targeted support

Promoting a Love of Reading

Promoting a love of reading is a deliberate and carefully planned part of life at St. Joseph’s. Each classroom has a dedicated reading area offering a wide selection of texts, including fiction, non‑fiction, books linked to curriculum areas and texts that support understanding of diversity and protected characteristics.

Every day, teachers read aloud to their class, sharing a variety of written material such as stories, information texts, reports, diaries and poetry. Storytelling is enhanced through engaging approaches including puppets, finger stories and story sacks, helping to bring texts to life.

We also provide opportunities for reading beyond the classroom. Two outdoor book huts located on the playgrounds allow children to access books during break and lunchtime, encouraging reading as a pleasurable, social activity and helping to foster a lifelong love of books.