Our Intent Statement for English

At Cheriton Primary School, we believe that a mastery of the skills and knowledge of the English curriculum is an essential life skill and every child deserves the chance to become a successful communicator so that they can achieve their aspirations throughout their education and beyond. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching across all subjects; for pupils, understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum. We believe that fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects and we aim to develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. Reading is a core part of a child’s education and reading and storytelling are at the centre of our Curriculum. Reading for pleasure is highly valued and deeply embedded in our school's culture. Our  children become lifelong readers. Writing gives a voice to our inner thoughts and allows us to share them. Through our English curriculum, we promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word.

Early Reading: Phonics

Reading is taught at Cheriton Primary School using the Read Write Inc programme.

From Reception, children are taught the sounds, the letters that represent them, and how to form the letters when writing.

The Read Write Inc approach includes reading books written using only the letters and sounds they have learnt at each level (and a small number of separately taught 'tricky words'). The programme continues through Key Stage One, where children attend a daily session in smaller groups tailored to their individual learning stages. 

The children read a variety of texts from the sets of brightly illustrated books that accompany the programme. Each session includes comprehension skills, spelling and sentence dictations ('holding a sentence') in order to support their reading and writing. 

Further information about Read Write Inc can be found via this link