At St John’s, our English curriculum is thoughtfully designed to nurture a lifelong love of language and communication in every child. We aim to develop confident readers, writers, and speakers who can express their ideas clearly, creatively, and with purpose.
Phonics
At St John’s, we place a strong emphasis on the teaching of early reading and writing through a systematic and consistent approach to phonics. We follow the Read Write Inc. (RWI) scheme to ensure that every child develops the essential skills to become a confident, fluent reader and an enthusiastic writer.
Our intent is that all children “keep up, not catch up.” From Reception to Year 2, and beyond where necessary, children are taught in carefully organised, stage-appropriate groups based on their phonics knowledge rather than their chronological age. This ‘stage not age’ approach ensures that every child receives teaching precisely matched to their current level of development, allowing them to make rapid and sustained progress.
Children begin by learning to recognise and say individual sounds (phonemes) and to form the corresponding letters (graphemes) accurately. They then build upon this knowledge by developing their segmenting and blending skills, which enable them to read and spell words confidently. As children become more secure in these skills, they move on to develop fluency, reading with increasing accuracy, expression, and understanding.
Children are assessed half-termly, enabling us to regroup pupils and refine interventions swiftly in response to ongoing needs. Where additional support is required, targeted 1:1 and small group interventions are provided from Reception through to Year 6, ensuring that no child is left behind in their reading journey.
Throughout our phonics teaching, we use rhymes and mnemonics to support accurate letter formation and to make learning engaging and memorable. This foundation supports early writing and builds confidence in spelling and composition.
Alongside developing decoding skills, we place a strong focus on supporting comprehension, ensuring that children understand, interpret, and discuss what they read, fostering both accuracy and meaning.
By the time children leave Key Stage 1, our goal is for them to be strong, fluent readers who read with understanding, confidence, and enjoyment. We aim to nurture a lifelong love of reading, empowering all pupils to access the wider curriculum and to develop as independent, enthusiastic learners.
Reading
At the heart of our curriculum is a commitment to nurturing a lifelong love of reading. We believe that reading for pleasure unlocks curiosity, imagination, and confidence, enabling every child to flourish as an engaged and passionate reader. Through rich and diverse texts, inspiring role models, and a culture that celebrates stories in all their forms, we encourage children to see reading not only as a skill but as a source of joy and discovery. Our aim is for every child to leave us with a deep appreciation of literature, the ability to think critically, and the confidence to explore the world through the written word. Our staff are enthusiastic readers themselves, with a rich knowledge of diverse and contemporary authors, and they share this passion daily with our children. Pupils enjoy talking to a wide range of adults about books, drawing on their recommendations and insights to help them explore new genres and voices.
Through a carefully sequenced curriculum, the children at St John's build strong foundations in phonics, grammar, vocabulary, and transcriptional skills, enabling them to write fluently and accurately across a broad range of genres and for diverse audiences. We ensure that early writing activities are engineered for success, linking letter formation to phonics knowledge and providing guided practice with worked examples. As children progress, they are taught explicit writing processes including planning, drafting, editing, and reviewing, supported by models and exemplars that set ambitious goals. Our curriculum encourages metacognitive strategies to help pupils plan, monitor, and evaluate their writing effectively, including peer and self-assessment. We also place strong emphasis on talk, ensuring that discussions about texts and ideas are purposeful and that pupils develop the vocabulary and reasoning skills necessary to engage meaningfully with content. Ultimately, our intent is to empower children to engage critically with texts, write with confidence and creativity, and flourish both academically and personally within our loving, Christian community.