English Statement

At Robert Kett Primary School, we follow the CUSP English reading, writing, and spelling curriculum.

​As the ability to read and write permeates all our curriculum subjects, in line with our vision statement, we aim to empower children through their daily English lessons.

​Both reading and writing lessons are underpinned by explicit vocabulary instruction. This vocabulary is referenced across all of the Robert Kett curriculum; we want to encourage our children to make links with all curriculum subjects so that they can build a schema on which to build knowledge.

The reading curriculum is underpinned by a reading spine which brings together a diverse selection of texts. From EYFS to year 6, children are exposed daily to high-quality texts, which we hope will open them up to the wider world. Phonics and fluency are taught alongside comprehension throughout the week, with fluency being explicitly taught.

​The writing curriculum is delivered in two blocks: Block A and Block B. In Block A, pupils will meet key concepts for the first time. In Block B, pupils revisit these concepts and build on prior knowledge. Each block has two parts. In the first part of the block, pupils are taught key concepts at sentence-level, and then they will master these through short writing tasks. In the second part of the block, pupils apply this knowledge to an extended outcome.

​Success is measured in many ways at Robert Kett. In writing, children’s work will be evaluated against identified ‘ingredients of success’ and then through ‘key indicators’ which will assess how well children are keeping up with the intended curriculum.

​All of our English lessons are taught using a six-part structure:

• Connect
• Explain
• Example
• Attempt
• Apply
• Challenge

Knowledge notes are used to help children navigate lessons and are used as a reference in future lessons.

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We encourage all our children to partake in English lessons, so that they can listen to and be exposed to some of the best that fiction and non-fiction authors have to offer. To support our children, we use a reading and writing support toolkit to help provide access for all.

Key Writing Indicators

At Robert Kett, in KS1 and KS2, we use writing tick sheets to ensure progression of skills in English writing.  These outline the English objectives taught in each year group. Teachers use these sheets to assess what children are able to do within their writing – and to ensure that their teaching assessments are robust and accurate.

Please click on the tile to see each tick-sheet:

Some useful glossary of terms to support parents’ understanding of the national curriculum:

https://www.theschoolrun.com/primary-literacy-glossary-for-parents

https://www.theschoolrun.com/primary-grammar-glossary-for-parents