Intent

At English Martyrs, we believe that a quality English curriculum should encompass a love of reading and writing for all. Through providing enriching and engaging opportunities and enthralling experiences for our children, they will be inspired to read widely and write for a range of purposes.

As part of this, our school looks to create a community of life-long readers and writers through showing our children how ‘English’ connects to real life.  Contacts are made in the literature world with opportunities for publishers, book shops and authors to visit our school and instil inquisitiveness in all.

At the end of children’s educational journeys at English Martyrs, they will have developed the ability to:

• verbally articulate their thoughts and opinions, and respectfully respond to the views of others
• appreciate a range of literature and form opinions as a result
• choose reading material from a variety of genres for pleasure and for information
• read fluently with good understanding
• write clearly, coherently and accurately, thoughtfully selecting grammar and vocabulary to suit purpose

Implementation

When planning the English curriculum, cross curricular links are utilised, learning journeys and experiences are rooted in rich texts and children’s interests are encapsulated.  Children delve into their imagination and use their skills to craft outcomes they are proud of. Lesson sequences are carefully mapped through the process of ‘Read – Analyse – Plan – Write – Review’. During this cycle, they are inspired to extend their vocabulary, develop a range of grammatical skills and learn how to edit their writing with a clear purpose and audience in mind.

Write Way Forward

At our school, we are passionate about developing confident, enthusiastic and skilled writers. Over the past four years, we have been proud to be part of the Write Way Forward Project, working collaboratively with other schools, attending conferences and sharing best practice to continually strengthen the teaching and learning of writing across our school.

As part of this journey, we have carefully developed our approach to sentence structure through our own 'Colourful Language' system. This enables children to identify and understand different word classes, supporting them to construct increasingly sophisticated sentences and become more effective communicators. Our consistent approach helps pupils develop a strong understanding of grammar and language choices that they can apply across all areas of writing.

Writing is explicitly taught through the "I Do, We Do, You Do, You Do" model. Teachers provide high-quality live modelling in every writing lesson, allowing children to see the thought processes of an expert writer in action. Through shared and guided practice, pupils develop the confidence and independence needed to apply new skills within their own writing.

To further nurture creativity and a genuine love of writing, we are introducing the Personal Writing Project in Upper Key Stage 2. Every child is provided with their own Creative Writing Book, which becomes their personal writing project journal throughout the year. This special book gives children the freedom to write for their own purposes, develop their own ideas and experiment with different genres and styles. By providing ownership of their writing, we aim to build stamina, confidence and enjoyment, while fostering a lifelong love of storytelling and self-expression.

Through these approaches, we strive to ensure that every child leaves our school as a capable, creative and confident writer, equipped with the skills and enthusiasm to communicate effectively in the wider world.

Reading

To ensure our children gain a clear foundation in early reading, in September 2026 we have introduced Little Wandle as part of our approach to the teaching of early phonics and reading. 

At English Martyrs, we believe that reading is the key that unlocks all areas of learning. Our approach is informed by evidence-informed research, including the work of Christopher Such, and is underpinned by the understanding that successful reading depends on both accurate word recognition and strong language comprehension. Through carefully planned teaching, we support children to become fluent readers who can read with accuracy, automaticity and understanding.

We place a strong emphasis on the development of fluency, comprehension and prosody. Children are taught not only to decode words accurately, but also to read with expression, appropriate intonation and understanding. As their fluency develops, they are able to devote more of their attention to comprehending, discussing and thinking deeply about what they read.

In every classroom, reading environments are carefully considered and nurtured. Children are read to daily through carefully chosen class novels and high-quality texts, exposing them to rich vocabulary, ambitious language and a range of authors, genres and themes. They are encouraged to select their own reading material from a wide variety of books, helping them to develop both confidence and independence as readers.

Through whole-class reading lessons and book talk sessions, children learn to discuss texts thoughtfully, justify their opinions and make connections between what they read and their wider learning. These experiences help to deepen comprehension while fostering positive reading habits.

During the 2026-27 academic year, we are placing a particular focus on Reading for Pleasure across Key Stage 2. We want every child to see themselves as a reader and to develop a lifelong love of reading. To support this, our Key Stage 2 Reading Lead will be undertaking specialist Reading for Pleasure training throughout the year, helping us to further develop our provision and create meaningful opportunities for children to engage with books both in and beyond the classroom.

Our aim is that every child leaves English Martyrs as a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader, equipped with the skills and motivation to access the next stage of their education and to enjoy reading throughout their lives.