Reading

At St Denys Primary School, we have designed our English curriculum with the intent that all children, regardless of background, will become fluent, insightful readers and technically skilled, creative writers. Our children engage with a range of genres and develop their understanding of fiction and non-fiction styles. Furthermore, we have developed a curriculum that instils a love of reading and writing that we hope will stay with our young learners for life. We understand that a good grasp of English is the foundation of the entire curriculum and that children who are confident and adept readers and writers will be empowered to succeed in all other areas. We believe strongly in the vital role played by parents and carers in the development of reading and writing and in the nurturing of positive habits, particularly in attitudes towards reading. We welcome this and value their contribution. To develop the appropriate subject specific knowledge, skills and understanding set out in the National Curriculum, we have built our English curriculum upon principles from Chris Quigley’s Essentials Curriculum.

We deliver a Reading curriculum, which develops:

•  Excellent phonic knowledge and skills.
•  Fluency and accuracy in reading across a wide range of contexts throughout the curriculum.
•  Knowledge of an extensive and rich vocabulary.
•  An excellent comprehension of texts.
•  The motivation to read for both learning and for pleasure.
•   Extensive knowledge through having read a rich and varied range of texts.

Writing

At St Denys Primary School, we have designed our English curriculum with the intent that all children, regardless of background, will become fluent, insightful readers and technically skilled, creative writers. Our children engage with a range of genres and develop their understanding of fiction and non-fiction styles. Furthermore, we have developed a curriculum that instils a love of reading and writing that we hope will stay with our young learners for life. We understand that a good grasp of English is the foundation of the entire curriculum and that children who are confident and adept readers and writers will be empowered to succeed in all other areas. We believe strongly in the vital role played by parents and carers in the development of reading and writing and in the nurturing of positive habits, particularly in attitudes towards reading. We welcome this and value their contribution. To develop the appropriate subject specific knowledge, skills and understanding set out in the National Curriculum, we have built our English curriculum upon principles from Chris Quigley’s Essentials Curriculum.

We deliver a Writing curriculum, which develops:

• The ability to write fluently and with interesting detail on a number of topics throughout the curriculum.
• A vivid imagination which makes readers engage with and enjoy their writing.
• A highly developed vocabulary and an excellent knowledge of writing techniques to extend details or description.
• Well-organised and structured writing, which includes a variety of sentence structures.
• Excellent transcription skills that ensure their writing is well presented and punctuated, spelled correctly and neat.
• A love of writing and an appreciation of its educational, cultural and entertainment values

To develop the appropriate subject specific knowledge, skills and understanding set out in the National Curriculum, the St Denys writing curriculum is based on Chris Quigley’s Essentials Curriculum and the four main purposes of writing: to entertain, to inform, to persuade and to discuss.