At St Teresa’s, we place English at the heart of our curriculum because we believe that reading and writing are fundamental to all learning and to pupils’ success beyond primary school. Through an enjoyable and engaging carefully sequenced English curriculum, we nurture fluent, confident, and enthusiastic readers and writers who can communicate effectively, think critically, and express themselves creatively.

Reading is delivered through an enjoyable and purposeful curriculum that inspires a lifelong love of books and language. By the end of their time at St Teresa’s, pupils will be independent, reflective readers who can read fluently, with understanding and confidence. Using high-quality, diverse texts and tiered vocabulary, we set high aspirations for what pupils can achieve in reading, developing their comprehension, critical thinking, and communication skills.

Writing is taught as a craft, closely linked to reading, so that pupils learn from authors’ choices of language, structure, and style. Pupils are encouraged to write for real purposes and audiences, developing their own voice and stamina as writers. Our curriculum ensures that pupils build secure knowledge of spelling, grammar, and punctuation, which they can apply across a range of genres. Through modelling, scaffolding, and opportunities for planning, drafting, and editing, pupils learn to write with increasing independence and precision.

At St Teresa’s, we take every opportunity to expose our children to a rich range of texts and writing experiences drawn from diverse authors and cultures. This enhances pupils’ cultural capital, broadens their understanding of the world, and equips them with the vocabulary, knowledge, and creativity they need to thrive as articulate, confident members of society.

At our school, we follow The Literacy Tree—a complete, book-based approach to teaching Writing and  Reading comprehension. This approach ensures full coverage of the National Curriculum while placing purpose and audience at the heart of every writing opportunity. We also follow Little Wandle as our phonics scheme. Please use the links on the right-hand side for more detail about each area.