At Riverside Primary School, where everyone matters and every day counts, we believe that strong English skills open doors to learning, communication and opportunity. Our aim is for every child to become a confident reader, writer and communicator, equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in school and beyond.
Our English curriculum brings together reading, writing, phonics, spelling and handwriting, underpinned by the development of speaking and listening skills. Through carefully sequenced teaching, high-quality texts and purposeful learning experiences, we develop children’s knowledge, fluency, confidence, creativity and enjoyment of language.
English plays a central role in developing our Curriculum Drivers, particularly Communication, Knowledge of the World and Ambition. Reading introduces children to new ideas, cultures and perspectives, while speaking and writing enable them to express themselves, share their knowledge and communicate with confidence.
Our STAR values – Strive, Tolerance, Achieve and Resilience – underpin our approach. We encourage children to challenge themselves, respect the ideas of others, persevere when learning is difficult and take pride in their achievements.
We have high expectations for every child, regardless of their starting points or individual needs. Through explicit teaching, modelling, appropriate scaffolding and carefully targeted support, we aim to ensure that all children can access our ambitious English curriculum and develop increasing independence.
At Riverside, we believe that reading is the key to unlocking learning, imagination and opportunity. Our vision is to nurture a lifelong love of reading, enabling every child to become a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader.
We are committed to providing a rich and varied reading curriculum that challenges, inspires and motivates children, regardless of their starting points or backgrounds. Through a carefully chosen range of high-quality texts, we introduce children to different authors, genres, cultures and experiences, broadening their knowledge and understanding of the world.
We recognise the importance of explicitly teaching reading skills alongside providing opportunities for children to enjoy books and develop their own reading preferences. Our aim is for every child to leave Riverside with the reading skills, confidence and enjoyment needed to succeed in the next stage of their education and beyond.
For further information about our approach to reading, please explore the documents below. Information about phonics and early reading can be found on our dedicated Phonics and Early Reading page.
At Riverside, we want every child to see themselves as a writer. Our writing curriculum develops children’s confidence, creativity and ability to communicate clearly and effectively for a range of purposes and audiences.
We believe that successful writing begins with secure foundations. From the earliest stages, children learn to express their ideas orally, construct accurate sentences and develop the vocabulary, grammar and punctuation needed to communicate their ideas. As children progress through the school, they build upon this knowledge to become increasingly fluent, thoughtful and independent writers.
Our approach is informed by the principles of Talk for Writing, providing children with high-quality models, opportunities for oral rehearsal and carefully structured support before moving towards independent writing.
Writing units commonly follow three stages:
Throughout this process, children are explicitly taught how to plan, draft, revise, edit and improve their writing. Support is gradually reduced as their knowledge and confidence develop, enabling them to become increasingly independent.
Our writing curriculum is carefully planned to ensure that knowledge and skills build progressively from Reception to Year 6. Secure sentence construction provides the foundation for increasingly sophisticated writing, with children developing greater control over vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, organisation and the effect of their writing on the reader.
Writing purposes and forms are deliberately revisited across year groups, allowing children to deepen their understanding and apply previously taught knowledge in increasingly challenging contexts. High-quality model texts are carefully selected to support specific learning, ensuring that curriculum choices are driven by what children need to know and do next.
Children learn to write for a range of purposes, including to entertain, inform, explain and persuade. They are taught to consider their audience and make deliberate choices about how best to communicate their ideas.
Grammar, punctuation and sentence construction are taught explicitly, both through focused teaching and within meaningful writing contexts. Children learn not only how language works, but how to use it effectively in their own writing.
Regular opportunities for retrieval and practice, including our Flashback Four activities, help children secure and revisit essential knowledge. Teachers use ongoing assessment to identify misconceptions, adapt teaching and provide additional practice where needed.
We recognise that children develop writing skills at different rates. Through oral rehearsal, visual resources, modelling, structured support and targeted teaching, we aim to remove barriers to learning while maintaining ambitious expectations for all.
Our ultimate goal is for every child to leave Riverside able to communicate their ideas accurately, confidently and independently, taking pride in themselves as a writer.
Accurate spelling is an essential part of becoming a confident and fluent writer. At Riverside, spelling is taught explicitly and systematically, building upon children’s phonics knowledge and following the requirements of the National Curriculum.
We use Spelling Shed to support a progressive approach to spelling, teaching children to recognise and apply spelling patterns, rules and conventions. As children progress, they develop their understanding of prefixes, suffixes, word families and word origins.
Spelling knowledge is regularly revisited through retrieval, practice and application in writing. Teachers use assessment and children’s independent work to identify gaps in understanding and provide additional teaching or appropriate adaptations where needed.
Our aim is for children to become increasingly accurate, confident and independent spellers who can apply their knowledge across the curriculum.
At Riverside, we recognise that fluent, legible handwriting is an essential foundation for successful writing. When handwriting becomes increasingly automatic, children can focus more fully on expressing and developing their ideas.
Our handwriting curriculum follows a carefully planned progression, supported by the Penpals handwriting scheme. Children are explicitly taught correct letter formation, consistent sizing and spacing, before progressing towards fluent and appropriately joined handwriting.
Through regular teaching and practice, children develop the fluency, accuracy and confidence needed to write comfortably and efficiently. Additional support is provided where handwriting presents a barrier to learning.
We encourage all children to take pride in the presentation of their work while recognising that developing handwriting fluency is a gradual process.
Phonics provides the essential foundations for learning to read and spell. At Riverside, children are systematically taught the relationships between letters and sounds and how to apply this knowledge when reading and writing.
For further information about our approach, including our phonics programme and ways to support your child at home, please visit our dedicated Phonics and Early Reading page.
Mrs M Murray & Mrs K Watts
English Lead
If you have any questions regarding the curriculum, please email our Curriculum lead and Deputy Head, Mrs Watts.