“Good literacy floats on a sea of talk” James Britton
At Sharow CofE Primary School, we provide a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum that enables all children to become confident communicators, fluent readers and effective writers. We aim to foster a genuine love of reading and writing, creating lifelong learners who are inspired by high-quality, vocabulary-rich texts and who develop their own writer’s voice. Through a clear and progressive approach to reading and writing, rooted in strong spoken language, we ensure all pupils—regardless of background or ability—meet and, where possible, exceed the expectations of the Early Learning Goals and National Curriculum. By nurturing creativity, pride and purpose in literacy, we equip our children with the essential skills they need to succeed academically and to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider world.
Transcription skills are essential in helping children become fluent and confident writers. We place a strong focus on phonics, spelling and handwriting so that pupils can write accurately and with increasing ease. Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised is used to deliver highquality phonics teaching in EYFS and KS1. As children progress through Key Stage 1 and 2, our spelling scheme supports spelling development through a range of engaging strategies, including exploring spelling patterns, word families, meanings and word origins, helping children understand how words work and apply their skills confidently.
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. In EYFS and Key Stage 1, reading is closely linked to our phonics teaching, ensuring children develop strong early decoding skills and confidence as readers. As pupils move into Key Stage 2, reading is further developed through guided reading and whole class reading sessions, where children explore texts in greater depth. We place a strong emphasis on reading for pleasure and expose pupils to a wide range of high quality texts and genres, helping them to develop a love of reading and become confident, thoughtful readers for life.
