English Curriculum Statement
Intent
Studying English is fundamental to our pupils’ personal, social, and academic growth. At Ryecroft C.E. Middle School, reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We aim for all our pupils to leave our school with strong reading skills that will support their future learning and success. It is also our ambition to foster a lifelong love of reading—one that will continue to inspire and sustain them well into adulthood. Alongside this, we are committed to nurturing pupils as effective writers, curious analytical thinkers, and confident, articulate orators—ensuring that every child is equipped with the communication skills they need to navigate our ever-changing world with confidence and play their role in shaping the future.
We immerse pupils in a broad and diverse literary landscape by exposing them to a wide range of genres, cultures, perspectives, and historical periods, including voices from our rich literary heritage.
Through our Reading for Pleasure Programme, delivered by form tutors, pupils engage daily in shared reading, 'book talk', book recommendations, and are challenged to cultivate their own reading identities. Pupils enjoy regular library sessions as part of our English provision, and our collection expands each term with books that genuinely engage and motivate our children.
Our inclusive ethos fosters a warm and nurturing environment where children, who are inspired by their reading, feel supported to grow as writers. Pupils are encouraged to express themselves with creativity and confidence, adapting their language and style thoughtfully to suit a range of genres, audiences, and purposes.
Through structured classroom discussions, debates, performances, and wider curriculum opportunities, pupils learn to use their voice with confidence and conviction.
Enrichment opportunities are key to the development of ‘cultural capital’. Whole-school events and extra-curricular opportunities offer pupils space to explore and enjoy language beyond the curriculum, developing their imagination and self-expression. Our pupils enjoy a programme of events which extend beyond the classroom throughout each academic year.
As part of a forward-thinking academy trust, we draw on the latest research and technology to deliver a curriculum that is inclusive, engaging, and future-focused. Our commitment to working in partnership with families, the wider community, and colleagues ensures we educate the whole child, empowering every pupil to realise their full potential.
Implementation
We follow the national curriculum for English. Our curriculum is ambitious and purposefully designed to ensure all pupils, regardless of their starting points, have access to an inclusive education. It is underpinned by clearly defined goals that outline the essential knowledge and skills pupils should gain at each stage of their learning.
Our curriculum is coherently sequenced. We ensure that concepts, skills and knowledge are revisited over time, ensuring learning is embedded through creating a shift in long-term memory. This enables pupils to build on prior learning and make progress.
Accurate and consistent assessments ensure the adjustment of lessons and the regular review and adjustment of intervention programs across key stages as needed.
All pupils are challenged to read for 90 minutes outside of school as part of their homework. Their progress is monitored in a weekly reading ‘check-in’ and celebrated with our Reading Riches reward scheme. Pupils are also required to complete an additional homework task from a rolling program, including reading comprehension, writing/creative projects, spelling, punctuation and grammar tasks.
We select high-quality texts that complement our broad, balanced curriculum and world events. The complexity and sophistication of these, in style, content, and themes, progressively increase across and within year groups.
Through exposure to continuing professional development, our teachers use high-quality pedagogy to support, adapt and scaffold activities to address the needs of all students, including those with SEND.
Each term, our learning focuses on a 'spotlight' text that ties into a central theme, complemented by a variety of additional texts to offer a rich literary experience and expand students' viewpoints. The texts are also used as an inspiration for writing and to support the teaching of grammar and punctuation skills.
Our teachers follow long-term plans to ensure progression of skills and knowledge across the school and have designed careful text-led learning journeys, with a clear starting point and end outcome.
Reading
Reading is taught whole-class and incorporates:
Writing is taught within the stages of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, evaluating, and publishing. From September to December, our pupils receive heavily scaffolded opportunities with increasing opportunities to take the lead and work more independently from January to July.
Our SPAG long-term plan is incorporated into English sessions to fully embed the children’s understanding of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Handwriting, dictation and spelling are taught weekly in Key Stage 2. These are regularly revisited in Key Stage 3 to ensure standards remain high.
Writing is regularly ‘published’ in students’ portfolios, which encourages pupils to take great pride in their writing and to strive for excellence. There is a planned programme of cross-curricular writing opportunities in place across additional curriculum subjects.
Writing incorporates:
Oracy
Oracy is integrated throughout our English curriculum and includes:
Assessment in English takes place fluidly throughout the year and incorporates:
Please click on the below links to view contents:
Curriculum Overview
Long Term Plans - Year 5, Year 6, Year 7 and Year 8
Accelarated Reader (AR) Guide For Pupils
How to AR - a guide for parents/carers
ZPD Range Colours
Pupil-Friendly Apps and Websites
Reading Riches Poster
Ryecroft Recommends for KS2
Ryecroft Recommends for KS3
Spelling Shed Pupil Guide
Intent
Studying English is fundamental to our pupils’ personal, social, and academic growth. At Ryecroft C.E. Middle School, reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We aim for all our pupils to leave our school with strong reading skills that will support their future learning and success. It is also our ambition to foster a lifelong love of reading—one that will continue to inspire and sustain them well into adulthood. Alongside this, we are committed to nurturing pupils as effective writers, curious analytical thinkers, and confident, articulate orators—ensuring that every child is equipped with the communication skills they need to navigate our ever-changing world with confidence and play their role in shaping the future.
We immerse pupils in a broad and diverse literary landscape by exposing them to a wide range of genres, cultures, perspectives, and historical periods, including voices from our rich literary heritage.
Through our Reading for Pleasure Programme, delivered by form tutors, pupils engage daily in shared reading, 'book talk', book recommendations, and are challenged to cultivate their own reading identities. Pupils enjoy regular library sessions as part of our English provision, and our collection expands each term with books that genuinely engage and motivate our children.
Our inclusive ethos fosters a warm and nurturing environment where children, who are inspired by their reading, feel supported to grow as writers. Pupils are encouraged to express themselves with creativity and confidence, adapting their language and style thoughtfully to suit a range of genres, audiences, and purposes.
Through structured classroom discussions, debates, performances, and wider curriculum opportunities, pupils learn to use their voice with confidence and conviction.
Enrichment opportunities are key to the development of ‘cultural capital’. Whole-school events and extra-curricular opportunities offer pupils space to explore and enjoy language beyond the curriculum, developing their imagination and self-expression. Our pupils enjoy a programme of events which extend beyond the classroom throughout each academic year.
As part of a forward-thinking academy trust, we draw on the latest research and technology to deliver a curriculum that is inclusive, engaging, and future-focused. Our commitment to working in partnership with families, the wider community, and colleagues ensures we educate the whole child, empowering every pupil to realise their full potential.
Implementation
We follow the national curriculum for English. Our curriculum is ambitious and purposefully designed to ensure all pupils, regardless of their starting points, have access to an inclusive education. It is underpinned by clearly defined goals that outline the essential knowledge and skills pupils should gain at each stage of their learning.
Our curriculum is coherently sequenced. We ensure that concepts, skills and knowledge are revisited over time, ensuring learning is embedded through creating a shift in long-term memory. This enables pupils to build on prior learning and make progress.
Accurate and consistent assessments ensure the adjustment of lessons and the regular review and adjustment of intervention programs across key stages as needed.
All pupils are challenged to read for 90 minutes outside of school as part of their homework. Their progress is monitored in a weekly reading ‘check-in’ and celebrated with our Reading Riches reward scheme. Pupils are also required to complete an additional homework task from a rolling program, including reading comprehension, writing/creative projects, spelling, punctuation and grammar tasks.
We select high-quality texts that complement our broad, balanced curriculum and world events. The complexity and sophistication of these, in style, content, and themes, progressively increase across and within year groups.
Through exposure to continuing professional development, our teachers use high-quality pedagogy to support, adapt and scaffold activities to address the needs of all students, including those with SEND.
Each term, our learning focuses on a 'spotlight' text that ties into a central theme, complemented by a variety of additional texts to offer a rich literary experience and expand students' viewpoints. The texts are also used as an inspiration for writing and to support the teaching of grammar and punctuation skills.
Our teachers follow long-term plans to ensure progression of skills and knowledge across the school and have designed careful text-led learning journeys, with a clear starting point and end outcome.
Reading
Reading is taught whole-class and incorporates:
- Decoding (as required)
- Fluency
- Vocabulary development
- Reading comprehension skills
- Understanding and interpretation of text
- Textual analysis, critical thinking and discussion
- Literary and thematic studies
Writing is taught within the stages of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, evaluating, and publishing. From September to December, our pupils receive heavily scaffolded opportunities with increasing opportunities to take the lead and work more independently from January to July.
Our SPAG long-term plan is incorporated into English sessions to fully embed the children’s understanding of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Handwriting, dictation and spelling are taught weekly in Key Stage 2. These are regularly revisited in Key Stage 3 to ensure standards remain high.
Writing is regularly ‘published’ in students’ portfolios, which encourages pupils to take great pride in their writing and to strive for excellence. There is a planned programme of cross-curricular writing opportunities in place across additional curriculum subjects.
Writing incorporates:
- Composition and effect (including opportunities to explore genre, plan and organise ideas)
- Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills
- Explicit teaching of vocabulary, spelling and low-stakes testing
- Writing for different audiences and purposes in KS2 and for more advanced purposes in KS3 (modification of style and tone as appropriate)
- Editing and proofreading
- Handwriting and presentation
Oracy
Oracy is integrated throughout our English curriculum and includes:
- Opportunities for speaking and listening in discussion, debate and drama
- Presenting ideas and information
- Developing fluency, confidence and articulacy in speech
- Effective listening and responding, including critical listening
- Reflecting on and evaluating oral communication
Assessment in English takes place fluidly throughout the year and incorporates:
- ‘On entry’ assessment for new cohorts and new starters
- Accelerated Reader Star Assessment, SATs papers optional SATs papers
- Low-stakes quizzes, classroom assessment, and reading skills grids, which have been produced in line with the end of Key Stage assessment frameworks
- Low-stakes spelling tests
- Assessment of writing in line with a framework produced in line with end of key stage assessment frameworks.
- We also take part in internal moderation within our MAT and external moderation with the Local Authority to ensure that our assessment measures are consistent and accurate.
- Learning walks
- Pupil voice interviews
- Book scrutiny
- Lesson observations
- Pupil progress reviews
- EHCP progress and reviews
- Intervention progress reviews
- Moderation and transition programme with Thomas Alleyne’s High School
- MAT scrutiny and moderation processes
Please click on the below links to view contents:
Curriculum Overview
Long Term Plans - Year 5, Year 6, Year 7 and Year 8
Accelarated Reader (AR) Guide For Pupils
How to AR - a guide for parents/carers
ZPD Range Colours
Pupil-Friendly Apps and Websites
Reading Riches Poster
Ryecroft Recommends for KS2
Ryecroft Recommends for KS3
Spelling Shed Pupil Guide
