English Vision
At Priory, our aim is that children will develop knowledge that will last a lifetime, along with strong skills to prepare them for the next stage of their education and the wider world beyond that, enabling them to lead a successful life and make a positive contribution to their community.
Our children are provided with a well taught, knowledge rich curriculum. The basis of this is full implementation of the National Curriculum ensuring breadth, balance and clear progression. Our expectations are high for all pupils: we never narrow our curriculum or deny any pupils the key knowledge taught to the class, unless it is absolutely in their best interest due to a significant learning need.
Our intention is that children should leave Priory with the key skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate creatively and effectively through spoken and written language. We want the children to enjoy and appreciate a rich variety of literature, developing a love of reading and the skills to become lifelong learners. Through our ‘High Quality Text’ approach to the curriculum, the children are immersed in a variety of high-quality texts which gives the focus of English sessions context; allowing the children to deepen and embed skills, develop new ones and have the opportunity to apply these skills in a creative way.
Parental Support – English
At Priory, we believe that solid Reading and Writing skills are fundamental for success, both at school and beyond. As with maths, we are always keen for parents to get involved in their child’s learning and are happy to provide any assistance that could help with this. Whether it be support with subject knowledge, or the provision of resources for extra application – please ask your child’s teacher to supply what you require and they will do their best to help.
Phonics and Early Reading
At Priory, we follow the Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme for the delivery of Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP). This structured and rigorous approach promotes accuracy, automaticity, and prosody, forming the essential foundation for fluent reading.
We adopt a phonics-first approach, teaching sounds in a clear, systematic way to help children decode words quickly and accurately. Once children can blend and segment simple sounds, they progress through the Speed Sound Sets — from basic to more complex and advanced sounds. Mastery of these sounds enables children to read a wide range of words with confidence.
Children read ability-matched storybooks and book bag books that include repeated patterns and high-frequency words, supporting fluency, comprehension, and enjoyment. These books ensure fidelity to the RWI scheme while allowing every child to experience success and progress at their own pace.
Throughout the programme, children are encouraged to partner read, use ‘Fred Talk’ to decode unfamiliar words, explore word meanings, and develop sight recognition. By the end of Key Stage 1, our aim is for every child to be a fluent, confident reader with a lifelong love of reading.
Comprehension Crusher
As a school, we are passionate about developing confident, curious and capable readers. Our Comprehension Crusher approach is designed to help every child move beyond decoding words to truly understanding what they read — building vocabulary, fluency and comprehension step by step.
Comprehension Crusher is a structured reading scheme developed by Grammarsaurus, designed to strengthen the essential components of reading: fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. It follows a clear cycle that gives pupils repeated opportunities to revisit, review and apply their learning — helping new knowledge and vocabulary stick in long-term memory.
How It Works
Each Comprehension Crusher unit is carefully planned to:
- Activate pupils’ prior knowledge so they can connect new ideas to what they already know.
- Explicitly teach tier 2 vocabulary – the powerful, transferable words that unlock meaning across subjects and texts.
- Develop fluency through layered reading: modelled reads, echo reading and timed reading practice.
- Teach children how to approach different question formats linked to the national content domains.
- Provide time for shared and independent practice, allowing pupils to apply strategies and build confidence.
Over the unit, pupils:
- Activate Prior Knowledge – explore background information and key vocabulary.
- Build Fluency – practise tricky words and develop expression and pace through guided and echo reading.
- Develop Understanding – focus on comprehension questions modelled by the teacher.
- Practise Independently – apply their skills to unseen texts, developing independence and resilience as readers.
- Review and Reflect – revisit question types and strategies to embed understanding over time.
Comprehension Crusher helps pupils become strategic readers. By combining vocabulary instruction, fluency practice and structured question formats, children learn not only to read texts, but to think deeply about them. This approach ensures all pupils can access a broad range of genres and topics — from stories and poetry to history, geography and science.
At Priory, we love to see our children grow into confident, imaginative writers who enjoy sharing their ideas through words. Writing is an important part of our curriculum and we aim to make it creative, purposeful and fun for every child.
In the Foundation Stage, our youngest learners begin their writing journey through The Write Stuff approach. This engaging programme helps children understand how writing can be used to share stories, thoughts and information. Through exciting experiences, rich vocabulary and lots of opportunities to talk and write, our children quickly start to see themselves as real writers!
From Year 1 to Year 6, all children follow the Grammarsaurus approach to writing. Our writing curriculum is carefully planned so that each year builds on what has come before, ensuring clear progression and growing confidence.
At the start of the year, pupils revisit key grammar skills using our PVPG sequence, helping them to build strong foundations for their writing. This approach helps children develop a strong understanding of what makes a sentence work — from the smallest punctuation mark to the choice of words that bring a sentence to life. By securing these foundations early on, pupils gain the confidence to build well-structured, meaningful sentences. Once these essentials are mastered, children are encouraged to explore and play with grammar and punctuation, learning how to use them creatively to add style, clarity and impact to their writing.
From Autumn 2 onwards, our writing journey really takes off. Each unit focuses on a different text type or genre, allowing children to explore a range of styles — from stories and reports to letters and persuasive writing. Over a three-week cycle, children read and explore model texts, learn new grammar and punctuation skills, and then apply these in their own writing.
We also teach children how to edit and redraft their work, helping them to become reflective writers who take pride in improving and polishing their ideas.
At Priory, we believe writing should be a joyful experience — one that sparks imagination, builds confidence, and gives every child the skills to express themselves clearly and creatively.
(Writing Framework 2025)
AR is a reading program that helps teachers support and monitor children’s reading practice. Your child can pick a book from our wide (and ever growing) range in school, and read it at their own pace to develop their skills and their love of reading. When finished, your child will take a short online quiz to measure how much of the book they understood. The books that the children read will depend on their ZPD range and their interests – we encourage a range of fiction and non-fiction.
To determine each child’s individual ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ (ZPD) children with take regular ‘Star Reading tests’; this will ensure that all children are reading books of suitable challenge and that they are progressing – ask your child’s class teacher about this if you require any more support.
You can also find books that fit within your child’s ZPD range and interests. You can either directly search to see if a particular book is in the system, or you can type in your child’s ZPD range and interests and it will recommend books to you (a great idea for finding Christmas or Birthday treats).
www.arbookfind.co.uk (find your own AR books here)
For more information about Accelerated Reader please click on the link below.
http://www.renlearn.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Parents-Guide-to-Accelerated-Reader_2016-17.pdf
At Priory, we believe that confident, accurate use of grammar, punctuation and spelling is central to becoming an effective communicator. These key skills enable children to express their ideas clearly, read with understanding and write with creativity and purpose across all subjects.
We begin each academic year with a focus on the Place Value of Punctuation and Grammar (PVPG). This approach helps children develop a strong understanding of what makes a sentence work — from the smallest punctuation mark to the choice of words that bring a sentence to life. By securing these foundations early on, pupils gain the confidence to build well-structured, meaningful sentences. Once these essentials are mastered, children are encouraged to explore and play with grammar and punctuation, learning how to use them creatively to add style, clarity and impact to their writing.
Grammar and punctuation are taught both discretely and through the context of high-quality texts. Children learn correct terminology, explore examples in real writing, and practise using new skills in their own work. Through modelled and shared writing, pupils see how grammatical choices and punctuation can transform the tone, precision and effectiveness of their writing.
We make learning interactive and engaging — using games, discussion and practical application to help children internalise the ‘rules’ of language and understand how writers use them flexibly to achieve different effects.
At Priory, we believe that confident spelling is an essential part of becoming an effective writer. Strong spelling skills help children to communicate their ideas clearly and independently, freeing them to focus on creativity, structure and expression in their writing.
Spelling is taught systematically across the school, following the expectations of the National Curriculum. Lessons build progressively on pupils’ understanding of phonics, spelling patterns, word families and morphology. We encourage children to investigate words, recognise patterns, and apply their learning in everyday writing.
To support and enhance our spelling curriculum, we use Spelling Shed – an engaging, interactive online platform that makes learning spellings fun and accessible for all pupils. Each child has their own login, allowing them to practise weekly spelling lists through games, challenges and quizzes tailored to their level.
Spelling Shed encourages regular practice both in school and at home, helping children to:
- Reinforce the spelling rules and patterns taught in lessons.
- Develop speed and accuracy in recalling words.
- Build confidence through interactive games and rewards.
- Compete in friendly class and school-wide leaderboards that celebrate effort and improvement.
Teachers monitor pupil progress through Spelling Shed and use this information to plan targeted support and celebrate achievements.
Home and School Partnership
We value the important role families play in supporting spelling development. Regular practice at home helps children consolidate their learning and develop good spelling habits. Spelling Shed provides a simple, enjoyable way for pupils to rehearse their words, and we encourage parents to join in, discuss new vocabulary, and celebrate their child’s progress each week.
Building Lifelong Spellers
Through a combination of structured teaching, engaging digital tools and purposeful practice, we aim to develop pupils who are confident, accurate and curious about language — children who take pride in their writing and enjoy exploring the power of words.
Epic
Childrens’ books and reading – a free range of books, videos, audio books and educational videos (grouped by reading level and interest). Several of the books are available to quiz on for Accelerated Reader.
www.getepic.com
Vocab Ninja
Word of the Day – an introduction to new vocabulary.
www.vocabularyninja.co.uk
Word Hippo
Great for older pupils to explore synonyms, antonyms and meanings to develop vocabulary and word choice.
www.wordhippo.com
