English
At Brierley, English is at the heart of our curriculum. We want every child to become a confident reader, thoughtful writer and effective communicator. Through high-quality texts, rich discussion and purposeful writing opportunities, pupils develop the vocabulary, knowledge and skills they need to express themselves clearly and engage successfully with learning across the curriculum.
From the earliest foundations of speaking, listening, phonics and mark making, through to increasingly fluent reading and sophisticated writing, our English curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils build confidence, independence and a genuine love of language.
Speaking and Listening
At Brierley, we want our children to become confident speakers who can share their ideas, opinions and experiences clearly with others. Speaking and listening opportunities are woven throughout the curriculum, giving children regular chances to talk with their peers, contribute to group discussions and speak to larger audiences within school.
When new topics are introduced, teachers place a strong emphasis on key vocabulary and purposeful talk. This is particularly important in English and reading lessons, where children are encouraged to discuss ideas, explain their thinking and use increasingly precise language.
Whenever a new text is introduced, whether through phonics, whole class reading, English lessons or drop and read sessions, key vocabulary is explicitly taught. Teachers explain word meanings, use visuals where appropriate, model accurate pronunciation and encourage children to identify and use new words in context.
New texts are also explored through high quality book talk. Children discuss front covers, titles, blurbs, author, audience, purpose, make predictions and make links with other texts they have read. These approaches are used in individual, group and whole class reading and we encourage families to use similar strategies when reading together at home.
Children also experience paired reading, echo reading and choral reading. Teachers model fluent reading with appropriate expression and prosody, and pupils are given regular opportunities to practise these skills themselves.
We believe that children need to be able to say what they want to write before they can write it successfully. For this reason, we use Talk for Writing strategies, including story maps, oral rehearsal and retelling with actions.
Poetry also plays an important role in developing oracy. Each term, classes study poems and children are given opportunities to learn and perform poetry aloud. Homework projects and class presentations provide further opportunities for children to prepare ideas, speak in front of others and build confidence. In addition to this, each term we devote time for class debates or presentations. Topics for debate have been mapped out across years 3 to 6 whilst topics for discussion and presentations have been mapped out for years 1 and 2. Teachers also plan in extra opportunities for sharing, presenting and debating across the year to allow children to develop their speaking and listening skills.
Across school, children are encouraged to speak clearly and confidently using standard English. Teachers use effective questioning to prompt detailed answers and encourage children to expand on their ideas rather than relying on short responses. Equally important is learning to listen carefully and respond respectfully to others. Through regular opportunities to communicate ideas, opinions and feelings, children develop confidence, deepen their understanding of language and sentence structure and learn to consider their audience.
Writing
At Brierley, we have developed our own writing curriculum, designed around the interests of our children and a wide range of high-quality texts. We recognise that strong writing depends on secure foundations. Children therefore develop and master transcription skills before being expected to write at length.
In Reception, children begin by developing accurate letter formation and applying their phonics knowledge to write simple words linked to familiar nursery rhymes. This continues into Year 1, where transcription remains a priority and familiar nursery rhymes provide a strong starting point for early writing.
Across school, children are taught to form letters correctly using the letter families and formation phrases from our Little Wandle phonics programme. A consistent approach is followed throughout school through our handwriting progression. A copy of our handwriting progression document can be found in the 'files' section at the bottom of this page.
Our writing curriculum includes a carefully mapped range of text types which are listed in our English overview in the 'files' section at the bottom of this page. These are revisited across year groups so that children can build on prior learning, strengthen previously taught skills and develop increasing confidence and control. Over time, pupils learn how to write successfully for a wide range of purposes and audiences.
Writing also takes place across the wider curriculum. Children are expected to apply the same care to presentation, handwriting, spelling, punctuation and grammar in other subjects as they do during English lessons.
Our Approach to Teaching Writing
We use a consistent approach to the teaching of writing across school. Each writing unit begins with exposure to the relevant text type so that children develop a clear understanding of its purpose, audience, structure, features and layout. Children read, discuss and compare examples, considering author choices and the impact these have on the reader.
A carefully chosen hook then provides a purposeful starting point for the writing. This may be an experience, practical activity or stimulating context that encourages speaking and listening and allows ambitious vocabulary to be introduced and explored.
Many writing units are based around high-quality class texts. In addition, once each term pupils from Years 1 to 6 complete a writing unit linked to a drop-and-read text.
Lessons are then carefully sequenced so that children learn, practise and apply the spelling, punctuation and grammar skills appropriate to their year group and the text type being studied. Each English lesson includes a Flashback where children recap and apply punctuation and grammar skills which they have previously been taught using our I Do, We Do, You Do approach. Teachers use a combination of modelled writing, shared writing, paired writing and independent writing to support children in developing these skills. Once children are confident, they plan, write and edit a final piece.
Writing units are often revisited, allowing children to apply feedback, build on what they have learned and produce a second piece of writing with increasing independence and control.
Supporting Writing at Home
At the beginning of the writing journey, children's early marks are an important stage of development and should be encouraged and celebrated. Families can support this by giving children opportunities to draw and make marks at home, asking them to explain what they have created and celebrating their early attempts to form letters and words.
As children's phonics knowledge develops, they begin to use what they know about sounds and graphemes to spell words independently.
Where children need additional practice with letter formation or handwriting, teachers may provide activities to complete at home so that school and home can work together to reinforce these important foundations.
Handwriting
At Brierley, handwriting begins with strong foundations. From the Early Years, children are taught how to sit appropriately, hold a pencil effectively and form letters correctly. They learn the correct starting and finishing points for each letter, helping them develop secure habits before progressing to joined handwriting later in school. All classes follow the same progression of skills in handwriting which is detailed in our handwriting progression document at the bottom of this page.
All classes practise letter formation or handwriting daily. Teachers model the correct formation before children practise independently. This consistent approach helps children develop increasing fluency, control and pride in the presentation of their work.
Assessment, Marking and Feedback
Feedback is an important part of our approach to writing. Teachers provide feedback throughout lessons wherever possible, intervening at the point of error to address misconceptions, offer support or provide further challenge. Children are also taught to proofread and edit their own work. Editing skills are explicitly modelled and practised through teacher examples, shared discussion and opportunities to review writing with a partner.
Our aim is for children to become increasingly confident in identifying errors, improving their choices and taking greater responsibility for the quality of their own writing.
Spelling
Our spelling programme builds directly on the phonics knowledge taught through our systematic synthetic phonics programme. From Years 1 to 6, spelling lessons follow a consistent structure. A sound is taught each week across school, with the graphemes and words becoming progressively more complex as pupils move through the year groups.
Current and previously taught sounds and graphemes are displayed in classrooms so that children can refer back to prior learning when writing. Alongside this, pupils are explicitly taught prefixes, suffixes, spelling patterns and common exception words in line with National Curriculum expectations.
In English lessons, children also use word mats containing vocabulary linked to the current writing unit and relevant common exception words. They are encouraged to use these resources both during writing and when proofreading their work, helping them become increasingly independent and accurate spellers.
Writing for Pleasure
We want children to see themselves as writers and to enjoy expressing their own ideas. Creative writing sessions give pupils greater freedom to respond to engaging stimuli such as pictures, book extracts or video clips. Children first discuss and develop their ideas before writing independently, applying the handwriting, spelling, punctuation and grammar skills they have been taught. They are then given opportunities to share their writing with others, celebrate what they have created and respond positively to the work of their peers.
Whole school writing events also give children opportunities to write around a shared stimulus and share their work with pupils beyond their own class.
Writing competitions take place throughout the year, with entries and achievements celebrated in whole school assemblies. Through these opportunities, we aim to develop not only technically secure writers, but children who take pride in their writing, have confidence in their own voice and genuinely enjoy writing.
