Our Vision and Rationale

At Tadley, we believe that reading and writing are the most important skills that a child will learn. Children will need these skills in almost all other subjects across the curriculum. Being competent in these skills enables children to enjoy, learn and communicate about and with the ever-evolving world around them. We aspire to cultivate a community of enthusiastic, confident, creative and effective writers who are inspired to explore, learn, and express themselves through the power of language and express their ideas with clarity, purpose and imagination. Our students will develop a lifelong love for writing, empowered to communicate effectively and think critically, while fostering creativity, empathy, and a deep understanding of the world around them. Good writing gives children a voice so that they can share their ideas with the world. Our aim is for all children to leave primary school having acquired these essential skills and for children to view their spoken and writing experiences positively with a real understanding of how these skills can help them to contribute to wider world discussions and real-life experiences.

Reading and writing can be tricky skills for children to acquire.  Becoming a good reader requires: using phonic knowledge to decode; constructing an understanding of vocabulary and the development of fluency and comprehension skills. Writing requires children to develop: handwriting skills through fine motor control; spelling knowledge; an awareness of grammar terminology; and punctuation skills. These skills and knowledge develop alongside the child having an increasing awareness of composition with children being required to write for a range of purposes: to engage, entertain, inform and persuade their reader.

Our approaches to English encourage the use of all of our school learning behaviours and promote resilience and pride. We understand that children learn best when they have clear instruction, so modelling is a key aspect of our English teaching, including widening and deepening vocabulary acquisition through exposure to quality texts and vocabulary tasks. Children are given wide-ranging opportunities to embed these skills, and this rich language, through exciting opportunities and experiences within our English lessons and across the curriculum. At Tadley Community Primary School, writing is more than just a skill—it is a means of discovery, connection, and empowerment. By fostering strong writing abilities, we prepare our students to thrive academically, socially, and creatively in an ever-changing world.

Our Intent

English is a subject that spans the whole curriculum and includes the development of skills in phonics, reading, writing, spelling, handwriting and the spoken word. Each area is interconnected but components are taught through discrete lessons to develop children’s skills. Each area of our learning in English, is applied across our rich and varied curriculum and we try to ensure learning in English is connected to other areas of our curriculum where it is appropriate to do so. We aim to nurture confident, skilled and enthusiastic writers who are equipped to success academically, creatively and socially. In addition to the National Curriculum Aims, we want our children to:

• see themselves as writers and authors, able to confidently communicate their thoughts, ideas and imagination through the written word

• develop a life-long love of reading
• be enthusiastic about books and the information they need
• be investigative and resilient spellers who: are keen to correct and learn from mistakes; can spot and apply patterns; and can use their knowledge of morphology and etymology to develop their understanding of and accuracy of spelling
• take pride in their presentation and their handwriting
• to be active, good, considerate listeners who welcome the thoughts and viewpoints of others even when it is in opposition to theirs
• to be reflective and refine their work and celebrate their successes

CLICK ON THE BELOW LINKS TO SEE HOW WE TEACH THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM