English

Phonics

Early reading and phonics are fundamental to our English curriculum. We teach phonics through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds, beginning in Reception and building children's knowledge so that they develop into confident, fluent readers.

Please visit our Phonics page for further information.

Reading

At Padiham Green, we aim for every child to see themselves as a confident reader and to develop a love of reading that will last a lifetime. Our children are exposed to a wide variety of literature, genres and authors and are encouraged to read as often as possible, both at school and at home.

In Key Stage 1, pupils read books that are carefully matched to the sounds they are learning in phonics. This allows them to practise and apply their phonics knowledge, building accuracy, fluency and confidence. Children take home books that match their phonics stage, so they can share their reading success with their families.

In Key Stage 2, pupils follow the Pathways to Read scheme, a whole-class reading programme built around high-quality texts and a mastery approach. It supports the teaching of reading comprehension skills and develops reading fluency. Key skills are taught and revisited regularly and children have many opportunities to use and apply them until they are mastered and can be used confidently in independent reading.

Writing

At Padiham Green, we want all children to communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions confidently and effectively through their writing. Our writing curriculum uses a text-based approach, which helps pupils learn grammatical structures and text types in an engaging, accessible way and gives them a real desire to write. Texts are carefully chosen for their literary merit and level of challenge and they link to our school values and the wider curriculum.

In Key Stage 1, children follow the Pathways to Write scheme, a text-based approach founded on a mastery model. Key skills, called Mastery Keys, are taught and revisited, with many opportunities to apply them until they are mastered and used in extended writing.

In Key Stage 2, writing lessons are built around the Pathways to Read text. This close link between reading and writing means children write with a strong understanding of the text, drawing on its language, structure and style in their own work.

We aim to develop confident, enthusiastic writers who can write independently and with resilience. Children learn to edit and evaluate their writing to make it the best it can be, using ambitious vocabulary and accurate spelling and grammar. Above all, we want them to take pride in their writing and to adapt it for a range of audiences, purposes and contexts, preparing them for life beyond Padiham Green.