English Curriculum at Leyland Methodist Schools

Intent:
At Leyland Methodist Schools, we aim to inspire our children through engaging, high-quality lessons that develop their literacy skills and instil a love for language. We believe that a strong foundation in English is essential for academic success and future opportunities. Our curriculum ensures that every child becomes confident in reading, writing, speaking and listening, equipping them with the skills needed to excel in education and beyond. We have worked alongside the Education Leads at Epworth Trust and inspiring independent literacy consultant and Year 6 writing moderator Dawn Robertson, to develop a reading and writing strategy which supports our children in becoming enthusiastic, independent and creative learners.

Reading:
At Leyland Methodist Schools, we prioritise fluency and comprehension in reading. Children engage with a variety of genres, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry, fostering a deep understanding and appreciation of literature. Our reading programmes are designed to nurture a lifelong love for reading while also supporting children in using books as a tool for research and knowledge acquisition. We use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised as our systematic synthetic phonics programme throughout EFYS Reception and Year 1, then from Year 2 onwards, the Reading Strategy Overview comes into play.  

Please see our Reading Strategy document below for more information about the principles that underpin the teaching of reading at LMS and the choice of books studied in each year group. The Progression of Skills Document provides information about end of term and end of year expectations for each year group.

Writing:
We are committed to developing children’s ability to write clearly, accurately and coherently across a range of styles, genres, purposes and audiences. In order to support the progression of writing skills from EYFS into Key Stage 1 and beyond, we have used the National Curriculum (2013), The Writing Framework 2025 and Strong Foundations (2024). This ensures that during the infant years, children are supported to develop the necessary fine motor skills, appropriate writing behaviours (posture and pencil grip) and transcriptional fluency in handwriting and spelling to enable them to become accurate and creative writers. Our Oracy Strategy helps to support the ongoing development of vocabulary as the children journey through our English curriculum. Grammar is woven throughout all writing tasks and we encourage all children in school to take pride in their handwriting, aiming for a neat, joined script by the time they transition to secondary school.

Speaking and Listening/Oracy:
From EYFS to Year 6, speaking and listening skills are nurtured to ensure our children can express themselves confidently and articulately. Through high quality interactions, purposeful play and structured opportunities for talk in EYFS, we ensure that every child develops the skills needed to participate fully in learning and in life. From KS1 onwards, we embed opportunities for structured talk across the curriculum, supporting vocabulary development and encouraging children to communicate effectively in different contexts. Oral rehearsal and performance poetry play a key role in developing language skills, ensuring children can articulate their thoughts with clarity and confidence. High Order Language Skills (HOLs) are promoted within all subjects, reinforcing the importance of speaking in full sentences with a clear and expressive voice.

Implementation:
Our curriculum is delivered through highly effective ‘quality first teaching’ and enriched with a range of experiences, including outdoor learning, inspirational visitors and educational visits. Further details of our commitment to curriculum enrichment can be found in our Infinite 8 Strategy document.

Our Reading, Writing and Oracy Strategies underpin our English curriculum, providing a structured framework that enables children to internalise language patterns, develop creativity, and read, write and talk with confidence. This is complemented by:

• Phonics instruction through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised for early reading development.

• Pen Pals - a whole school handwriting programme that support the development of a neat, joined script by the time the children transition to secondary school.

• Spelling Shed - a whole school spelling programme that combines phonics, orthography, morphology and etymology to develop confident spellers.

• A broad range of literacy activities including drama, storytelling, guided reading, shared writing, and independent extended writing sessions.

Reading and Phonics:
Our systematic phonics teaching ensures children make rapid progress in decoding words and developing reading fluency. We use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised as our phonics programme, supported by fully decodable books from Harper Collins. Fluency and automaticity are key focuses from Early Years to Year 6.

In KS1 and KS2, reading skills are explicitly taught using the content domain approach, helping children to develop comprehension strategies. Our progressive whole-class reading strategy in KS2 ensures all children are challenged to expand their vocabulary and deepen their understanding of texts. Each half term, children will read a high quality fiction text, a non-fiction text linked to the wider curriculum topic being studied and a poem. Through high quality teacher modelling, children learn how to read each genre expressively, with understanding and meaning.

Impact:
Through our well-planned English curriculum, children develop the skills, knowledge, and vocabulary to communicate effectively and creatively. As they progress through school, they become confident readers, expressive writers, and articulate speakers. Teachers use continuous assessment to track progress and inform next steps, ensuring each child reaches their full potential.

Assessment tools include:

• Little Wandle phonics assessments

• Daily ‘keep up’ and ‘rapid catch-up’ phonics interventions

• Reading assessments in KS1 and KS2

Our commitment to high-quality English teaching ensures that every child at Leyland Methodist Schools becomes a skilled and passionate communicator, fully prepared for the next stage of their education and beyond.

For further information, please visit:

• Little Wandle Letters and Sounds

• Little Wandle Resources for Parents