Our English Curriculum

Phonics and Early Reading

At Crowcombe and Stogumber, we have chosen to follow the Pearson Phonics Bug Club systematic synthetic phonics scheme to delivery high quality phonics. Bug Club Phonics is a comprehensive phonics teaching programme centred around an accessible and inclusive teaching approach. It is designed to build children’s confidence and enjoyment of reading at the very start of their reading journey. It is designed to get children reading real books as soon as possible and feel empowered that reading is for them. The programme is a balanced approach, simultaneously teaching blending of reading, alongside the segmentation of words for spelling and develops phonemic awareness skills.

All of our staff have received professional development training to ensure they have a strong understanding of how to use Bug Club Phonics to get the best outcomes for pupils from the start.

Phonics sessions:

In Reception and Key Stage one we teach daily phonics lessons. Graphemes and corresponding phonemes are taught just before the introduction of words that contain these letters. To read these words, children are taught to pronounce the individual phonemes (sounds) associated with the graphemes (letters) they see, and then to blend them together (synthesise) to form the word.

In our approach, both blending for reading and segmenting for spelling are fully scaffolded. We model for the children how to sound and blend words for reading, and also model for the children how to segment for spelling and continue to scaffold the children through the process with each word they spell. This ensures that they identify each phoneme and choose the appropriate grapheme in turn, until the word is spelt. Decodable readers are introduced after just 2 weeks’ teaching at the end of Unit 2. This enables children to apply the taught strategies and enjoy contextualised reading early on.

Bringing a multi-sensory element to the teaching of phonics is widely recognised to be hugely beneficial to its effectiveness. Bug Club Phonics recommends the use of magnetic letters and boards to consolidate children’s blending and segmenting abilities during the initial stages of the programme.

Bug Club Phonics is delivered through teacher modelling and rehearsal with the whole class, supported with visual resources for guided independent work. It follows a repeated teaching sequence to build familiarity to support all learners. Every session begins with revision to reinforce previous learning, followed by resources to practise and apply blending and segmenting skills and adaptive teaching approaches to support all learners.

Reading sessions:

Bug Club Phonics is supported by decodable readers which match the order of phoneme introduction. When the children have completed the first two units of Bug Club Phonics, they will have acquired a sufficient number of grapheme–phoneme correspondences to start reading their own books. This should be a motivating and enjoyable experience for them. There are books to match each unit of the teaching programme and these help children to practise and consolidate their learning at each stage. Specific reading taught sessions take place in small groups three times per week. These sessions follow a 3 session teaching structure which focuses on word reading skills, develops fluency and prosody and incorporates comprehension and language development using de-codable reading books matched to the Bug Club Phonics Scheme. In addition to these reading session children take home an individual decodable reader to consolidate their learning.

Language sessions:

Language Sessions occur at the end of each unit. These sessions combine the teaching of irregular words with using words in the context of captions and sentences. The acquisition of skills for reading single words is only part of the reading process. To read with fluency and comprehension, children need to apply and develop the skills taught.

Writing:

In writing, children are taught to sit correctly at a table and hold a pencil comfortably, being taught explicitly how to form lower-case letters in the correct direction. As taught in the Bug Club phonics scheme, children can write letters in response to hearing a sound, can spell words by identifying the sounds and then write the sound with letters, alongside being able to spell common exception words, eventually leading to writing simple dictated sentences from memory. Children are taught to write sentences by saying out loud what they are going to write about and re-reading what they have written to check that it makes sense.

Parental support and engagement:

We engage parents through information sessions and workshops, equipping them with strategies to support their child’s learning of sounds and words at home, reinforcing our commitment to every student's success in reading and writing.

Assessment:

Frequent assessment opportunities ensure all children’s needs are identified and evidenced at an early stage and additional support put in place to reinforce, practice and consolidate their learning. These session are part of the targeted catch-up support within the Bug Club Phonics scheme.

English Curriculum

Our English curriculum is designed to instil a lifelong love of reading, writing, and language in our students. We aim to develop confident, creative, and articulate communicators who are able to express themselves effectively in both written and spoken forms. Through an immersive and inclusive approach, we ensure that every child can access a rich and broad curriculum that supports them in becoming independent learners, critical thinkers, and imaginative creators.

Intent

We believe that literacy is the foundation of all learning. Our English curriculum is built upon high-quality texts and a commitment to developing children’s knowledge, skills, and understanding across reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By incorporating resources from The Literacy Tree and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), we ensure that our curriculum is creative, engaging, and rooted in best practice. These resources help us foster a deep love for literature, a robust understanding of language, and a mastery of writing.

Our curriculum is designed to:

• Introduce children to a diverse range of high-quality texts that represent different cultures, voices, and experiences.
• Develop reading fluency, comprehension, and critical thinking skills through rich literary experiences.
• Provide children with the tools to write confidently and effectively for a variety of audiences and purposes.
• Encourage the exploration of language, fostering creativity, and imagination in both written and spoken forms.
• Build strong foundations in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary through explicit teaching, while nurturing creative expression.
• Use high-quality texts as vehicles for exploring themes, empathy, and wider world issues, enhancing cross-curricular links.

Implementation

Our curriculum is centred around quality literature, supported by The Literacy Tree’s book-led approach and CLPE’s proven methods for teaching literacy. These frameworks ensure that our teaching is structured yet flexible, allowing teachers to adapt, scaffold and support according to the needs of their students.

• The Literacy Tree: We use The Literacy Tree as a foundation for our teaching sequences. Each sequence is centred around a carefully chosen, high-quality text, offering a coherent structure for exploring themes, developing comprehension skills, and embedding key writing outcomes. Lessons are enriched with creative activities such as drama, art, and role play to deepen engagement and understanding.
• CLPE’s Power of Reading: Drawing on CLPE’s Power of Reading, we ensure that every child is exposed to a broad range of culturally diverse texts and meaningful, immersive reading experiences. Through this, we develop comprehension, foster a love of reading, and support writing development in a purposeful context.
• Reading and Writing: Our approach to reading and writing is integrated. Children are encouraged to respond to texts in a variety of ways—both orally and in writing—building on comprehension skills, critical thinking, and creativity. We implement whole-class, guided, and independent reading sessions alongside high-quality writing opportunities linked directly to the texts. Phonics is taught systematically in Early Years and KS1 using Pearson Bug Club, a consistent synthetic phonics program.
• Assessment: Assessment for learning is integral to our practice. We use formative assessments, including feedback from reading and writing tasks, to inform future planning and ensure that all children, including those with SEND, are able to make progress.

Impact

Our English curriculum ensures that pupils leave each key stage with a love of reading, a strong command of language, and the ability to express themselves with confidence and clarity. The impact of our curriculum is seen in pupils who:

• Are engaged and motivated readers, enthusiastic about literature and able to explore a wide range of genres and themes.
• Are confident writers, able to produce well-structured, imaginative, and purposeful writing for different audiences.
• Have strong oracy skills, able to discuss texts critically, articulate ideas confidently, and express opinions thoughtfully.
• Demonstrate proficiency in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary, with secure foundations in literacy that allow them to access the wider curriculum.
• Show empathy, curiosity, and an understanding of the world through their engagement with literature that reflects a range of voices and perspectives.

By the end of primary school, our students are prepared to transition into secondary education as literate, articulate, and reflective learners who possess the skills and love for language needed to thrive in an ever-changing world.