English
English is at the heart of our curriculum due to its importance within the national curriculum, society and life. Garras School have designed a history and geography-rich curriculum that connects learning by building an understanding of ideas, concepts, chronology and themes through the framework of ‘here, there, then, now, next’. These thinking threads link learning meaningfully to create opportunities to learn from the past and present as well as equipping children for an ever-changing and exciting future.
Writing
Writing allows us to express ideas rooted in the here and now, reflect on experiences from then and there, and imagine possibilities for next, creating powerful narratives that connect the past, present, and future.
Reading allows us to explore and reflect on experiences from then and there, learn more about the here and now and immerse ourselves in the possibilities that will come next in the future. Our reading curriculum plays a pivotal role in this. We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised phonics scheme.
Please find our reading spine and reading/writing progression documents published below.
Reading
At Garras Primary School we aim to inspire a love of reading that will continue for years to come. This is approached through meaningful reading experiences supported by inspirational texts. We encourage and plan for a range of reading experiences so that children can apply their reading skills across the curriculum. It is essential that our approach to teaching phonics and reading is accessible to all learners, regardless of background. This leads to fluent readers with a love of reading.
We recognise the importance of early language and reading as a vehicle to improve children’s communication. The teaching of systemic synthetic phonics is taught from the first day of Reception using Little Wandle. Then, a reading curriculum that helps them to read with fluency, prosody and confidence is provided. We invest in a rich literary environment. Texts are carefully chosen to extend vocabulary and to understand the world around us. The children read a range of class fiction and non-fiction books. The world of books opens the children’s minds to the wider world and issues that impact on people and places.
The Reading Journey at Garras Primary School 2025
Writing
At Garras Primary School we aim to inspire both a love of writing and the understanding of the power of writing. We want to motivate children to write for a range of audiences and purposes using high-quality, diverse children’s literature by significant authors. We immerse our children in a range of literary worlds and themes, heightening engagement and creating curiosity through drama, discussion and debate. This allows them to see themselves represented and explore the lives and experiences of others.
We see learning to write as a journey. We feel there needs to be consistency across the school but also recognise that children at different stages of their education need different things. Each class builds on previous learning. Garras School has created a “Writing Progression” document. This shows each objective in writing and when it is taught. This then links closely with our “Garras English Spine Coverage and Progression Document Yr 1-6” which maps the Literacy Tree units/texts used with the grammar and punctuation to be covered. Each class follows this as shown on the “Curriculum Overview”.
The Writing Journey at Garras Primary School 2025
Curriculum overview – Reading and Writing
Garras English Spine Coverage and Progression Document Yr1-6