Halstead Community Primary School

Curriculum Intent

English is at the heart of all children’s learning. Literacy enables children both to communicate with others effectively for a variety of purposes and to examine their own and others’ experiences, feelings and ideas, giving these order and meaning. Literacy is central to children’s intellectual, emotional and social development as it has an essential role across the curriculum and helps pupils’ learning to be coherent and progressive.

We aim to encourage children to:

• be effective, competent communicators and good listeners;

• express opinions, articulate feelings and formulate responses to a range of texts both fiction, nonfiction

• using appropriate technical vocabulary;

• foster an interest in words and their meanings, and to develop a growing vocabulary in both

• spoken and written form;

• enjoy and engage with and understand a range of text types and genres;

• be able to write in a variety of styles and forms showing awareness of audience and purpose;

• develop powers of imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness in all areas of literacy;

• use grammar and punctuation accurately;

• understand spelling conventions;

• produce effective, well-presented written work.

By the time children leave our school, we expect them to communicate through speaking and listening, reading and writing with confidence, fluency and understanding and in a range of situations.

At Halstead Community Primary School, we use CUSP to deliver the national curriculum objectives in reading & writing. We have chosen CUSP because it is aspirational and allows our learners to be exposed to high quality texts in every year group.

Curriculum Implementation

Writing is taught five times a week using CUSP. Lessons are taught in a sequence with an emphasis on oracy and vocabulary acquisition and retention. Each unit leads to an independent write and also allows additional time for additional content to address the needs of the class.

At Halstead Community Primary School, we cover a wide range of genres using a variety of texts which to stimulate and inspire children. Each week tiered vocabulary is introduced that links with the text to ensure that our children have access to a vocabulary rich curriculum which allows children to engage and connect deeper with a text. Studying a range of texts through each unit allows to explore and immerse themselves in new texts and gain a more coherent understanding of the different ways in which we use writing to communicate. The children are exposed to many different genres of writing and skills are developed in order to write independently at length. The genres are then revisited in a block B so that they can deepen their understanding. Although we use CUSP we will adapt the texts to suit the needs of our children. Whether that be by adapted the cultural focus or the content.

At the start of each unit, the children stick in a knowledge note which outlines the key skills required within a genre. Please see below for examples. These skills are revisited and built upon in block b of the genre. The focus of the lessons within the unit will be based on the skills provided in the knowledge note. In KS1 and KS2, we teach the units over a two year cycle.

In EYFS texts are carefully selected to ensure that children are exposed to a variety of genres and authors. Texts are linked to provision throughout the EYFS environment to ensure that children are immersed in the books and have opportunities to rehearse and use the language – both through speaking and listening and through writing.

KS1 deliver the Cusp reading and writing lessons throughout the week. In KS2 writing sessions take place for 60 minutes each day using CUSP. 

Lessons are taught in a sequence with an emphasis on oracy and vocabulary acquisition and retention. Each unit leads to an independent write and also allows additional time for additional content to address the needs of the class.

Curriculum Impact

High quality texts are used which engage students and help them to explore a range of genres. Each year group has a set of core texts that cover a wide range of genres, authors, themes and experiences to ensure that all children have exposed a breadth of diverse literature throughout their school journey.

Cross-Curricular Literacy Opportunities

The skills that children are taught in Literacy underpin all other subjects.  They enable pupils to communicate and express themselves in all areas of their work.  Teachers will always make cross-curricular links wherever appropriate and will plan for pupils to apply the skills, knowledge and understanding that they have acquired during Literacy to other areas of the curriculum.