Curriculum Intent

At St. Thomas’s Centre, we intend to deliver an outstanding English curriculum where everyone of our learners are engaged and enthusiastic about English. We achieve this through outstanding teaching, where we inspire our pupils to be passionate, resilient and eager in relation to developing skills in the areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing.

We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education across Primary, Secondary and Further Education. We whole-heartedly; ‘promote high standards of literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.' (National Curriculum, 2014).

Primary overview

We work closely with pupils in order for them to fully understand how crucial English skills are in their future life opportunities. We intend to develop our learners into confident readers, who read for pleasure, and this is a key consideration in our English curriculum and at many other opportunities throughout the day. We provide pupils with a wide range of genres which offer challenge and enjoyment, allowing them to develop an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage.

English is embedded into all aspects of the school day, including during both curricular and extra-curricular activities. We realise the importance of oracy and how this impacts directly on progress in reading and writing and so this is a key feature in our English curriculum.

We have a well-planned and carefully structured progression of skills; including Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG) which runs from the beginning of year one, to the end of year six.