English

Writing at Hunts Cross

Our writing curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. We follow the award-winning Ready Steady Write from Literacy Counts to develop confident, independent and successful writers with high aspirations. Our writing curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, carefully designed to support all children to master the foundational skills and write for a clear audience and purpose. Through the use of high-quality, vocabulary-rich texts, we provide exciting and meaningful reasons to write. Children are immersed in literature and taught to craft their writing with precision, using a range of pedagogical approaches, including sentence accuracy, modelled writing and shared writing, as well as regular opportunities for editing.

We value spoken language as a foundation for writing. Through structured talk, drama and vocabulary exploration, children learn how to organise and express their ideas clearly before writing them down. Our aim is for every child – regardless of need – to write fluently and take pride in their work. We want our pupils to leave primary school as enthusiastic writers, ready for the next stage of their education.

Writing Policy 2026

Shared Reading at Hunts Cross

Our shared reading curriculum is built around a carefully sequenced range of high-quality, age appropriate texts using Literacy Counts’ Ready Steady Read Together units of learning. This resource provides dynamic and inclusive lessons that incorporate metacognitive strategies and showcase diverse literature from a range of exceptional authors. It aims to inspire children and their families to develop a lifelong love of reading for pleasure, knowledge and information.

We intend that all pupils from Year 2 to Year 6, regardless of need, ability or background, have the opportunity to meet and where possible exceed the National Curriculum expectations for reading comprehension. Ready Steady Read Together ensures that every pupil has access to high quality texts, enabling them to experience rich literature that develops fluency, vocabulary and deep understanding.

Through explicit teacher modelling of expression, pace, intonation and prosody, children learn how skilled readers bring meaning to a text and how these features support comprehension. Shared reading also provides regular opportunities for discussion, questioning, drama and exploration of language. These approaches deepen comprehension while strengthening oracy skills.

Crucially, our shared reading curriculum ensures that every child, regardless of their decoding ability, can access ambitious texts, engage meaningfully with literature and develop the habit of reading widely and often for both pleasure and learning.

Phonics at Hunts Cross

At Hunts Cross, we use Floppy’s Phonics to provide a systematic and engaging approach to early reading. This structured programme supports children in developing secure decoding skills through the teaching of phonemes, graphemes and blending, enabling them to read accurately and fluently. Through daily, well-paced lessons, children are taught to recognise sounds, segment and blend words, and apply their phonics knowledge in both reading and writing. The use of memorable characters and stories helps to motivate and engage learners, while regular assessment ensures that teaching is closely matched to pupils’ needs. Our aim is for every child to become a confident reader, equipped with the essential skills to access the wider curriculum and develop a lifelong love of reading.

Spelling at Hunts Cross

Our spelling curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. We follow the award-recognised Ready Steady Spell by Literacy Counts to ensure that all pupils become fluent, accurate spellers. Our spelling curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, helping children secure the essential skills and strategies they need to spell confidently across the curriculum. Through engaging activities, consistent teaching routines and regular opportunities to revisit prior learning, we help children move spelling knowledge into their long-term memory.

Our aim is to build confident writers who are equipped with the tools they need to communicate clearly and effectively. Spelling is taught in a clear and systematic way, with regular reviews and assessments. Additional support is provided through Ready Steady Spell: Go sessions, which offer targeted intervention for pupils who need further consolidation.

Handwriting at Hunts Cross

We are very proud of our pupils’ handwriting and take particular care with our handwriting style.
In line with the Writing Framework 2025, handwriting is taught explicitly and regularly across the school beginning in reception, in addition to writing in phonics lessons. We use Letter-join’s whole school handwriting scheme as the basis of our handwriting policy, which enables us to meet National Curriculum requirements through a structured teaching programme.

Oracy at Hunts Cross

At Hunts Cross, oracy is at the heart of our curriculum and underpins all aspects of teaching and learning in English. Across writing, reading, phonics, spelling and handwriting, we place a strong emphasis on spoken language as a foundation for success. Through structured talk, high-quality questioning, drama, modelled language and purposeful discussion, children are taught to articulate their ideas clearly, expand their vocabulary and build confidence in expressing themselves. Our use of rich texts in both writing and shared reading provides meaningful opportunities for dialogue, enabling pupils to explore language, justify their thinking and deepen their understanding. In phonics, children develop precise articulation of sounds, while in spelling and writing they rehearse sentences orally before recording them. Across the curriculum, these carefully planned opportunities ensure that all pupils, regardless of need, develop the communication skills required to succeed academically and socially. Our aim is for every child to become a confident, articulate speaker who can listen, respond and communicate effectively in a range of contexts.