English
We believe that reading is the foundation of all learning, opening doors to knowledge, creativity, and critical thinking. Our goal is to support and challenge every pupil, ensuring they develop the skills they need to thrive in the wider world.
Through our approach, we empower children to become responsible, respectful, and independent citizens, guided by our motto:
- Every child a thinker
- Every child a reader
- Every child a writer
By nurturing a love for reading, we equip children with the tools to question, explore, and express themselves—laying the foundation for lifelong success.
What is the rationale behind the English curriculum?
We follow the Power of Reading approach which underpins the teaching of English with quality literature and offers opportunities for writing across all subjects.
This tried and tested approach provides ideas, inspiration and structure for our literacy curriculum, raises literacy standards and develops a love of reading and writing across all key stages.
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Early Years Foundation Stage |
up to Year 2 |
Years 3-6 |
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Sounds Write decodable books |
Sounds Write decodable books |
Sounds Write catch-up (if appropriate) Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar activities |
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Whole class reading |
Whole class reading |
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Power of Reading texts for writing |
Power of Reading texts for writing using the PAT approach. |
READING: Statement of Intent
Central to learning is creating a life-long love of reading and books; it is our belief that every child should be able to read for pleasure and to a high standard.
We want to develop our children’s imagination to open up a treasure house of wonder and joy for curious young minds. We want all children to recognise the importance of reading as a life skill and understand how it will impact aspects of their adult lives. We also believe that every child should be given the tools to develop into an enthusiastic and confident reader at home, in addition to school.
A child's reading skills are important to their success in school as they will allow them to access the whole of the curriculum and improve their communication and language skills. Through reading, children have the opportunity to develop culturally, socially and emotionally as well as reaping the benefits academically.
A love of language and vocabulary is developed and fostered for the enjoyment, challenge and understanding of text. This is developed through daily exploration of new vocabulary, poetry, a variety of fictional genres, non-fiction, test questions and even through research.
Reading improves language and vocabulary, inspires imagination and gives everyone the opportunity to develop and foster new interests.
PHONICS
INTENT
At Dollis Primary School, we believe that every child can become a confident and fluent reader.
Learning to read and write opens the door to imagination, knowledge, and opportunity — and we are passionate about giving every child the strongest possible start.
We use the Sounds-Write programme — a highly structured, evidence-based phonics approach — to teach children how the sounds of spoken English are represented by letters and spelling patterns.
Through daily, focused phonics sessions, children develop the knowledge and skills they need to read, spell and write with confidence.
Our intent is for all children to:
- Develop secure phonic knowledge and a deep understanding of how the English writing system works.
- Build strong blending and segmenting skills to read and spell words confidently.
- Understand how to manipulate sounds — adding, removing, or changing phonemes within words.
- Gain the fluency and accuracy needed to read for pleasure and for purpose.
- Develop a lifelong love of language, stories and books.
- Be supported and challenged so that every child makes excellent progress, including those who find reading more difficult.
IMPLEMENTATION
By the end of Key Stage 1, all common spellings for the 44 sounds of English are taught. This learning continues into Year 2, deepening understanding and developing fluency.
Reading Practice
To strengthen reading at home and at school, each child takes home two types of books:
- A decodable reader — matched to their current phonics stage (two units behind the code they are learning). This allows them to practise, apply and embed their phonics knowledge, building fluency and confidence.
- A sharing book — a storybook chosen from our school library to enjoy with an adult. These books expose children to rich vocabulary, diverse stories and wider language experiences.
This approach reflects Scarborough’s Reading Rope, which shows that reading comprehension develops through the combination of word recognition and language comprehension.
Phonics in Key Stage 2
Phonics teaching continues beyond Key Stage 1.
In Key Stage 2, children who need additional support continue to receive phonics-based teaching through differentiated tasks in whole-class reading lessons and through weekly small-group keep-up sessions. These sessions ensure that every pupil continues to develop the vital skills needed for fluent reading and confident writing.
'Sounds Write' Presentation for Parents'Sounds Write' guide for Reception parentsCommon spellings of the consonants and vowelsGlossary of phonics terms for parentsInitial Code timelineExtended Code timeline
