At Thames View, English sits at the heart of our curriculum. Through speaking, listening, reading and writing, pupils develop the knowledge, vocabulary and confidence they need to communicate clearly, think deeply and access learning across every subject. English helps pupils understand themselves, connect with others and engage with the wider world as confident, curious and responsible Global Citizens.
How English develops Global Citizens
English helps pupils find their voice. Through high-quality texts, discussion, drama, reading and writing, pupils encounter different people, places, cultures, experiences and viewpoints. They learn to listen carefully, speak respectfully, read critically and write for real audiences and purposes. This helps pupils develop empathy, curiosity, confidence and the ability to contribute thoughtfully to their school, community and wider world.
The English Curriculum
The National Curriculum for English is organised around:
- Spoken language
- Reading, including phonics
- Writing
- Spelling, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
At Thames View, these areas are taught explicitly and revisited across the school so that pupils develop fluency, accuracy, confidence and independence over time.
Reading, Phonics and Vocabulary
Reading is a priority at Thames View. Children are taught to read through a carefully sequenced phonics programme and are supported to develop fluency, comprehension and a love of reading as they move through the school. Pupils read high-quality texts across the curriculum, helping them build vocabulary, background knowledge and understanding of the world.
Vocabulary is taught explicitly so that pupils can understand new ideas, explain their thinking and use language confidently in speech and writing.
Writing and Communication
Pupils are taught to write clearly, accurately and effectively for a range of purposes and audiences. Writing is built through oral rehearsal, vocabulary development, sentence construction, grammar, punctuation, spelling, handwriting and careful planning.
Pupils learn that transcription matters: spelling, handwriting, spacing and punctuation help writers communicate their ideas clearly to others.
Inclusion and Removing Barriers
Pupils may have different starting points in language, vocabulary, reading fluency, comprehension, spelling, handwriting or confidence when communicating. Teachers remove barriers through explicit teaching, modelling, phonics support, vocabulary instruction, guided practice, scaffolds, sentence stems, high-quality texts, targeted intervention and opportunities for oral rehearsal.
Pupils with SEND access the same ambitious English curriculum, with adaptations made so that they can build confidence, independence and success over time.
Progression in English
Our English curriculum shows how pupils build knowledge, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, transcription and composition skills from Nursery to Year 6. More detailed information can be found in our Phonics, Reading, SPaG and Writing sections.