At St. Peter’s Catholic Primary School, we want every child to be a happy and enthusiastic learner of English and to be eager to achieve their very best in order to fulfil their God-given talents. Our principal aim is that children leave St. Peter’s Catholic Primary School as fluent readers and confident writers. We want children to have built a love of learning in all areas of the curriculum which can only be achieved if children can access that curriculum (through reading and writing). In addition to this, we want children to leave St. Peter’s with a love of reading in particular. We firmly believe that high quality teaching in English is central to the life of our happy, caring school.

Our principal aim is that children leave St. Peter’s Catholic Primary School as fluent readers and confident writers. We want children to have built a love of learning in all areas of the curriculum which can only be achieved if children can access that curriculum (through reading and writing). In addition to this, we want children to leave St. Peter’s with a love of reading in particular.

• We want to enhance each child’s awareness of their own abilities and strengths as learners, ensuring that children see learning in English as an ongoing process rather than a one-off event.
• Children will meet the National Curriculum expectations in English which will be taught by highly-qualified, enthusiastic staff who will support children to develop mastery of concepts and inspire enthusiasm and interest in the subject.
• All children will study English for 5 sessions per week in both Key Stage One and Two. In addition, there are 5 x 30-minute ‘Key Skills’ sessions which incorporate guided reading. Also, children in Key Stage 1 have dedicated lessons for the teaching of phonics, and children who cannot yet read fluently receive keep-up lessons, both directly linked to our chosen phonics scheme, ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds’. 
• Opportunities exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This allows them to enrich their knowledge in English, for example, welcoming an author into school to work with the children, visiting a theatre to see a live production of a studied book or topic or accessing the school book fair.
• Children will develop a deep understanding of the subjects they are studying. They will increasingly use their prior knowledge to enhance their comprehension and writing skills as well as their speaking and listening skills.
• Children will understand how Gospel Values and British Values relate to English.
• Children will develop a real understanding and appreciation of the world. For example, children will be immersed in engaging texts and will read literature from a wide range of well-known authors including those who have been awarded the UK Children’s laureate to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field such as Sir Michael Morpurgo, Anthony Browne, Julia Donaldson and Michael Rosen. Also, by reading a wide range of genres such as historical fiction, classic and contemporary fiction, traditional tales, poetry and playscripts, children are presented with high quality texts to support or model their writing.
• We aim to grow a love of reading and writing within our children and an appreciation of its educational, cultural and entertainment values.