How We Teach English

How we teach English at Burlescombe and Webber’s

Reading

 

Intent

 

At Burlescombe and Webber’s, we aim to provide an ambitious approach to reading, ensuring that every child develops the foundational reading skills needed to become confident, fluent, thoughtful and inspiring young readers. By implementing the FFT Success for All phonics programme in Early Years and Key Stage 1 and transitioning to the CUSP reading programme in Key Stage 2, we aim to ensure that every child:

• Masters phonics as a tool for decoding and fluency.
• Develops strong comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills to engage with increasingly complex texts.
• Gains the confidence and love of reading needed to thrive across the wider curriculum and in life.

This combined approach is designed to sustain our already strong outcomes in phonics while preparing children for the deeper challenges of the Key Stage 2 CUSP reading curriculum, creating a pathway for continued success in reading.

 

Implementation

 

Early Years and Key Stage 1:

• The FFT Success for All phonics programme is delivered daily through structured and engaging lessons that follow a systematic, synthetic phonics approach.
• High-quality, multisensory resources support a range of learning styles, helping children to master phonics and develop fluency.
• All staff receive tailored training to deliver the programme effectively, with regular monitoring to ensure fidelity and consistency.
• Regular assessments identify any children requiring additional support, with targeted interventions in place to ensure all children progress.

Key Stage 2:

• The CUSP reading programme builds on the strong phonics foundation by introducing children to a rich and diverse range of texts.
• Structured units focus on developing comprehension strategies, vocabulary acquisition, and critical reading skills such as inference, retrieval, and summarising.
• All lessons incorporate discussion, modelling, and explicit teaching of higher-order reading.

 

 

 

Whole-School Approach:

• Staff collaboration and professional development ensure a consistent reading journey across all key stages, with phonics and early fluency seamlessly transitioning into the comprehension and analytical focus of CUSP.
• Leaders monitor and evaluate the impact of both programmes, using data to inform practice and ensure the needs of all the children are met.

 

Impact

 

• Children will develop a genuine love of reading and the ability to use reading as a tool for learning across the curriculum.
• Children will leave Key Stage 1 with strong phonics knowledge and fluency, enabling them to confidently access the demands of the CUSP reading programme in Key Stage 2.
• By the end of Key Stage 2, children will have the decoding skills, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies needed to engage with complex texts, preparing them for secondary school and enabling them to flourish beyond school.
• Disadvantaged children and those with SEND will make accelerated progress, with any gaps in attainment reduced or eliminated.
• Burlescombe and Webber’s will sustain high outcomes in the Phonics Screening Check and continue to see excellent progress in reading at Key Stage 2, evidenced by improved results and pupil confidence.
• Staff will feel confident and skilled in delivering a unified reading approach, leading to consistency and excellence in practice across the schools.

 

 

Writing

 

At Burlescombe and Webber’s, we aim to nurture confident, articulate, creative and inspiring writers who can effectively communicate their thoughts and ideas. The CUSP Writing Scheme is a carefully designed, evidence-based approach, which we tailor, to meet the needs of the children in our schools.   This provides all the children the opportunity to develop strong writing skills while supporting their wider learning across the curriculum.

 

Intent

 

At Burlescombe and Webber’s, the intent of the CUSP Writing Scheme is focused on addressing the unique needs of our children, many of whom benefit from a nurturing, close-knit environment. We aim to:

• Develop core writing skills: Provide children with the tools to write confidently, accurately, and fluently, ensuring they meet age-appropriate standards in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Enrich vocabulary and knowledge: Expose children to rich language and vocabulary that reflect the world beyond their immediate environment, supporting their ability to articulate ideas clearly.
• Embed writing across the curriculum: Connect writing tasks to meaningful topics, using subjects like history, geography, and science to give context and purpose to their writing.
• Close learning gaps: Support children who may have limited exposure to diverse experiences or vocabulary by scaffolding their learning, while also stretching those who require it.
• Promote confidence and creativity: Develop children’s ability to write for a range of purposes and audiences while supporting creativity, enjoyment, and ownership of their writing.

 

Implementation

 

We have adapted the CUSP Writing Scheme to suit the structure and needs of Burlescombe and Webber’s, ensuring high-quality teaching is accessible to all children:

• Curriculum integration: Writing is closely tied to the CUSP curriculum topics and other subjects. For example, children may write an information text about rivers as part of a geography unit.  The cross-curricular approach ensures children apply and deepen knowledge gained in other lessons, making learning more cohesive and meaningful.
• Deliberate teaching and practice: Teachers explicitly model writing processes, including planning, drafting, editing, and proofreading. Regular practice of foundational skills (e.g., sentence construction, grammar and punctuation) ensures children build confidence in writing independently over time.
• Small-school advantages: Mixed-age classes allow for tailored teaching, where younger children are exposed to higher learning and older children have opportunities to consolidate their learning when working collaboratively with their peers. Staff familiarity with individual children ensures bespoke support for their specific needs, be it extending high-achievers or scaffolding for those requiring additional help.
• Scaffolding and support: Children benefit from structured writing lessons that provide scaffolds such as sentence stems, model texts, and vocabulary banks. Differentiated instruction helps close gaps for children who may require more time or support while challenging more able children to work at greater depth.
• Use of local context: Writing tasks often incorporate themes and settings familiar to the children, such as writing descriptive pieces about the countryside or persuasive letters addressing local community issues.
• Assessment and feedback: Children receive regular, formative feedback to guide improvement, with a focus on small, achievable steps. Writing is assessed systematically using clear success criteria, ensuring progress is measurable and celebrated.

 

Impact

 

The CUSP Writing Scheme will be instrumental in improving writing outcomes and encouraging a love of writing in our schools.

• Improved writing skills: Children develop strong foundations in writing mechanics and structure, enabling them to write effectively for different audiences and purposes. Improved accuracy in spelling, punctuation, and grammar is expected to be observed across all year groups.
• Broadened horizons: Cross-curricular links and exposure to rich texts help the children expand their vocabulary and understanding of the wider world, an essential benefit for children in rural areas. Writing tasks with global and historical perspectives inspire curiosity and critical thinking.
• Greater confidence and enjoyment: Structured writing lessons, coupled with regular feedback, give children the confidence to express themselves creatively and independently. Celebrating writing through displays, sharing in assemblies, or publishing in newsletters encourages pride in their achievements.
• Closing the gap: Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND benefit from targeted scaffolding and individualised support, ensuring they progress in line with their peers. High-achieving children are consistently challenged to work at greater depth through extension tasks and opportunities for independent research.
• Preparation for future success: By the end of primary school, our children are equipped with the skills to tackle the demands of secondary education confidently, both in writing and in other subjects.

 

The CUSP Writing Scheme provides our small rural schools with a robust framework to deliver high-quality writing instruction. It not only builds children’s skills but also promotes a love of learning and self-expression. By tailoring its implementation to our school’s context, we ensure that every child thrives and is well-prepared for the next stage of their education.

 

Inspiring Readers & Writers, Building Futures!