Core Subjects

Reading

At Armathwaite Primary School, we are committed to fostering a love of reading and language while ensuring all children develop the essential skills to become confident and fluent readers.

Phonics & Early Reading

We use the SuperSonicPhonics scheme, a fully systematic synthetic phonics approach, to give children a strong foundation in early reading. Our scheme includes:

• Firm Foundations in Phonics
• The Basics
• The Higher Levels – Choose to Use Spellings & Switch it Spell Sounds
• Key Stage 1 spelling rules

Children are taught phonics in year group sessions, ensuring tailored learning to meet their developmental stage. In Year 1, children’s phonics knowledge is assessed through the statutory Phonics Screening Check to monitor their progress in decoding and application.  See here for more details. 

Reading

We believe that reading should be engaging, enriching, and progressive. Our reading curriculum is designed to develop strong comprehension skills and a deep appreciation of a wide range of texts.

Guided Reading:

• Small group reading sessions using high-quality fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and song lyrics
• Progressive reading skills to ensure full text comprehension
• Opportunities to discuss, predict, infer, and analyze texts

Whole-Class Reading (KS2):

• Builds written comprehension skills
• Encourages discussion and deeper thinking about texts

Buddy Reading

We foster a love of reading through regular buddy reading sessions, where children:

• Share books together
• Read aloud to each other
• Develop confidence, fluency, and enjoyment of reading

We aim to nurture life-long readers who find joy in books and have the skills to understand and interpret the world through reading.

Writing

At Armathwaite Primary School, we aim to develop confident, creative, and skilled writers. Our writing curriculum is designed to ensure that children can express themselves clearly and effectively across a range of genres, using a real-life purpose for writing to make learning meaningful and engaging.

We use the CLPE Power of Reading approach, which immerses children in rich, high-quality texts that inspire creativity and develop a deep understanding of language. Through engaging stories, poetry, and non-fiction, children are encouraged to think critically, build vocabulary, and develop a love for writing.

Our writing curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure that children develop the skills they need to become proficient writers. We:

• Teach spelling and grammar in context, making learning meaningful and applicable
• Use oral rehearsal to strengthen sentence structure and fluency before writing
• Focus on basic skills throughout, ensuring accuracy in punctuation, grammar, and spelling
• Provide opportunities for children to write across a wide range of genres, including narrative, reports, poetry, and persuasive texts

By linking writing to real-life purposes and high-quality texts, we inspire children to write with confidence, creativity, and precision, preparing them for future learning and success.