The Newberries English Curriculum strives to:

• Hold reading at the heart of the curriculum and enable our pupils to become lifelong readers as we believe reading is key for academic success.
• Give the systematic teaching of phonics a very high priority throughout the Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and beyond. We acknowledge that children need to be taught the key skills in segmenting and blending to be equipped with the knowledge to be able to complete the phonics check at the end of Year 1. We also value and encourage the pupils to read for enjoyment and recognise that this starts with the foundations of acquiring letter sounds, segmenting and blending skills. We use the 'Little Wandle Letters and Sounds' scheme to support the teaching of phonics throughout the school.
• Ensure that writing is a crucial part of our curriculum. By the end of Year Six our children will have developed a love of writing and will be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively through the written word. We also intend to create writers who can re-read, edit and improve their own writing and enable pupils to be able to confidently use the essential skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling independently.
• Give all pupils the opportunity to express their opinions, articulate feelings and listen to and respond appropriately in a range of situations. Enabling them to participate with different groups of children to present ideas with confidence whilst valuing the views of others.  Children will leave us speaking audibly and confidently before an audience (for example when leading class and whole-school worship; when performing in school plays).