At Oak Farm Primary School, we believe that a high-quality, rich and diverse English curriculum should inspire a lifelong love of reading, writing and learning. We want every child to become a confident reader who can engage with, enjoy and understand a wide range of texts.

Alongside daily English lessons, every child has a dedicated reading lesson each day from 9:00–9:30am, ensuring that reading is at the heart of our curriculum. In EYFS and Key Stage 1, we teach early reading through Read Write Inc. Phonics, a systematic synthetic phonics programme. Since our Ofsted inspection, we have worked closely with our English Hub and Read Write Inc. specialists to further strengthen the teaching of phonics and early reading across the school.

In Key Stage 2, children follow our bespoke reading curriculum, carefully structured around high-quality key texts. Pupils experience a diverse range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry and are explicitly taught the knowledge and skills they need to read fluently, understand meaning, make connections and think deeply about what they read.

We also look for opportunities to bring reading and literature to life. Each year, the whole school celebrates World Book Day, and our pupils take part in the Vanguard Learning Trust Poetry Competition, alongside other reading and writing opportunities throughout the year. We are fortunate to have dedicated Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 libraries, which children visit weekly, giving them regular opportunities to explore new authors, discover different genres and, most importantly, develop a genuine love of reading.