💬 Talk Partners at Etwall
At Etwall, we use talk partners in every subject so children can share their ideas and discuss them with others. We believe this is a vital part of learning, helping children to develop their thinking by listening carefully and building on each other’s ideas.

🗣️ High-Quality Speaking & Listening
We support pupils with modelled talk, sentence stems, word banks and visual aids. This helps ensure that conversations are meaningful, well-structured and continually developing as children progress.

📚 Building Strong Foundations for Learning
Developing language through speaking and listening is essential for reading and writing. Simply put, a child needs to be able to say a sentence out loud before they can confidently write it.

🔗 Supporting Your Child at Home
Take a look at this brilliant website to find simple and effective ways you can support your child in developing their language skills for learning:

📚 Reading at Etwall Primary School

At Etwall Primary, reading sits at the heart of everything we do. We believe that reading opens doors to learning, imagination and opportunity, and is fundamental to every child’s success in school and beyond. 

Children who read confidently are able to access the full curriculum, develop strong communication skills and build the knowledge they need for the future.

⭐ Our Reading Approach

Our approach to reading is carefully planned to ensure that every child becomes a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader. We focus on:

• Learning to read – developing early decoding skills through high-quality phonics teaching
• Reading to learn – building fluency, understanding and a love of reading as children progress
• Reading for pleasure – fostering a lifelong enjoyment of books and storytelling

This reflects the understanding that reading is not just about decoding words, but also about developing vocabulary, comprehension and a deeper knowledge of the world. 

Through daily reading opportunities, shared texts and meaningful discussion, we ensure children not only learn to read—but enjoy it too.

👉 Please take a look at our Reading Strategy document to find out more about how these elements come together across the school.

📖 Our Reading Spine

At Etwall Primary, we have carefully selected a Reading Spine to ensure that all children experience a rich and varied range of high-quality literature during their time with us.

Our Reading Spine:

• Identifies a core bank of important texts for each year group
• Includes a balanced range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry
• Introduces children to a diverse range of authors, characters and experiences
• Builds vocabulary, knowledge and cultural awareness over time

The purpose of the Reading Spine is to guarantee that every child is exposed to key texts and stories that help them grow as readers, thinkers and learners. 

It ensures progression across the school so that, by the time children leave Etwall, they have encountered a wide range of literature and developed both confidence and depth in their reading.

👉 Please explore our Reading Spine documents to see the exciting books your child will encounter in each year group.

🤝 Supporting Reading at Home

We know that reading at home makes a huge difference. Regular reading:

• Builds fluency and confidence
• Expands vocabulary
• Strengthens understanding and enjoyment

Research shows that children who enjoy reading are more likely to read regularly and develop stronger literacy skills. 

We encourage all families to read regularly together and to talk about books—it’s one of the most powerful ways to support your child’s learning.

🌟 Not sure what your child could read next?

Choosing the right book can make all the difference in developing a love of reading. If you’re looking for inspiration, take a look at the website below for recommended reads and ideas to support reading at home:

✏️ Writing at Etwall Primary School

At Etwall Primary, writing is a key part of our curriculum and an essential skill for life. We believe that writing allows children to communicate their ideas, express their creativity and demonstrate their understanding across all subjects.

Writing is complex and involves many different elements, including spelling, handwriting, grammar and the organisation of ideas. Teaching writing well enables children to become confident communicators who can share their thoughts clearly and effectively.

⭐ Our Writing Approach

Across the school, we use the Pathways to Write and Pathways to Poetry programmes to deliver high-quality writing teaching.

These programmes:

• Are built around high-quality texts, which inspire and engage pupils
• Provide carefully structured units of work with a clear purpose and audience
• Develop vocabulary, reading and writing skills together
• Follow a mastery approach, ensuring children fully understand and practise skills before applying them independently

Each unit supports children through the writing process—from initial ideas and skill development to producing an extended, high-quality final piece. 

Children are given opportunities to:

• Practise new skills through short pieces of writing
• Build confidence through repetition and support
• Apply their learning independently in meaningful writing outcomes

This ensures that all children become confident, capable writers who can adapt their writing for different purposes and audiences.

👉 Please take a look at our Writing Long-Term Plan and Writing Overviews to see how writing skills progress across the school.

🔤 Spelling

Spelling is taught regularly and explicitly to help children become accurate and confident writers.

In Year 2 and Key Stage 2:

• Children take part in three 20-minute spelling lessons each week
• Lessons focus on spelling rules and patterns, as well as how words are constructed.
• Phonology, Orthography, Etymology and Morphology are investigated.
• Children learn to apply their knowledge using a range of strategies

We use Pathways to Spell to support this learning, providing engaging activities and opportunities for practice both in school and at home.  This links to Pathways to Write, so spellings can be practised during their writing units. 

Developing secure spelling is important because, when spelling becomes more automatic, children are able to focus more on the content and quality of their writing.

✏️ Handwriting

We place a strong emphasis on handwriting, as it is a key part of developing confident and fluent writers.

At Etwall Primary, we use Little Wandle Phonics to support the teaching of handwriting in EYFS and Year 1. The same principles are used throughout the rest of the school to ensure a strong foundation in handwriting is built. 

High-quality handwriting teaching ensures that children:

• Form letters correctly and consistently, in the correct orientation.
• Write legibly and fluently
• Develop the stamina and speed needed for extended writing

Handwriting is regularly practised because fluent, automatic letter formation allows children to focus more fully on composing their ideas. 

🌟 Developing Confident Writers

 Our aim is for every child to leave Etwall Primary as a confident, independent writer who: