Intent

At Sheringham Community Primary School, Literacy Tree has been at the heart of our English curriculum for over eight years. We chose Literacy Tree for its rich, diverse texts and its clear commitment to teaching writing through high-quality literature.

Our aim has always been to ensure that all pupils become confident, capable writers with a secure understanding of how writing works. More recently, we have refined this vision further, developing a mastery approach to writing with Literacy Tree as the foundation.

As recognised in our 2023 Ofsted inspection, “The school promotes a love of reading. The well-stocked library sits at the heart of the school. High-quality books underpin learning in all subject areas.” This reflects the central role that literature plays within our curriculum

 

Implementation

Literacy Tree is fully embedded across the school, with Writing Roots providing a coherent and carefully sequenced curriculum from EYFS to Year 6. Alongside this, we use Literacy Leaves to support the teaching of reading, ensuring that pupils engage with a wide range of high-quality texts.

In recent years, we have strengthened this further through a clearly defined mastery approach. We have refined progression across year groups, ensuring that writing is broken down into precise components and that pupils secure each stage before moving on.

Literacy Tree supports this work effectively. Its structured sequences enable pupils to immerse themselves in carefully chosen texts that reflect a broad range of experiences and perspectives. This not only develops pupils’ understanding of the world, but also ensures that all children can see themselves, and others, within the curriculum.

Grammar, vocabulary and composition are taught in context, ensuring learning is purposeful and meaningful.

Teachers use explicit modelling, shared writing and scaffolded support to enable all pupils to succeed. Oracy is a key part of the process, allowing pupils to rehearse and refine their ideas before writing.

The consistency of Literacy Tree, combined with our focus on precise progression, has enabled us to maintain high expectations while ensuring learning is secure and cumulative.

 

Impact

Pupils at SCPS are engaged, motivated and increasingly confident readers and writers. They talk with enthusiasm about the texts they study and make meaningful links between reading and writing.

Writing outcomes have improved across the school, with pupils demonstrating increased stamina and control. They can sustain longer pieces of writing and apply their learning across a range of genres.

There is now a strong, shared understanding of progression across the school. Expectations are consistent, and teachers have clarity about what pupils need to know and be able to do at each stage.

Teacher confidence has also developed significantly. Staff have a secure understanding of how to teach reading and writing through high-quality texts, explicit modelling and purposeful talk.

Literacy Tree has enabled us to build a coherent, consistent and ambitious English curriculum. It continues to play a central role in our ongoing work to ensure that every child leaves SCPS as a confident and capable reader and writer

Success Story written by Jade Murray, English Lead