English

At our school, we use the CUSP Writing, Reading, and Spelling curriculum from Years 1 to 6 to ensure a consistent, high-quality approach to English across all year groups. CUSP (Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership) is a structured and evidence-informed programme that carefully sequences learning to build knowledge, vocabulary, and skills progressively over time.

Writing

In writing, the CUSP curriculum places strong emphasis on the explicit teaching of grammar, punctuation, sentence construction, and vocabulary development. Units are carefully planned around core high-quality texts and modelled examples, which expose pupils to a wide variety of writing forms, including narrative, non-fiction, poetry, and persuasive writing. Children are taught to write with clarity, purpose, and audience in mind, using a consistent structure that includes modelling, shared writing, guided practice, and independent application. Each unit focuses on building key skills and revisiting previously taught content to support retention and mastery. Teachers use precise instruction and regular opportunities for oral rehearsal to strengthen children’s ideas before writing, while editing and redrafting are woven into lessons to support writing as a process. The CUSP approach ensures pupils develop confidence, fluency, and independence as writers over time. The spelling component complements this by systematically teaching spelling concepts, patterns, and exceptions through structured practice and retrieval. CUSP’s emphasis on oracy, spaced learning, and deliberate practice ensures that knowledge is embedded in long-term memory, enabling pupils to make strong progress throughout their primary years.

Reading

CUSP Reading is a central part of our English curriculum from Years 1 to 6, designed to ensure that all pupils develop strong reading fluency, deep comprehension, and a genuine love for reading. The curriculum is carefully structured and sequenced so that knowledge and skills build progressively over time. CUSP Reading is rooted in evidence-based practices and focuses on both word reading and language comprehension, with explicit teaching of vocabulary and background knowledge to support understanding of increasingly complex texts.

Pupils are exposed to a rich and diverse range of high-quality texts, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and classical literature. These texts have been carefully selected to reflect a broad range of cultures, experiences, and genres, helping to develop empathy, curiosity, and cultural capital. Each unit includes focused reading sessions where children develop skills such as inference, prediction, summarising, retrieval, and understanding authorial intent. These are taught through structured lessons that include modelled reading, partner discussions, and guided questioning.

A key strength of CUSP Reading is its emphasis on systematic vocabulary instruction. New words are explicitly taught in context, revisited regularly, and applied across the curriculum to support retention and usage. The curriculum also makes deliberate links to other areas of learning, helping children to connect ideas and deepen their understanding. Regular fluency sessions focus on accuracy, pace, and expression, equipping children with the tools to become confident and competent readers. Through its thoughtful design and consistent approach, CUSP Reading supports all pupils in becoming knowledgeable, reflective, and enthusiastic readers.

The spelling component is designed to be systematic and cumulative, supporting children in mastering key spelling rules and patterns through regular practice and retrieval. CUSP’s emphasis on retrieval, spaced learning, and oracy ensures that knowledge is embedded in long-term memory, enabling pupils to make strong progress throughout their primary years.

Spelling 

CUSP Spelling is an integral part of our Years 1 to 6 English curriculum, designed to systematically develop pupils’ spelling skills through a clear, progressive, and evidence-based approach. The curriculum is carefully sequenced to teach spelling patterns, concepts, and exceptions in a way that builds on prior knowledge and ensures long-term retention. Spelling instruction in CUSP is tightly linked to phonics in the early years and then moves on to more complex morphological patterns, etymology, and common spelling conventions as pupils progress through the school.

The curriculum focuses on explicit teaching and frequent practice, using strategies such as word sorts, dictation, and regular retrieval activities to help children internalise spelling patterns. Pupils learn to identify roots, prefixes, and suffixes, which supports their understanding of how words are constructed and helps them decode unfamiliar words independently. CUSP also integrates spelling with writing and reading, reinforcing the connections between these areas and encouraging children to apply their spelling knowledge in authentic contexts.

Regular assessment and review are embedded throughout the programme to ensure pupils consolidate their learning and address any gaps promptly. The structured approach of CUSP Spelling helps pupils build confidence and accuracy in their written work, providing them with essential tools for effective communication as they advance through primary school and beyond.

Ruthmiskin TrainingTo help support your child’s reading and comprehension development at home, there are some example questions to stimulate interesting discussions during story time, on the link provided. 

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