NCE

A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that
they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and
listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have
a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually.
Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils
both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of
language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore,
who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively
disenfranchised.

Aims
The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards
of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and
written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for
enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

 read easily, fluently and with good understanding

 develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information

 acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic

conventions for reading, writing and spoken language

 appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage

 write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a
range of contexts, purposes and audiences

 use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly
their understanding and ideas

 are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations,
demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

Reading at Key Stages 1 and 2

The programmes of study for reading at key stages 1 and 2 consist of two dimensions:
 word reading
 comprehension (both listening and reading).

It is essential that teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both

dimensions; different kinds of teaching are needed for each.

Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of
unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words.
Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the
sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics should be emphasised in the early
teaching of reading to beginners (i.e. unskilled readers) when they start school.
Good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and
grammar) and on knowledge of the world. Comprehension skills develop through pupils’
experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and
discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils must be encouraged to
read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves
and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to
gain knowledge across the curriculum. Reading widely and often increases pupils’
vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday
speech. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure-house of
wonder and joy for curious young minds.

It is essential that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read
fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.

Key stage 1 – year 1

During year 1, teachers should build on work from the Early Years Foundation Stage, making
sure that pupils can sound and blend unfamiliar printed words quickly and accurately using
the phonic knowledge and skills that they have already learnt. Teachers should also ensure
that pupils continue to learn new grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) and revise and
consolidate those learnt earlier. The understanding that the letter(s) on the page represent the
sounds in spoken words should underpin pupils’ reading and spelling of all words. This
includes common words containing unusual GPCs. The term ‘common exception words’ is
used throughout the programmes of study for such words.

Alongside this knowledge of GPCs, pupils need to develop the skill of blending the sounds
into words for reading and establish the habit of applying this skill whenever they encounter
new words. This will be supported by practice in reading books consistent with their
developing phonic knowledge and skill and their knowledge of common exception words. At
the same time they will need to hear, share and discuss a wide range of high-quality books to
develop a love of reading and broaden their vocabulary.

Pupils should be helped to read words without overt sounding and blending after a few
encounters. Those who are slow to develop this skill should have extra practice.

Pupils’ writing during year 1 will generally develop at a slower pace than their reading. This
is because they need to encode the sounds they hear in words (spelling skills), develop the
physical skill needed for handwriting, and learn how to organise their ideas in writing.

Teachers should ensure that their teaching develops pupils’ oral vocabulary as well as their
ability to understand and use a variety of grammatical structures, giving particular support to
pupils whose oral language skills are insufficiently developed.

Year 1 programme of study

Reading – word reading

Pupils should be taught to:

 apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words
 respond speedily with the correct sound to graphemes (letters or groups of letters) for all
40+ phonemes, including, where applicable, alternative sounds for graphemes
 read accurately by blending sounds in unfamiliar words containing GPCs that have been
taught
 read common exception words, noting unusual correspondences between spelling and
sound and where these occur in the word
 read words containing taught GPCs and –s, –es, –ing, –ed, –er and –est endings
 read other words of more than one syllable that contain taught GPCs
 read words with contractions [for example, I’m, I’ll, we’ll], and understand that the
apostrophe represents the omitted letter(s)
 read aloud accurately books that are consistent with their developing phonic knowledge
and that do not require them to use other strategies to work out words
 re-read these books to build up their fluency and confidence in word reading.

Reading – comprehension

Pupils should be taught to:

 develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
 listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond
that at which they can read independently
 being encouraged to link what they read or hear read to their own experiences
 becoming very familiar with key stories, fairy stories and traditional tales, retelling them
and considering their particular characteristics
 recognising and joining in with predictable phrases
 learning to appreciate rhymes and poems, and to recite some by heart
 discussing word meanings, linking new meanings to those already known
 understand both the books they can already read accurately and fluently and those they
listen to by:
 drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary
provided by the teacher
 checking that the text makes sense to them as they read and correcting inaccurate reading
 discussing the significance of the title and events
 making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
 predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
 participate in discussion about what is read to them, taking turns and listening to what
others say
 explain clearly their understanding of what is read to them.

Key stage 1 – year 2

By the beginning of year 2, pupils should be able to read all common graphemes. They
should be able to read unfamiliar words containing these graphemes, accurately and without
undue hesitation, by sounding them out in books that are matched closely to each pupil’s
level of word reading knowledge. They should also be able to read many common words
containing GPCs taught so far [for example, shout, hand, stop, or dream], without needing to
blend the sounds out loud first. Pupils’ reading of common exception words [for example,
you, could, many, or people], should be secure. Pupils will increase their fluency by being
able to read these words easily and automatically. Finally, pupils should be able to retell
some familiar stories that have been read to and discussed with them or that they have acted
out during year 1.

During year 2, teachers should continue to focus on establishing pupils’ accurate and speedy
word reading skills. They should also make sure that pupils listen to and discuss a wide range
of stories, poems, plays and information books; this should include whole books. The sooner
that pupils can read well and do so frequently, the sooner they will be able to increase their
vocabulary, comprehension and their knowledge across the wider curriculum.

Year 2 programme of study

Reading – word reading

Pupils should be taught to:

 continue to apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words until automatic
decoding has become embedded and reading is fluent
 read accurately by blending the sounds in words that contain the graphemes taught so far,
especially recognising alternative sounds for graphemes
 read accurately words of two or more syllables that contain the same graphemes as above
 read words containing common suffixes
 read further common exception words, noting unusual correspondences between spelling
and sound and where these occur in the word
 read most words quickly and accurately, without overt sounding and blending, when they
have been frequently encountered
 read aloud books closely matched to their improving phonic knowledge, sounding out
unfamiliar words accurately, automatically and without undue hesitation
 re-read these books to build up their fluency and confidence in word reading.

Reading – comprehension

Pupils should be taught to:

 develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
 listening to, discussing and expressing views about a wide range of contemporary and
classic poetry, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read
independently
 discussing the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related
 becoming increasingly familiar with and retelling a wider range of stories, fairy stories and
traditional tales
 being introduced to non-fiction books that are structured in different ways
 recognising simple recurring literary language in stories and poetry
 discussing and clarifying the meanings of words, linking new meanings to known
vocabulary
 discussing their favourite words and phrases
 continuing to build up a repertoire of poems learnt by heart, appreciating these and reciting
some, with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear
 understand both the books that they can already read accurately and fluently and those that
they listen to by:
 drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary
provided by the teacher
 checking that the text makes sense to them as they read and correcting inaccurate reading
 making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
 answering and asking questions
 predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
 participate in discussion about books, poems and other works that are read to them and
those that they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say
 explain and discuss their understanding of books, poems and other material, both those that
they listen to and those that they read for themselves.

Lower key stage 2 – years 3 and 4

By the beginning of year 3, pupils should be able to read books written at an age-appropriate
interest level. They should be able to read them accurately and at a speed that is sufficient for
them to focus on understanding what they read rather than on decoding individual words.
They should be able to decode most new words outside their spoken vocabulary, making a
good approximation to the word’s pronunciation. As their decoding skills become
increasingly secure, teaching should be directed more towards developing their vocabulary
and the breadth and depth of their reading, making sure that they become independent, fluent
and enthusiastic readers who read widely and frequently. They should be developing their
understanding and enjoyment of stories, poetry, plays and non-fiction, and learning to read
silently. They should also be developing their knowledge and skills in reading non-fiction
about a wide range of subjects. They should be learning to justify their views about what they
have read: with support at the start of year 3 and increasingly independently by the end of
year 4.

Most pupils will not need further direct teaching of word reading skills: they are able to
decode unfamiliar words accurately, and need very few repeated experiences of this before
the word is stored in such a way that they can read it without overt sound-blending. They
should demonstrate understanding of figurative language, distinguish shades of meaning
among related words and use age-appropriate, academic vocabulary.

Years 3 and 4 programme of study

Reading – word reading

Pupils should be taught to:

 apply their growing knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes (etymology and
morphology) as listed in English Appendix 1, both to read aloud and to understand the
meaning of new words they meet
 read further exception words, noting the unusual correspondences between spelling and
sound, and where these occur in the word.

Reading – comprehension

Pupils should be taught to:

 develop positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by:
 listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference
books or textbooks
 reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes
 using dictionaries to check the meaning of words that they have read
 increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories, myths and
legends, and retelling some of these orally
 identifying themes and conventions in a wide range of books
 preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding
through intonation, tone, volume and action
 discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination
 recognising some different forms of poetry [for example, free verse, narrative poetry]
 understand what they read, in books they can read independently, by:
 checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining
the meaning of words in context
 asking questions to improve their understanding of a text
 drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their
actions, and justifying inferences with evidence
 predicting what might happen from details stated and implied
 identifying main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and summarising these
 identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning
 retrieve and record information from non-fiction
 participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those they can read for
themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say.

Upper key stage 2 – years 5 and 6

By the beginning of year 5, pupils should be able to read aloud a wider range of poetry and
books written at an age-appropriate interest level with accuracy and at a reasonable speaking
pace. They should be able to read most words effortlessly and to work out how to pronounce
unfamiliar written words with increasing automaticity. If the pronunciation sounds
unfamiliar, they should ask for help in determining both the meaning of the word and how to
pronounce it correctly.
They should be able to prepare readings, with appropriate intonation to show their
understanding, and should be able to summarise and present a familiar story in their own
words. They should be reading widely and frequently, outside as well as in school, for
pleasure and information. They should be able to read silently, with good understanding,
inferring the meanings of unfamiliar words, and then discuss what they have read.
During years 5 and 6, teachers should continue to emphasise pupils’ enjoyment and
understanding of language, especially vocabulary, to support their reading and writing.
Pupils’ knowledge of language, gained from stories, plays, poetry, non-fiction and textbooks,
will support their increasing fluency as readers, their facility as writers, and their
comprehension. As in years 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to enhance the effectiveness of
their writing as well as their competence.
By the end of year 6, pupils’ reading and writing should be sufficiently fluent and effortless
for them to manage the general demands of the curriculum in year 7, across all subjects and
not just in English, but there will continue to be a need for pupils to learn subject-specific
vocabulary. They should be able to reflect their understanding of the audience for and
purpose of their writing by selecting appropriate vocabulary and grammar. Teachers should
prepare pupils for secondary education by ensuring that they can consciously control sentence
structure in their writing and understand why sentences are constructed as they are. Pupils
should understand nuances in vocabulary choice and age-appropriate, academic vocabulary.
This involves consolidation, practice and discussion of language. Specific requirements for
pupils to discuss what they are learning and to develop their wider skills in spoken language
form part of this programme of study. In years 5 and 6, pupils’ confidence, enjoyment and
mastery of language should be extended through public speaking, performance and debate.

Years 5 and 6 programme of study

Reading – word reading

Pupils should be taught to:

 apply their growing knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes (morphology and
etymology), both to read aloud and to understand the meaning of new words that they meet.

Reading – comprehension

Pupils should be taught to:

 maintain positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by:
 continuing to read and discuss an increasingly wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-
fiction and reference books or textbooks
 reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes
 increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and
traditional stories, modern fiction, fiction from our literary heritage, and books from other
cultures and traditions
 recommending books that they have read to their peers, giving reasons for their choices
 identifying and discussing themes and conventions in and across a wide range of writing
 making comparisons within and across books
 learning a wider range of poetry by heart
 preparing poems and plays to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through
intonation, tone and volume so that the meaning is clear to an audience
 understand what they read by:
 checking that the book makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and exploring
the meaning of words in context
 asking questions to improve their understanding
 drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their
actions, and justifying inferences with evidence
 predicting what might happen from details stated and implied
 summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identifying key details
that support the main ideas
 identifying how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning
 discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering
the impact on the reader
 distinguish between statements of fact and opinion
 retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction
 participate in discussions about books that are read to them and those they can read for
themselves, building on their own and others’ ideas and challenging views courteously
 explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, including through formal
presentations and debates, maintaining a focus on the topic and using notes where necessary
 provide reasoned justifications for their views.

Notes and guidance:

Even though pupils can now read independently, reading aloud to them should include whole
books so that they meet books and authors that they might not choose to read themselves.
The knowledge and skills that pupils need in order to comprehend are very similar at
different ages. Pupils should continue to apply what they have already learnt to more
complex writing.
Pupils should be taught to recognise themes in what they read, such as loss or heroism. They
should have opportunities to compare characters, consider different accounts of the same
event and discuss viewpoints (both of authors and of fictional characters), within a text and
across more than one text.
They should continue to learn the conventions of different types of writing, such as the use of
the first person in writing diaries and autobiographies.
Pupils should be taught the technical and other terms needed for discussing what they hear
and read, such as metaphor, simile, analogy, imagery, style and effect.
In using reference books, pupils need to know what information they need to look for before
they begin and need to understand the task. They should be shown how to use contents pages
and indexes to locate information.
The skills of information retrieval that are taught should be applied, for example, in reading
history, geography and science textbooks, and in contexts where pupils are genuinely
motivated to find out information, for example, reading information leaflets before a gallery
or museum visit or reading a theatre programme or review. Teachers should consider making
use of any library services and expertise to support this.
Pupils should have guidance about and feedback on the quality of their explanations and
contributions to discussions.
Pupils should be shown how to compare characters, settings, themes and other aspects of
what they read.