Summary of English Curriculum – Pathways Learning Centre

 

Core Provision Across All Year Groups

All students at Pathways Learning Centre access a consistent set of core English activities to support their reading, writing, and communication development:

  • Daily Spellings: Students complete regular spelling practice to build confidence and accuracy in written work.
  • Phonics Programme – Unlocking Letters and Sounds. Learners participate in daily phonics lessons, at levels according to their stage and needs.
  • Reading Programme (Primary) – Learners progress through our book banded reading scheme having been assessed for a suitable starting point. Adults listen to students read regularly and the skills of decoding, inference and deduction are taught as part of English lessons.
  • Reading Programme (Secondary) – Literacy Gold: All learners engage with the Literacy Gold programme, building key reading, comprehension, and decoding skills.
  • Termly Assessed Pieces: Each term, students complete at least one formally assessed extended piece of English work, tailored to their year group’s curriculum.

Key Stages 1 and 2 (Years 1-6)

Key Stage 1 and 2 students follow a structured book-based curriculum, which introduces them to a wide range of topics and text types. Units follow a programme that covers speaking, listening and communication skills, reading and writing skills through emersion in a text. Literacy skills are also promoted through our Topic based curriculum approach in Primary.

Students participate in Phonics Screening assessments in Year 1and in SAT’s at the end of Year 6, where appropriate for them to do so.

Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9)

Key Stage 3 students follow a structured curriculum that introduces them to a range of English topics and text types. Each term, pupils study a different unit of work, supported by a dedicated ‘Reading Rocks’ book to promote reading for pleasure.

Example KS3 Units

  • Communication: Exploring the history of English, media, and various forms of communication.
  • Poetry: Studying a range of poetic forms, devices, and performance techniques.
  • Shakespeare: Introducing students to the language, characters, themes, and plots of key Shakespeare plays.

These units aim to build foundational skills in reading, analysing texts, speaking, listening, and structured writing.

Year 10

Year 10 English focuses on preparing students for GCSE-level expectations while also providing appropriate accreditation routes.

Key Components

  • Reading and Writing Skills for GCSE English Language: Students complete tasks that mirror GCSE-style questions, including comprehension, analysis, creative writing, and transactional writing.
  • OCR Entry Level Certificate (ELC): Long‑term students work toward the OCR Entry Level Certificate in English, completing the required coursework components.
  • Spoken Language Endorsement: In Term 6, all Year 10 pupils complete their GCSE Spoken Language assessment, demonstrating presentation skills and responding to questions.

Year 11

Year 11 English lessons focus on consolidating all the skills needed to sit the Eduqas GCSE English Language examination.

Skills Covered

  • Reading and analysing nonfiction and literary texts
  • Writing creatively and transactionally
  • Understanding writers’ viewpoints and methods
  • Practising exam-style responses under timed conditions

By the end of the year, students are thoroughly prepared for both components of the Eduqas GCSE English Language qualification