Literacy

Our Literacy Approach

At Orchard Park Primary School, literacy learning is divided into two connected parts: Core Literacy and English.
This structure ensures students build strong foundational skills for reading and writing, while engaging deeply with high-quality texts, ideas and language.

Core Literacy

Core Literacy is made up of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, spelling and handwriting.
These areas form the essential building blocks for reading and writing success.

English

Our English curriculum is text-based, using carefully selected, high-quality literature to engage students in meaningful reading, thinking and writing.
Texts are chosen from a range of authors, genres, styles, time periods and topics, providing the context for rich discussion, comprehension skill development, language and vocabulary learning, and focused writing instruction.

Literacy Across the Week

Students experience 10 hours of dedicated literacy learning each week.
All students from Prep to Year 6 participate in both Core Literacy and English lessons every week.

In our junior classes, more time is dedicated to Core Literacy lessons, with a strong focus on developing phonics, spelling, and early reading skills.
In our middle and senior classes, more time is devoted to English, where students extend their comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills as they move from learning to read to learning through reading.

Our Goal

Through this balanced approach, every student learns to:

• Decode and spell accurately

• Read fluently and think critically

• Discuss and write about ideas with depth and clarity

• Use language creatively and effectively across all learning areas

At Orchard Park Primary School, literacy is more than reading and writing — it is about developing confident communicators who understand, express and connect with the world through language.