St Ives has a strong reading culture in school and our aim is for every child to take pleasure in reading across a range of genres and for a variety of purposes. We are lucky enough to have a beautiful library in the main building, and extensive reading areas in our separate EYFS and Pre-Prep building. The Prep library has views across the forest, with a  large window seat that invites children to curl up with a book. It houses a range of classic and new fiction texts, and non-fiction books to support and extend learning across the curriculum. Children are encouraged to recommend books for their peers, and visits from authors and poets regularly ignite new interests.

Children learn to read using the Read, Write Inc phonics programme, starting with our older Ducks in Nursery. We teach phonics in small groups, tailored to individual progress and starting points.

As an independent school, we are fortunate enough to be able to follow the EYFS statutory framework and National Curriculum, and to extend and deepen our learning with a wealth of experiential and cross-curricular learning opportunities.  With our subject specialist teachers in Prep and high staff to pupil ratios, we also adapt teaching and learning to support and encourage specific year groups and individuals.

At St Ives we believe it is important to begin the foundations of a strong English curriculum from the outset. In Nursery, children share books, spot letters, learn sounds and begin their journey towards learning to read and write with fine and gross motor skills activities, and the beginnings of the Read, Write Inc phonics programme. 

In Pre-Prep, class teachers teach English through texts linked to the topic, and also introduce classic children's authors (including Jill Murphy, Roald Dahl and Shakespeare adaptations). 

Children in Prep are taught by subject specialists, who share their love of the subject with the children they teach, through English lessons that are exciting and engaging, with texts that inspire the children and enhance their own creative writing. The curriculum is covered at great depth, ensuring that the skills needed are developed and embedded. 

Children at St Ives are encouraged to use their voices and communicate clearly through a huge range of speaking and listening opportunities. Our youngest children in Nursery have their first whole-school performance with their annual Christmas nativity, progressing to the Pre-Prep Christmas Performance shortly after. In Prep, the Year 6 children take the lead in the Summer Term performance, with children in Years 3-5 in supporting roles. Throughout the year, we have a huge take up in extra-curricular opportunities for Speech and Drama, with LAMDA examinations and a Speech and Drama showcase in the Autumn Term.

Alongside their English lessons, children in Prep also have weekly drama lessons which cover a range of skills to build confidence with public speaking and performance skills. All of our children leave Year 6 with their own speeches at our Prize Giving ceremony, allowing them to truly share their voice with the whole school community.

St Ives children leave our school with an ability to communicate through speaking and listening, reading and writing, with confidence, fluency and understanding in a broad range of situations.