Central to all Learning
Our Approach to English at Holy Trinity
At Holy Trinity Primary School, we are committed to providing your child with the strongest possible foundation in reading and writing. Our English program is grounded in evidence-based practices and informed by Scarborough’s Reading Rope, a research framework that shows how skilled reading develops through the interweaving of two essential strands: word recognition (including phonological awareness, phonics, and decoding) and language comprehension (including vocabulary, background knowledge, and verbal reasoning). By explicitly teaching all these components in a structured, systematic way, we ensure every child develops the skills they need to become a confident, fluent reader.
Ten Hours of Quality English Instruction
Your child will engage in 10 hours of English instruction each week, as we understand how vital these skills are to support all learning areas. Our comprehensive approach includes phonological awareness and phonics screening, explicit teaching of foundational skills, automaticity training in recognising high-frequency words, guided practice to improve fluency, vocabulary development, and explicit comprehension instruction. We use proven programs such as InitiaLit for our foundational literacy teaching, Spell-Ex for spelling development, OCHRE resources, and The Writing Revolution methodology to develop strong writing skills within the Australian Curriculum context. We also build content knowledge across subjects to improve your child’s accessibility to increasingly complex texts, and provide explicit instruction in grammar and syntax to strengthen their written expression.
Targeted Support for Every Learner
We recognise that every child learns at their own pace, which is why we use regular assessments with normative data and progress monitoring to identify students who may need additional support. For students requiring extra assistance, we provide Tier 2 and 3 interventions using evidence-based programs including MiniLit Sage, MacqLit, MSL Tutoring, Toe By Toe, and UFLI. These targeted interventions ensure that no child falls behind and that each student receives the specific support they need to succeed. From our youngest learners using decodable texts to build proficiency in phonics, through to our senior students developing sophisticated comprehension and writing skills, our dedicated teachers are committed to helping every child thrive as a reader and writer.