Teaching English is commonly separated in curriculum statements into spoken language, reading and writing. However, it is important to remember that all the modes are interrelated and that progress in one mode is supported by development in each of the others. If all children are to develop their language skills, and particularly their access to academic forms of language, they need learning challenges that are accessible and supported by inclusive and culturally sustaining teaching and learning approaches. English is a complex ‘subject’ in that it draws on a range of disciplines, amongst them literature, linguistics, child development, psychology, sociology and cultural studies. Planning always has a pre-history and an imagined future. To be able to move children's learning forward, a teacher needs to discover what children already know and how and where to take learning forward.