Pupils are treated as writers, from the earliest stage, who have ideas that they want to communicate, building on reading skills they have acquired and their knowledge of print from their environment. Children are given daily opportunities to acquire confidence and a positive attitude to writing. We aim to provide a range of purposes and audiences for writing enabling children to develop and sustain writing skills.

Intent

Writing is a crucial part of the curriculum at Stoke Bishop Primary School. By the end of Year 6 we intend for all children to be able to express themselves through the written word, clearly and creatively, for a range of purposes. We want all pupils to have a firm understanding of English grammar and spelling rules to allow them to effectively communicate. We aim to expose children to a wide range of vocabulary encouraging them to use words imaginatively to create the best effect. At Stoke Bishop Primary School we promote a strong sense of pride in writing, both in the content and presentation.

We believe it is possible “One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world” Malala Yousafzai

Implementation

In order to achieve our intent, our teaching of writing is often cross-curricula linked to our topics. We use a wide range of quality texts and resources to inspire our pupils. Children are taught using guided writing sessions to model writing skills, teaching children how to compose, amend and revise their writing. We teach children to become critical readers of their own writing by using self-evaluation and checking their work independently for sense, accuracy and meaning. We use a three-week planning proforma which allows children the time and space to develop their writing and editing skills. This follows a “I do, we do, you do” pedagogy, which ensures a consistent and systematic approach to teaching the skills of writing across all year groups.

Alongside this we teach grammar and punctuation in the context of children’s own writing, as well as through discrete lessons. From the onset children are taught strategies for spelling to enable them to become confident and competent spellers. The school follows the Letters and Sounds phonics programme and the Schoffield & Sims Spelling programme which enables the children to recap on the previous year’s spelling patterns and then introduces new patterns and sight words. This programme is in line with the National Curriculum for spelling. Identified children receive extra spelling and phonics support from teachers and TAs.

Handwriting is taught from mark making in Reception through to their own style in Year 6. In Reception children are taught the correct letter formation as they learn each new sound. In Year 1 children are introduced to the continuous cursive writing style and initial joins. This is then followed through into lower Key Stage 2. In Key Stage 2 children are awarded a “Pen Licence” when their teachers deem their handwriting sufficiently neat and joined.

Teachers use developmental feedback in order to identify where children have included elements of the success criteria (which are highlighted in green), set next steps targets (which are highlighted in pink) and to give children the opportunity to revisit their work in order to make improvements.

Impact

Children at Stoke Bishop will make good progress in their writing from their own personal starting points. Children will enjoy writing across a range of genres, using vocabulary and style effectively. Ongoing formative and summative assessment will be used to identify misconceptions and areas of development to narrow the gap for each individual child. Most importantly, the children will develop a love and command of writing that will equip them for their ongoing education and lives.

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