Writing

Writing Intent

At Rise Park Primary and Nursery School, our intent is to provide an English curriculum that inspires pupil’s creativity and develops their oracy and their writing skills. Our curriculum has been designed so that it is progressive and ensures that pupils learn these skills over a range of different genres that they study. We place a high value on the specific teaching of vocabulary, and within each genre, pupils begin by collecting rich, meaningful vocabulary to use within their own writing. They also are encouraged to practice using this vocabulary within a range of different writing structures, allowing them to develop their confidence and enabling them to become competent writers who can write for a range of purposes and audiences. Pupils are also encouraged to use their writing skills across the curriculum to enable them to understand that writing is a life-long skill.

Aims:

• To foster a love of writing across different genres.
• To communicate clearly and confidence across a range of purposes and for different audiences.
• To be immersed in a range of high-quality texts and understand the link between being a reader and a writer.
• To develop pupil’s language acquisition.
• To develop pupil’s oracy skills, allowing them to communicate with clarity and confidence.
• To be able to apply a range of techniques, including vocabulary choice, to engage their reader.
• To use accurate spelling through the development and understanding of spelling rules.
• To present work that they are proud of through neat handwriting.

As a school, we believe that creating a passion for English is vital in ensuring our children are given the best life chances. Cultivating this interest and enthusiasm will ensure that children’s love of writing will extend far beyond the English lesson and even the classroom, and allow them to build on their skills independently through a real curiosity and thirst for knowledge and improvement. 

 We believe that the greatest writers are also the greatest readers.  We therefore pursue a cohesive approach to the teaching of English, where writing, reading and spoken language all feature in lessons planned around a core text. These texts often link to the year group’s topics to make the learning more accessible for all, and writing is focused around one of four areas, to: inform, entertain, persuade (year 3 onwards) and discuss (year 5 onwards). 

Pupils are ‘hooked in’ and then immersed in the text through reading, discussion, drama and games. There may also be a real-life hook such as a crime scene or a visit from the fire engine to engage the children in their writing. Rich, structured talk is planned, with vocabulary as a focus.  Children are encouraged to seek out new vocabulary and apply it in lessons through speaking and then writing.  This focus supports our aim to diminish the vocabulary gap for our most disadvantaged pupils. 

Y1 Y6 Writing Long Term Plan

Writing Progression Document

Spelling 

Spelling is taught through the scheme ‘Spelling Shed’ with regular spelling lessons forming part of the school day. Each lesson has a main objective from the National Curriculum as its focus with spelling patterns being taught throughout the week, and there is also time to revise previously visited patterns. Spellings linked to these lessons are given to the children to learn at home and these are then tested at some point during the week.  

Handwriting 

Handwriting is taught throughout the week following the Letterjoin scheme. In Key Stage 1, one letter or join is focused on each day and children build from print to pre-cursive to cursive by the end of year 2. From year 2 onwards, children are taught pre-cursive handwriting, and this is how teachers’ model. Children in EYFS and year 1 use pencil to write in. In year 2, children can earn their pen for neat, cursive handwriting, and all children from year 3 onwards write in pen.  

Grammar 

Grammar is taught throughout Key Stage 1 and 2 as part of English lessons. The Rainbow Grammar scheme is used to ensure all children understand the different parts of the sentence, and this is built upon each year. The Rainbow Grammar terms for each year group are displayed in classrooms. Grammar is often taught in starters and forms a part of shared writing.  

Shared writing 

Shared writing and modelling take place whenever children are writing. Teachers will model the writing to a greater depth standard for the year group and will use both their own ideas and the children’s ideas to build a model text together. During this time, teachers talk through their internal dialogue and encourage proof-reading to model to children the way in which writing is built up.  

SEND 

In English lessons, SEND children are supported through the programme ‘widgit’, which uses words with pictures to support children’s understanding. Children may have widgit vocabulary, sentence starters or clozes to support them with their learning. English also forms part of their SEND children’s weekly BSquared learning so that they are able to have individualised English targets that they can work on in a small group that are appropriate to their level.  

Assessment 

When children complete their final piece of writing (hot write), this is assessed on their tracker. Each child has a writing tracker, which is ticked off throughout the year. Some children may have a different year group tracker depending on their need. These trackers include working towards and greater depth children. If a child has any gaps on their tracker, this will be planned in to daily English and writing lessons to fill, or they may receive extra intervention.  

Parental Engagement 

Writing bags are sent home in F2, Year 1 and Year 2 weekly to encourage children to work with their parents to write about what they have been doing over the weekend. This is then shared in assembly every Monday to celebrate the child’s writing.