WRITING
"Writing is the painting of the voice"
INTENT
At Prince Albert Primary School, we believe that a high-quality writing curriculum will enable all pupils to speak and write fluently. All of the skills of language, spoken and written, are essential to participating fully as a member of society. Our intention is to ensure every pupil becomes a confident writer and speaker by the time they leave our school. We strive to promote and instil a love for writing into all pupils at all ages.
Our writing curriculum aims to develop the acquisition of knowledge and skills in line with the National Curriculum expectations and beyond. Writing is a key driver of our curriculum, allowing all pupils to unlock the power of language both spoken and written. It is designed to provide a relevant, progressive and well-structured curriculum which provides pupils with the opportunity to develop and master a broad range of skills.
IMPLEMENTATION LONG TERM OVERVIEW
At Prince Albert, we are dedicated to engrossing pupils in the writing process, giving them opportunities to write for a range of purposes. We encourage pupils to think about and engage the intended reader in a variety of styles, making effective language choices. The formal structures of English are given a focus throughout the units of work: vocabulary, grammatical detail, punctuation and spelling. Pupils are provided with meaningful contexts and purposes for writing, including writing from different perspectives. Our writing curriculum is planned to ensure writing opportunities are sourced carefully and developed based on the needs of each individual pupil. Teachers clearly model writing skills to ensure pupils achieve the best outcomes. Throughout Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, stimuli from a range of sources such as videos, music, images, novels, and extracts are used to enrich the writing process.
As stated in the National Curriculum (2014), the process of writing is:
- Plan
- Draft
- Evaluate/edit
- Proof-read
- Present
Each unit of writing usually lasts for 2 or 3 weeks. Skills are developed and embedded in a clear, progressive, sequence of learning across each writing unit. In KS1 and KS2, pupils complete the full writing process in each writing unit and they are given opportunities to write at length in extended, independent writing sessions at the end of the unit which incorporate the range of skills they have practiced and applied over the writing unit. As all aspects of writing are an integral part of the curriculum, cross curricular writing opportunities are utilised to show consolidation of skills, progression and a deeper understanding of how and when to use specific grammar and punctuation skills.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), pupils are provided with opportunities to explore, learn and use words and text in a broad range of contexts, including through stories, role play and drama. A literacy rich environment is used as a stimulus to support pupils to write in a variety of contexts with as many ‘real-life’ experiences as possible.
Handwriting is given a high importance at our school. Pupils are introduced to the individual letters and rigorously taught correct formation from the very beginning of their time in school. As pupils progress through school, there is an increasing focus on fluency, consistency and speed.
IMPACT
Progress is closely monitored by the subject leader and the senior leadership team through regular school monitoring activities. This is then used to inform next steps for pupils, staff development and the implementation of writing across the school.
At Prince Albert, we ensure all pupils are enthused about writing across a range of genres, can write for a range of purposes and audiences, and become confident and effective communicators. It is important that our pupils also see themselves as writers, taking pride in their written work and developing their own ideas as creative writers. Pupils will meet, or exceed, their potential, and we measure this against the age-related expectations for each year group. By the time pupils finish Year 6, they will have the skills to produce written work in all areas of the curriculum to a high standard.