Intent:
At Starcross Primary School, our writing curriculum is designed to enable all children to become imaginative, confident and precise writers. Gaining and using skills in writing not only affects every child’s progress in school but also gives them a voice to share their thoughts and ideas throughout their life.
We aim to instil a love of writing by giving children purposeful opportunities to write creatively and across the curriculum. Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that children build on prior knowledge and develop a rich vocabulary, accurate grammar, and increasing stamina for writing. We want all children to be able to write for a range of purposes and audiences, using writing as a tool for learning and expression.
Above all, we want our pupils to leave primary school equipped with the confidence, independence, and skills they need to thrive as writers in the next stage of their education and beyond.
Implementation:
At the core of our writing curriculum is the belief that children should be exposed to high quality model texts that vary in genre, show diversity and are inspiring for them.
At Starcross Primary School, our children’s writing journey begins in the early years and sequentially builds knowledge and skills, year-on-year.
Through teaching writing skills and grammar alongside high quality model texts, children are able to write for a range of audiences and purposes. Having a purpose for writing is important. Children are given the experience of writing to inform, entertain, persuade and discuss. Our writing curriculum is taught with a logical progression of genres, so children have the opportunity to consolidate and reinforce previous learning.
Handwriting:
We use Letter-join’s online handwriting resource and Lesson Planners as the basis of our handwriting teaching.
Handwriting is a basic skill that influences the quality of work throughout the curriculum. By the end of Key Stage 2, all pupils should have the ability to produce fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy joined-up handwriting, and to understand the different forms of handwriting used for different purposes.
Our intention is to make handwriting an automatic process that does not interfere with creative and mental thinking.
Aims:
To develop a neat, legible, speedy handwriting style using continuous cursive letters, which leads to producing letters and words automatically in independent writing.
To establish and maintain high expectations for the presentation of written work.
For pupils to understand, by the end of Year 6, the importance of neat presentation and the need for different letterforms (cursive, printed or capital letters) to help communicate meaning clearly.
Spelling
The RWI scheme, taught in EYFS and KS1 is a good basis to learn the letters needed for particular sounds. This can then support spelling as the children begin to write. From year 2, we continue to teach the spellings and spelling patterns appropriate for each year group
Children will have a daily spelling lesson which will involve investigating the spelling pattern and exploring different methods to learn words which contain the pattern. Children are exposed to several different strategies to help them learn and remember their spellings.
Impact
Children at Starcross Primary School leave as confident, resilient and skilled writers who can express themselves with clarity, creativity and purpose. Through carefully planned teaching and opportunities to write for real audiences, our pupils develop a strong command of spelling, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary, while also learning to write with imagination and flair.
We measure impact in a variety of ways:
Ongoing assessment – teachers regularly check pupils’ progress in writing through observations, feedback, and written outcomes.
Independent writing – children demonstrate that they can apply taught skills independently across a range of genres and subjects.
Progress over time – pupils make strong progress from their starting points, with high standards of writing evident in their books.
Pupil voice – children talk positively about writing, seeing themselves as writers who are proud to share their work.
Preparation for secondary school – by the end of Year 6, pupils leave us with the skills, stamina and confidence to succeed in writing at secondary school and beyond.
Ultimately, the impact of our writing curriculum is that all children, regardless of background or ability, are empowered to use writing as a tool for learning, creativity and communication throughout their lives.
