At Indian Queens we believe that a quality writing curriculum equips children to develop a love of the written word, challenges their understanding of grammar and spelling and is underpinned by secure communication skills. Our priority is to help children succeed in grasping the English spelling system, understanding and implementing a range of grammar skills and be able to communicate through writing for a range of audiences ready for their next stage in learning.
We want our children to develop a curiosity of the range of communication through writing and to take pride in their presentation. Our writing curriculum will inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and to use discussion to communicate as well as to further their learning.
We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledgebase in writing, which follows a clearly structured curriculum where children can use practice and retrieval techniques to secure learning. A secure basis in writing is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.
How we Teach Writing
At Indian Queens Primary School we have structured a writing curriculum that enables children to succeed in their independent writing.
Writing in the EYFS
In the Early Years Foundation Stage, early writing is heavily prioritised. We have a huge focus on transcription and developing fine and gross motor skills. We recognise the importance of these steps before developing letter formation. Children are encouraged to develop their fine motor skills and receive extra practise and experience with this throughout their time in the EYFS.
In Nursery, children are encouraged to trace their name and begin to write it independently, using the Little Wandle letter formation phrases.
Once in Reception, children receive daily transcription practise. Once ready, children will practise their taught single-letter graphemes in a focussed, daily, letter-formation activity. This is taught in small groups to ensure children are guided to form letters correctly, ensuring good habits are formed. We recognise the importance of fluent and accurate letter formation and how this links to later writing stamina. At Indian Queens, we use the Little Wandle letter formation phrases when beginning our handwriting journey.
Once children have been taught a selection of single letter graphemes (SATPIN) and are fluent in recalling the formation of these automatically, we begin to focus on applying these graphemes to represent sounds in CVC words. Daily, small group writing is taught at the children’s secure phonic level. We model the use of segmenting fingers to count the sounds in words and encourage children to use our Little Wandle grapheme charts to recognise the graphemes that make the sound they are saying. As the year progresses, these single CVC labels become captions and full independent clauses, dictated by the teacher and linked to a key text or focus.
As writing is completed in small groups at the children’s secure phonics level, children will only be practising and applying graphemes they are confident forming. They receive immediate feedback and any misconceptions are picked up and addressed immediately.
By the end of Reception, we aim for all children to write a dictated sentence fluently at their secure phonics level.
Writing in Year 1
In the first Autumn half term of Year 1, children will focus on securing letter formation and applying their taught phonics to dictated sentences. We ensure children can accurately and fluently recall taught graphemes and form these automatically. Ensuring children can apply their taught phonics to their writing is an important skill to embed before embarking on longer writing composition.
Once children are secure with their letter formation and application of Phase 3 phonics, the children begin the Grammarsaurus ‘Place value of punctuation and grammar’ unit, usually in the second Autumn half term. Within this unit, children will learn all the punctuation and grammatical fundamentals of early writing. They will understand what makes a full independent clause, recognise and recall being and action verbs, identify common and proper nouns and a range of other key skills for early writing. We have recognised the importance of ensuring these skills are secured before we ask children to compose longer pieces of writing.
On completion of this unit, the children will continue to develop their writing skills by writing for a variety of purposes. Our writing units follow a 4-stage approach that allows for a pre-assessment of taught skills, text exploration and deconstruction, learning and practising text specific skills and then a final write to complete the unit.
Once children’s letter formation is secure and fluent, the children in Year 1 will follow the Letter Join handwriting scheme, where they will learn to add lead ins to their letters and begin the early stages of cursive handwriting.
Writing in Years 2 – 6
As with the earlier years, we believe strong foundations build later success. Each year from Year 2 – 6 begin their Autumn term by completing the Place Value of Punctuation and Grammar. This unit teaches the fundamentals of sentence structure at an age and curriculum appropriate level. Children are given opportunity to secure these skills before being asked to compose longer pieces of writing.
Following the unit, all children then move on to the highly thought out long term plan for their year group. They are given opportunities to write for a variety of purposes and contexts. Our writing units follow a 4-stage approach that allows for a pre-assessment of taught skills, text exploration and deconstruction, learning and practising text specific skills and then a final write to complete the unit. Editing, improving and redrafting is a large focus in our final stage and the children are encouraged to self and peer assess their work.
Children in Years 2-6 will continue to follow the Letter Join handwriting scheme, mastering their use of lead ins and becoming fluent with their cursive handwriting.
Spelling
Spelling is taught discretely throughout the whole school, and is reinforced in all subjects too. In Foundation Stage and Key Stage One, the children’s spelling lists follow their phonic knowledge to reinforce and embed this. Moving on from phonics, children in Year 2 follow the Little Wandle spelling programme. In Key Stage Two, children use the National Curriculum statutory spelling lists. The teaching of this is supported through the use of Spelling Frame.
At Indian Queens Primary we aim to provide our children with the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language. In school, oracy is a powerful tool for learning; by teaching our children to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them. Through a high-quality oracy education, pupils learn through talk and to talk. This is when they develop and deepen their subject knowledge and understanding through talk in the classroom. These oracy opportunities are planned, designed, modelled, scaffolded and structured to enable our children to learn the skills needed to talk and listen effectively. We have just begun our journey with Voice 21 and are looking forward to developing our knowledge of Oracy across the whole school.
Impact
Our writing curriculum will enable pupils to:
- Confidently write for different purposes and audiences and use the features of different genres and styles
- Sustain stamina for writing and adapt their writing style to suit the genre
- Have a good grasp of grammar and punctuation skills and use these confidently and effectively in their writing
- Develop a wide vocabulary that they use within their writing
- Effectively apply spelling rules and patterns they have been taught
- Reflect on their work and revise and edit to improve
