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Writing
Vision: intent, implementation & impact
At Rotherfield School, our intent is to have children leave our school with a love of writing and to be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively through the written word. We also intend to create writers who can re-read, edit and improve their own writing, and enable pupils to be able to confidently use the essential skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling.
We will implement our vision through linking our writing to class topics using rich, quality texts as a starting point. This will develop confident, enthusiastic writers who can express themselves in a variety of different styles and across a variety of contexts. We will provide our children with regular opportunities to write for a range of purposes and audiences. Writing tasks are specific and meaningful, and often meet a purpose to engage children and to illustrate how their writing skills can be applied to real life contexts.
Spellings:
Spellings are taught according to the rules and words contained in Appendix 1 of the English National Curriculum. Teachers teach spelling patterns which are grouped phonetically and follow age appropriate rules and patterns. Children are given spellings to learn each week and are given a spelling test the following week. When marking work, teachers identify words that children have spelt incorrectly from within that child’s known ability and the child will practice these as part of their English lesson.
Grammar and Punctuation:
Grammar and punctuation knowledge and skills are taught through English lessons as much as possible. Teachers plan to teach the required skills through the purpose of writing that they are teaching, linking it to the purpose of writing to make it more connected with the intended writing outcome. Teachers also focus on particular grammar and punctuation skills as stand-alone lessons – purple pen sentences.
English Lesson Sequence:
A progression of skills document ensures that English skills are built on year to year as children move through the school. This has been used to inform medium term planning documents which then outline the progression within each year group. Writing purposes have been mapped out to ensure coverage of the key genres as well as build on skills from year to year.
Handwriting:
Handwriting is taught explicitly in lessons and in context when the teacher models correct letter formation. In EYFS and Year 1, children are taught printed letter formation which is a wonderful starting point for them as they move to a cursive style in Year 2.
The impact of the vision will be:
- Accurate and clear writing to communicate a specific purpose and audience.
- Acquisition of a wide range of vocabulary.
- The ability to write confidently across all areas of the curriculum.
Long term planning
Curriculum Guidance for Parents
Below are some Guidance Documents to help you understand what your child will be learning in English in each year group and some ideas of how you can best support them at home. Click on the Year Group your child is in for more information.