Our core aims for writing: 

• Children become confident, independent writers who can communicate clearly, accurately and purposefully. 
• Children understand that writing can also be a tool for thinking, reflection and wellbeing. 

Our approach to writing, shown below, is consistent throughout the school. However, it can be applied in different ways, depending on the age of the children. 

In Year 1,  we take part in Drawing Club in the first part of the Autumn term and then in Autumn 2 we begin The Curious Quests.   This combines carpet sessions, group work and children exploring open-ended tasks such as junk modelling, play dough and role play.  Children have opportunities to explore spelling, punctuation and grammar and to apply their phonic knowledge. 

Once a term, we use Talk for Writing as above.  In Year 1 we not only re-tell a story, we write it as well!

In Year 2 and Year 3, we start each term with a hook to engage the children in a writing topic which typically lasts a few weeks. This will be linked to a picture book, which we read gradually throughout the weeks, looking at some key writing skills together and topic-specific vocabulary as we go through. The children end the unit by making a plan for a final piece of work linked to the theme and book, practise writing this in their books before publishing a final copy to be assessed. 

We also spend a couple of weeks each term looking at free verse poetry, using adventurous vocabulary about the season that we are in, as well as other writing skills such as instructions. 

In Year 4 and Year 5, we usually start each writing unit by looking at a WAGOLL (what a good one looks like) where children will identify key features used. Throughout the series of lessons we will introduce new language, grammar and punctuation. Children  are given the opportunity to develop their skills through applying new foci in short burst sentences. They will also plan, edit and improve work. Writing genres can also be linked to themes, where appropriate. Teachers, where possible, highlight misconceptions verbally as well as with marking books which address spelling mistakes and provide next steps.

In Year 6, we take an immersive approach to our writing.

We begin a unit with an immersive task, helping the children to become invested in the topic that our writing will cover. Next, we will analyse a WAGOLL. This can be a published piece of writing or one created by a teacher. The purpose here is to discuss the text type with the children, looking at the grammatical concepts involved, as well as the vocabulary used, and how they affect the piece.

Following this, we focus on the grammatical concepts found in the WAGOLL analysis, building on prior knowledge, practising these and applying them to pieces of writing, analysing the effectiveness of the vocabulary used and the effect it has on the reader.

The final two steps are planning and writing. We plan in a variety of ways, such as storyboarding, creating mind maps and simple note-taking, before using these plans to create our end of unit outcome over multiple days, being sure to edit and revise work independently.

Handwriting  

We use Letter-Join to develop fluent, consistent handwriting across the school. Children are taught correct letter formation from the outset, building towards a joined, legible style that supports writing stamina and presentation. 

Letter-Join provides clear modelling, regular practice and progressive skill development, ensuring handwriting becomes automatic, so that children can focus on the content and quality of their writing.