Writing

At Pluckley Church of England Primary School we work to ensure that all children thrive in a Christian centred community in which they are encouraged to enjoy, learn and achieve together. We expect our children to be secure in the knowledge that they are safe and cared for – both by us and by God; able to enjoy their time at school; challenge to achieve their best through a high-quality education; happy in the knowledge they are each celebrated for their individuality as well as their achievements.

At Pluckley Church of England Primary School, the teaching of writing is of paramount importance within a broad and balanced curriculum. Our aim is that Pluckley pupils will develop a love for writing whilst gaining the communication skills necessary to be successful learners and citizens. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing, can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning.

We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society. We will strive to equip pupils with the skills needed to write effectively across a variety of genres and for a range of different audiences. Pupils will discuss and refine their ideas through speaking and listening activities. Using accurate spelling, grammar, punctuation and handwriting, written pieces will be clear, fluent and engaging. Pupils will edit and improve their work, taking pride and care in producing high quality final drafts. Through the use of adventurous vocabulary, varied sentence structure, careful planning and imaginative flair, pupils’ writing will aim to engross and enthral the reader.

We aim for all our pupils to become:

• Resilient and ambitious children who strive for outstanding outcomes, who use their initiative and are unafraid of making mistakes.
• Successful learners with a thirst for knowledge who are curious and self-motivated to learn and achieve.
• Young people with a strong spiritual foundation who thrive by embodying our REFLECT values in all that they think, say and do.​
• Well-rounded individuals who have a range of strategies to support positive mental health; enabling them to live fulfilled and happy lives.​
• ​Confident, responsible individuals who have a strong sense of community and strive to make a positive contribution in their future role in the 21st Century and beyond.​

​​How is writing taught across the school?

At Pluckley Church of England Primary School, writing is taught 4x per week through Year 1 to year 6. Each class studies a different high-quality text, lasting from a few weeks to a whole term depending on text type, length and year group.  We passionately believe that reading and writing are inextricably linked therefore studying the text in both reading and writing sessions encourages children to make links and become empathetic and ambitious writers.

Long and short term planning and the use of progression maps ensure that a variety of genres are progressively taught and built upon both throughout the year and throughout the school.

Writing is also a key focus in the wider curriculum, especially in ‘Topic’ lessons, which is why Literacy and topic books are the same and known as the child’s ‘Learning Journey Book’.  Children are given the opportunity to transfer and build upon their knowledge of a genre studied during English lessons and apply this learning to a topic focus.

Through the writing process, children will acquire and learn the skills to plan, draft and refine their written work over time and are encouraged to develop independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvement in all pieces of writing.

Within each unit of work, sequenced lessons ensure that prior learning is checked and built upon and that National Curriculum objectives are taught through a combination of approaches/opportunities e.g. 

• Opportunities to participate in drama & spoken language activities
• Exploring the features of different text types and modelled examples (E.g. Spotting features in a WAGOLL – What a good one looks like)
• Handwriting practise
• Vocabulary practise
• Shared writing (modelled expectations)
• Discrete Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar lessons
• Independent writing
• Planning, drafting, editing, up-levelling and presenting
• Performing

Spellings

From Year 2 a progressive spelling scheme is followed, No Nonsense Spelling. Through exploring spelling patterns and rules, we aim to create confident and proficient spellers using a discrete teaching approach underpinned by phonics. 

Children are also taught to:

• Spell accurately 
• Proof-read their spellings
• Recognise and use word origins, families and roots to build their skills
• Use dictionaries and thesauruses. 

How do we know what the children have learnt and understood?

Teachers use assessment as an integral part of the teaching and learning process and link it clearly to the children’s next steps.

• Formative assessment grids (year group writing framework)
• Constructive live marking
• 1-1 conferencing and ‘modelling’ where appropriate. 
• 2 - 3 pieces of ‘Published’ Writing per term 
• Spaced learning 
• Big write
• Pink pens are used to identify the child’s independent skill to proof-read and edit, which forms 1-1 conferencing discussions  
• Writing moderations

EYFS

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework sets literacy as one of the seven areas of learning for children, and this includes beginning to write. In EYFS children learn to write through a combination of adult directed activities and writing opportunities in the continuous provision. Learning to write happens in gradual steps. At first, children would attempt writing through mark-making and give meaning to the marks they have made. 
As children start learning phonics through Read Write Inc., their writing skills will include writing letters. Children will start writing down the most obvious sounds they can hear in the words they want to write. Our aim is that by the end of Reception, most children will be writing independently and that their writing is clear enough to be read by others.