Intent

English is an important life skill and involves proficiency in both reading and writing. At Honilands Primary School, it is our intent to develop our children to be eloquent and imaginative communicators, who are well-equipped with the basic skills they need to become life-long learners.  Through our teaching of writing, we intend to impart to all our children the knowledge, understanding and skills they need in order to reach their full potential as individuals. Pupils at Honilands access an inspiring and engaging English curriculum that focusses on developing excellent communication skills. Children are taught how to write a variety of text types and are encouraged to explore their creativity through a high-level use of language and explicitly taught vocabulary, with links across the curriculum to ensure that children’s learning is relevant and meaningful.  We provide learning experiences where pupils will thrive and build their cultural capital through a wide range of genres and experiences, overcoming any barriers. To achieve this, we provide opportunities through writing where children see themselves as real writers, write for a purpose, take ownership of their writing, see writing as an interesting and enjoyable process and acquire the ability to organise and plan written work. Our intent is that children leave Honilands with excellent written communication skills, confidence in their proficiency in using the English language and with the ability and enthusiasm to drive their education forward and on into their adult lives.

Implementation

Foundation Stage 

To support early writing, the initial focus in the Early Years is on physical development and speaking and listening skills. We refine the fundamental movement skills they have already acquired through natural childhood development by providing opportunities to move in a range of ways both indoors and outdoors to further develop both fine and gross motor skills. We use core books as a starting point to provide a range of speaking and ultimately writing opportunities. Children are given opportunities to offer explanations of why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction texts, rhymes and poems when appropriate. They participate in small groups, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas. As this becomes secure, we move on to more formal teaching of writing. During RWInc Phonics lessons, as children learn their sounds, they practise the correct letter formation each day and use their sound knowledge to begin to spell simple words. Children are also given opportunities through continuous provision, and based on interest, to further develop and use the skill of writing.

Across Key Stage 1 

During Year 1 and up to the spring term in Year 2, children continue to build on the key writing skills taught and applied in the Foundation Stage. Writing is taught through core texts to engage the children in quality and familiar stories through strategies such as talk, drama story mapping and sequencing.  Children continue to use their knowledge of phonics to write new words based on a specific genre they have been exposed to, ensuring they are applying skills as they learn. Children further develop their skills of sentence writing, punctuation and new vocabulary through a range of fiction and non-fiction types of writing.

Across Key Stage 2 

It is our aspiration that all  pupils from years 3 - 6 (and year 2 from the spring term), access the Literacy and Language programme.(Slower to progress pupils will continue to attend RWInc phonics groups as an intervention. Literacy and Language is a complete literacy programme which fully meets the expectations of the National Curriculum. Each unit has a sequence of lessons which further support the development of writing through the teaching of grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and  thinking and discussion skills. Children then have the opportunity to apply skills learnt in a written independent task. The pupils are exposed to a variety of strategies such as drama, freeze framing and hot seating to support their knowledge and understanding of a text. They also have opportunities to research, debate and undertake oral rehearsals as well as performance in poetry. These strategies ensure pupils’ understanding of the content, skills and genre is secure. Children’s cultural capital is enriched through a variety of text types and also through wider reading material around the unit's theme. 

Spelling:

During Year 1 children learn to spell through their RWInc Phonics lesson as they progress through the sounds. In Years 2 to 6 pupils are exposed to RWInc Spelling, which aligns with the RWInc Phonics programme. The spelling programme  exposes children to spelling patterns and rules and models how to apply them in their writing across the curriculum, therefore supporting pupils in becoming confident and proficient in spelling. Spelling lessons are taught explicitly 3X each week in order to prepare pupils for the higher demands of the statutory spelling assessments. 

Handwriting:

Handwriting lessons take place each week across the school using the Letter Join scheme. Letter formation begins in Early Years during RWinc sessions where individual letters are practised as the sound is taught. From Year 2, children are taught how to apply the cursive font. Children continue to build on their skills of letter formation, joining and fluency as they progress through year groups.

Teaching:

• Flexible groupings are used during lessons across unit plans e.g. ability and mixed ability groups, paired work, guided and independent work and whole class work. 
• Key writing and grammar skills are taught and modelled throughout each lesson as well as the explicit teaching of new vocabulary.
• A range of resources are used to enhance learning such as images, videos and and wider reading texts as relates to the unit being taught. 
• Children receive daily English lessons which include the teaching of grammar skills, leading up to a final piece of independent writing.

Impact

Feedback 

• Oral feedback is used to improve pupils' work throughout each lesson.
• Children use purple pens to signify responses to teacher feedback.
• ‘Edit and Review’ to check spelling errors and other secretarial errors is at the end of each lesson.

Assessment

• Teachers moderate pupils' books to identify pupils working towards ARE, at ARE and at greater depth.
• Yearly writing comparison using ‘No More Marking’ for national moderation.
• Teachers and key workers make observations regarding the pupils’ development in this subject and use Tracking Grids to identify pupils' attainment against year group objectives.