Writing at Chambersbury
Intent
Our School Vision
Our aim is for Chambersbury Primary School to be a place where each individual is cared for deeply, valued and respected – Where everyone in the school community has the opportunity to learn in an environment full of excitement and fun, so they can grow up to be “change-makers” and “assets” in the community, society and world they live in.
At Chambersbury School we enable our children to be confident, creative writers. We aim to give our children meaningful opportunities to develop all aspects of the writing curriculum, using a range of genres, purposes and cross-curricular opportunities. We want our children to understand not only how important the skill of writing is, but to develop a love of writing and a sense of pride in their writing.
At Chambersbury School we develop our children’s skills of transcription and composition in line with the National Curriculum programmes of study. Children learn to spell and how to write neatly and they learn how to communicate effectively in writing, including appropriate ways of articulating ideas according to purpose and genre.
In order for our children to become change makers, they must have functional writing skills. We also teach the creative aspects of writing so that children learn to express their ideas, thoughts and feelings in writing and experience the joy of artistic expression.
English lessons focused on writing follow a writing sequence that enables them to learn from high quality texts and teacher modelling, to experiment and practise styles of writing and produce and refine written pieces. We have developed a whole school plan using units from Literacy Shed that enable children to write for a range of purposes and in a variety of ways including group and paired writing. Children are taught to review, revise and redraft to develop their editing skills as well as learning to proofread for errors. Poetry is valued as a written and performance art.
Children receive high quality feedback during the writing process through verbal input from adults, conferencing and written marking.
We aim for all children to have developed a fluid, cursive handwriting style by the time they leave school, including knowing when not to join certain letters and when to adapt their handwriting style (e.g use of printing when writing captions or on maps).
All children, including those with additional needs, are planned for so that all children achieve their potential. High quality teaching in English is our first response to challenges, and a wide range of further support is available to help children with SEND and EAL.
At Chambersbury we work hard to promote high standards of English across the curriculum. We work to do this in a number of ways:
A Language Rich Environment
Within each classroom, high levels of written English are promoted across all displays. Models of writing support children’s learning. Classrooms are language rich, to help teach children new words, as well as apply them in context. There are age appropriate displays scaffolding key learning. These are relevant to the year’s programme of study.
Around the school we showcase and draw attention to reading and writing across the curriculum. This may take the form of class displays of current work and learning, cross-year group work on a particular theme to show progression through the school, or other displays sharing exciting information to engage children in reading and writing.
Cross-curricular opportunities
It is expected that children will apply the skills taught in English across the curriculum. Children will produce pieces of writing that evidence new skills and understanding in Humanities or Science each half term. They also learn new ways of applying skills when writing evaluations in Art or D and T or responses to pieces in Music or fine tuning code in Computing.
Enrichment Opportunities
Within school we capitalise on exciting events and trips to inspire children’s writing. Where possible, links are also made to other topics being studied currently to help learning stick and give meaning to their work. This reinforces our key concepts of writing for a purpose and being effective communicators. Events such as Book Week reinforce a love and appreciation of good writing and give children a chance to come together as a whole school to create written projects.
Implementation
Writing Sequence
Across the school, English is taught daily for an hour, with lessons forming part of a planned unit of work around a given theme, genre or topic. We have worked to develop a whole school literacy plan, based on units from Literacy Shed. The EYFS curriculum is also supplemented with units from Drawing Club. Units have been carefully chosen to cover a range of units and ensure thorough coverage of all national curriculum requirements for each year group. Each half term, classes will begin with a film-based writing unit, which will then be followed by a books based unit. Poetry will be fit around these units and linked to other curriculum areas.
Children are taught to develop their spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax, cohesion and content to communicate effectively and with purpose. They learn the expectations of each genre and these genre expectations develop and expand as children progress through school. As children develop their writer’s voices they are also taught to use the appropriate register, tone and style for their piece and to write to engage their audience.
Children are taught to appreciate, write and perform poetry in stand alone units and also through using poetry to support learning in other units and subject areas. Each year group learns new poetic forms and structures in line with the programme of study for their year.
Children are taught vocabulary in context so that new language can be applied to writing (see A Guide to Reading for more on vocabulary tiers). Vocabulary development is a key focus in all curriculum areas.
Transcription skills are taught within the main sequence, with key objectives being taught and practised in the context of the text being studied. At times, extra SPAG lessons may also be appropriate to address a particular gap or misconception. This may come as a short sequence of stand-alone lessons between units, or as additional lessons.
Children learn to review, revise and redraft their work in line with the HfL editing progression statements. Year group expectations are on display in classrooms. Children begin by learning to proofread and make simple changes to spelling and punctuation. As they progress they learn to revise writing by making changes to improve vocabulary, structure and content. By Year 6, children will be able to redraft writing with a degree of independence so that it best meets the needs of the piece, genre and audience.
Each unit follows the structure below, with teachers using ongoing AfL, as well as formal writing assessments, to inform planning to meet the needs of individual classes and children.
Writing opportunities are also be built in across the curriculum to give children to apply their new knowledge in a different context. This should be detailed in science/humanities planning as appropriate.
Handwriting
We follow the handwriting scheme ‘Pen Pals’, supplemented with spelling practice and specific words/joins as identified through AfL. Children begin to write using pencil. By the time they are in Year 4 they will write with a handwriting pen where appropriate. Adjustments in handwriting expectations and implements are made for children with additional needs in this area. Writing implements that do not support the development of a fluid, cursive style are not used in English lessons.
Handwriting is taught at least once a week, supplemented with extra morning activities and interventions as appropriate, including the practise of year group specific spellings and weekly spellings. In EYFS/KS1, learning letter formation is also a key part of daily Phonics lessons. Emphasis is placed on high quality presentation of all written work across the curriculum, not just in English books or as part of display work.
Spelling (inc. home learning)
From Year 3, children will have the equivalent of an hour focused spelling teaching, across the week. This may take place in one 60 minute lesson, or several shorter lessons. We follow the Spelling Shed scheme of learning in KS2, with each lesson taking a learning objective from the National Curriculum. The teaching sequence will include a revision session from the previous week, an introduction to the new rule, and independent opportunities for application and consolidation.
In EYFS/Y1/Y2, this takes place within the context of daily phonics lessons.
Children will be expected to practise and apply the taught pattern at home, with assignments set weekly on Spelling Shed that reflect this. Children are encouraged to practise spellings regularly and are taught a range of ways to do so. Children who find spelling more challenging or have SpLD around reading and writing may be taught the Cued Spelling Method, or other multisensory techniques. Spelling practice also forms a part of some morning activities in school.
Additional needs
For children who experience additional challenge in English, including EAL difficulties and SEND, support takes place in the lesson. Planning shows that scaffolds and resources, as well as adult support, enable children to access the learning with the whole class. Concrete resources are used to support children in developing handwriting skills, including special pencil grips and writing slopes. Cued spelling and other multisensory techniques support phonic teaching to learn spellings: small group interventions in school help children to continue this learning at home. For other needs, there are a number of evidence-based interventions available to children in school as well as Booster Class tutoring.
For children who have significant challenges in accessing learning, an individual plan may be needed in English. This is developed by the class teacher with the support of the SENCo.
Where children have specific difficulties with transcription, a scribe may be used to support them. This enables children to express themselves and demonstrate their skills of composition. Scribing may be temporary, such as when a child breaks their arm, or long term as for a child with diagnosed dysgraphia.
SNAP assessments help teachers plan for children with SpLDs in English. Additional support for complex needs is provided by the SENCo, and this may include children who do not have a phonological route to reading. For a small number of children, planning and teaching will follow advice from external professionals (e.g SALTs, OTs) and requirements of EHCPs.
Impact
Our desired impact for our children is that they become fluent writers and effective communicators, ready for the challenges of secondary school and life beyond. We recognise that being competent in writing enables children to enjoy and engage with their learning across the curriculum, applying their English skills in a wide range of areas. We want to see that all children are writing for enjoyment and self-expression as well as knowing and understanding the value and importance of writing for everyday life.
Formative assessment is a key feature of every lesson and used to inform planning. Work is responded to according the feedback and marking policy, with misconceptions being addressed, progression prioritised and children with high potential given further challenge.
Formal assessments enable teachers to see progress in all aspects of writing. Children are expected to make progress against their year group expectations or, for children working towards age related expectations or pre-Key Stage, an appropriate set of expectations.
Aside from progress shown in internal data and SATs, we know that we are achieving our aims when we: