At Saint Joseph’s, we intend to develop children’s confidence in the art of writing, inspiring them to use the written word as a powerful form of communication to further their learning. We recognise the importance of developing the art of transcription (spelling and handwriting) as well as composition (articulating and structuring ideas). We nurture 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 and audiences. We intend to support children in their acquisition of high level vocabulary to be used at school and beyond. We believe that children need to develop secure knowledge which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the school. Alongside the acquisition of a wide vocabulary, our Writing curriculum develops an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for writing. We intend to produce children who write clearly coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. We want to develop pupils who show high levels of achievement and exhibit very positive attitudes towards all forms of writing across the curriculum. We also want children to be competent, confident and independent in the use of language in their writing. We believe is it very important to develop an awareness of different purposes of writing, such as the ability to inform, persuade, empower and excite.
During their time at Saint Joseph’s, the Borough, children encounter many opportunities to write for a range of audiences and purposes. In planning and guiding children’s activities, teachers reflect on the different ways that children learn. Daily lessons are differentiated according to the wide range of children’s needs. In Key Stage 1 children complete an extended piece of writing once a fortnight and every week in Key Stage 2. This extended writing consists of planning, drafting and editing. Children are routinely taught cursive handwriting of uniform size throughout the school, starting in Year 1, with three sessions a week. In their early writing, children show control and coordination in large and small movements and read and understand simple sentences, using phonic knowledge to decode. The thorough phonics schedule in Foundation Stage enables children to apply this knowledge to write increasingly complex sentences as they move through the school. In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 teachers use The Literacy Tree scheme to plan carefully considered sequences of writing with gradually introducing more sophisticated skills. These sequences employ high quality texts and cover all areas of the National Curriculum with a range of genres being studied each half term. Children write in a range of styles for a range of purposes. Teachers also ensure that cross curricular links with other subjects are woven into the programme of study. The ‘No Nonsense’ spelling scheme is used alongside The Literacy Tree to enhance the delivery of spelling from Year 2- 6 and is regularly referred to in other areas of the curriculum so that new rules are quickly consolidated. Children are guided through planning, drafting and evaluating their writing and are encouraged to use their own experiences and interests in their work. Due to the consistent use of The Literacy Tree, most genres of writing are familiar to pupils in Years 5 and 6 and the teaching for them focuses on creativity, writer’s craft, sustained writing and manipulation of grammar and punctuation skills. Resources to support and enhance these lessons are regularly updated. We help each child maximise their potential by providing help and support where necessary whilst striving to make children independent workers. We love to celebrate the success of all learners and so children’s work is continually on display in all areas of the school.
The large majority of our pupils will be working at least at age-related expectations for their year group at the end of each school year in Writing and a significant proportion will be working beyond these expectations. We want children to use writing as an extension of themselves, as a tool to change the world around them. We want them to have the confidence to experiment with vocabulary and have fun with the endless possibilities the written word opens up. Children take great pride in the presentation of their work throughout the school and enjoy having clear manageable steps to improvement. As teachers have high expectations of writing in all areas of the curriculum, cross curricular writing standards are high and skills taught in the English lessons are habitually transferred into other subjects. This consolidates the deeper understanding of how and when to use specific punctuation and grammar. Our pupils will acquire a wide vocabulary and have a strong command of the written word. We hope that as children move on from Saint Joseph’s to further their education and learning that their creativity, passion for writing and high aspirations travel with them.
