Writing at Our School

We want every child to become a confident, fluent and enthusiastic writer who can communicate their ideas clearly, creatively and effectively.

From the Early Years to Year 6, children develop their writing skills through a carefully sequenced curriculum. We give children the knowledge, vocabulary and skills they need to write for a range of purposes and audiences, while encouraging them to develop their own voice as writers.

Our Approach

We use Ready Steady Write as our whole-school approach to teaching writing.

Our writing curriculum is built around high-quality, language-rich texts which inspire children and provide opportunities to explore vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar and different styles of writing.

Children are taught explicitly how to become writers. They listen, discuss, rehearse ideas, explore vocabulary, study examples of writing, plan, draft, edit and improve their work.

As children progress through school, they become increasingly independent and confident in making choices about their writing.

Early Years

Children's writing journey begins in the Early Years.

Through a language-rich environment, children develop the foundations for writing through talk, storytelling, mark-making, phonics and handwriting.

Children are encouraged to write for meaningful purposes within their play and learning. They may write labels, lists, messages, captions, stories and instructions.

We celebrate children's early attempts at writing and support them as they move from mark-making towards increasingly recognisable letters, words and sentences.

Spelling

Phonics provides the foundations for children's spelling.

Once children have completed our phonics programme, they move on to Read Write Inc. Spelling. This provides a systematic approach to spelling, helping children to develop secure knowledge of spelling patterns, prefixes, suffixes, homophones and other spelling conventions.

Children are encouraged to apply their spelling knowledge in their everyday writing and to become increasingly independent when checking and correcting their work.

Handwriting

We want every child to develop fluent, legible and increasingly automatic handwriting.

Children learn correct letter formation from the Early Years and develop their handwriting skills progressively throughout school.

Regular practice helps children to develop the fluency they need so that they can concentrate on expressing and developing their ideas.

Writing Across the Curriculum

Writing is an important part of learning in every subject.

Children have opportunities to apply their writing skills across the curriculum, for example by writing scientific explanations, historical accounts, geographical reports, evaluations and reflections.

This helps children understand that writing is not simply something we do in English lessons — it is an essential tool for learning and communicating across the whole curriculum.

How Children Progress

As children move through school, we develop their:

Vocabulary – choosing increasingly precise and ambitious words.

Sentence construction – using a wider range of sentence structures accurately and effectively.

Grammar and punctuation – understanding and applying the conventions of written English.

Composition – developing, organising and connecting ideas.

Spelling and handwriting – becoming increasingly accurate and fluent.

Purpose and audience – adapting writing for different situations and readers.

Independence – planning, drafting, editing and proofreading their own work.

By the end of Year 6, we want children to be able to write accurately, fluently and confidently for a range of purposes and audiences.

Supporting Every Writer

We believe that every child can become a successful writer.

Teachers use assessment and their knowledge of individual children to provide appropriate support and challenge. Children may receive additional opportunities to develop vocabulary, rehearse ideas, practise spelling or handwriting, or work with carefully planned scaffolds.As children become more secure, these supports are gradually reduced so that they can apply their knowledge independently.

Most importantly, we want children to enjoy writing, value their own ideas and have the confidence to share them with others.