Writing
Writing Intent:
At Belton CE Primary School, we intend to create confident writers who develop stamina for writing throughout school. We aim for all of our children to be independent writers, building on a range of skills as they work through each journey of writing. Throughout this journey, we ensure the children of Belton CE Primary School are immersed in a range of genres and have a clear understanding of purpose. Our learners will have a secure understanding of the purpose of a text type, the purpose and intended impact of writing skills/tools and the ability to carefully select vocabulary with careful attention to the desired effect on the readers’ thoughts and feelings. Our learners are challenged and encouraged to take risks and view mistakes as another part of the learning process. Our learners will always set high expectations for themselves where they take pride in all aspects of learning and in everything they produce.
Writing Implementation
At Belton CE we use carefully chosen text from ‘Real Writing’ that reflects our mixed aged classes and rigorously matched again the National Curriculum Grammar objectives. Each Real Writing unit gives guidance on how the text type could be taught. Teachers have the flexibility to change the sequence, add or remove learning tasks depending on the needs of the class. There are opportunities to revisit writing skills from previous year groups to consolidate learning and deepen understanding for pupils working at greater depth.
Writing lessons are taught daily five days a week through the use of high-quality and inspiring model texts. Pupils will be exposed to a wide range of vocabulary and writing skills that can be explored further where appropriate. There are opportunities to write for a wide range of audiences and purposes and challenge activities for pupils working at a greater depth are identified within planning.
Grammar and punctuation are identified in annotated versions of the model texts used to assist teachers when exploring and developing these writing skills in context. The teaching of explicit skills will be included within the unit, linked to the model text. Where appropriate, the teaching of specific spelling patterns, prefixes and suffixes, morphology and etymology of words and the use of a dictionary will be taught, linked to the model text.
Writing Impact
Attainment in writing is measured consistently throughout the year by moderating pieces of writing both at the end of each ‘Real Writing’ unit (3-4 pieces of writing per term) and through independent topic-related pieces of work. Regular moderations also take place between teachers to quality assure judgements made. These are either in house, or as part of a cluster of local schools. Exemplification materials and the Teacher Assessment Framework are used to support judgements made.
The impact on our children is that they have the knowledge and skills to be able to write successfully for a purpose and audience. With the implementation of the writing sequence being established and taught in both key stages, children are becoming more confident writers and have the ability to plan, draft and edit their own work. By the end of key stage 2 children have developed a writer’s craft, they enjoy sustained writing and can manipulate language, grammar and punctuation to create effect. As all aspects of English are an integral part of the curriculum, cross curricular writing standards have also improved and skills taught in the English lesson are transferred into other subjects; this shows consolidation of skills and a deeper understanding of how and when to use specific language, grammar and punctuation