Writing
Aim: That all children read fluently and can communicate well, using spoken and written English.
We have designed a vocabulary rich curriculum that connects learning by building an understanding of ideas, concepts, chronology and themes through the framework of ‘here, there and then, now, next’. These thinking threads link learning meaningfully to create opportunities to learn from the past and present as well as equipping children for an ever-changing and exciting future.
Writing allows us to express ideas rooted in the here and now, reflect on experiences from then, and imagine possibilities for next, creating powerful narratives that connect the past, present, and future.
We use language to build our view and opinion of the world and our community. We believe that developing a love of our language in our children is vital in achieving success at school and later in life. The exploration and enjoyment of the English language is our priority and we value all its aspects – speaking, listening, reading and writing.
English is taught daily across the whole school with work appropriately scaffolded to match all abilities. Developing early reading and a pride in writing is key to the start the children have in their learning at Halwin School. Fundamental to success at school and in reducing disadvantage in life is the depth of vocabulary and its usage.
Halwin Primary aims to develop a rich vocabulary in our pupils and this will be tackled primarily within English lessons and reinforced across the broader curriculum. Speaking, listening and talking are fundamental to learning. Pupils are encouraged to speak clearly, confidently and with expression in order to state their ideas and opinions. Just as important is the need to listen carefully to others and respond in appropriate ways. At Halwin Primary, pupils are given opportunities in all areas of the curriculum to develop their oracy skills, in talk partners, group or whole class situations.
Spelling We aim for accurate spelling. Read Write Inc, starts pupils on their journey and this is then followed with work from the Spelling Shed and the expected words for each age group.
Grammar and punctuation There is a grammar and punctuation focus within English lessons, linked to the specific form of writing being studied. Grammar Ninja and Spelling Shed are used to supplement stand-alone grammar and punctuation lessons to supplement the learning. Higher up the school the development is identified from pupils’ writing and individual and group learning identified and covered.
Writing At Halwin Primary we aim for children to be independent writers. We encourage them to write clearly and with confidence for a chosen audience in any given form. We teach them to use punctuation and grammar accurately, to be able to proofread their own work and make amendments and improvements.
We place value on the development of correct letter formation and neatly presented handwriting. A continuous cursive style is used through the Letter-Join programme after they move on from Read Write Inc.
Through our English curriculum, we aim to nurture in the children a love of literature and language, and the confidence to continue reading and writing throughout their lives.
Pupils who succeed in English have developed:
- Phonic strategies of encoding and decoding words
- Spelling, punctuation and grammar for writing
- Reading for enjoyment and meaning
- Speaking and listening skills
- Clear and cursive handwriting.
Writing starts from the start when children join the school. They learn about story telling, nursery rhymes and other oral work.
Moving on into reception, the children formally start the RWI programme. Children work on writing tasks during continuous provision as well as during teacher led sessions using the Jane Considine lenses and sentence stacking.
The use of Jane Considine lenses and sentence stacking continues in Owls and Kingfishers classes. Units and writing outcomes are adapted to provide pupils with a variety of genres and forms of writing to learn.
Teachers assess progress termly; end of each unit independent writes are published on clipboard displays.