Writing at Newington

Statement of Intent

It is our intention to secure the necessary skills for children to become independent writers. We strive to ensure all children receive a sequential learning experience with rich vocabulary and creativity. We seek to equip children with the essential grammatical tools to articulate themselves in Newington Academy and beyond.

We will immerse children in quality literature and develop enthusiastic writers through cultivating a community of students who have meaningful discussions and can communicate effectively through the spoken and written word. Over time, strengthening and enriching creativity and imagination within compositions.

Writing Curriculum

EYFS

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at Newington Academy, we provide a rich and varied range of writing opportunities to nurture early literacy skills. Our carefully designed provision includes activities that encourage mark-making and writing in meaningful contexts, ensuring children develop confidence and enjoyment in writing. We use Read Write Inc. (RWI) to support phonics development, enabling children to connect sounds with letters as they begin to write words and sentences. Drawing Club further enhances creativity by combining storytelling with drawing, fostering imaginative thinking and narrative skills. Additionally, we incorporate Kaligo, a handwriting and letter formation app, to support the development of fine motor skills and early writing fluency through interactive and engaging activities. These combined approaches ensure our youngest learners have a strong foundation for their writing journey.

KS1 Writing

At Newington Academy, we teach writing in KS1 using the LIFT Trust KS1 Pilot Specification, which is centered around high-quality core texts. These ambitious texts inspire and stimulate students' writing. Each unit spans approximately three weeks, during which children practice and acquire essential skills and knowledge, equipping them to produce an extended piece of writing. Over the course of the unit, students progress through three key stages: immersion, analysis, and writing. For further details, please refer to the Year 1 and Year 2 yearly overviews.

Here are just a few example of the extended pieces of writing:

Year 1: Narrative, Setting and Character descriptions, Poems, Instructions, Persuasive letters.

Year 2: Narrative, Persuasive advert, Setting description, Non-chronological report, Poem.

KS2 Writing

In Key Stage 2 at Newington Academy, our writing curriculum builds on the strong foundation established in EYFS and KS1. We follow the Ark English Mastery programme, a sequential and ambitious approach designed to inspire and challenge students. Each unit spans three weeks and takes children through three distinct stages:

Immersion – Students delve into the theme, characters, and settings inspired by the class text, fostering deep engagement and understanding.
Analysis – They study exemplary writing models, identifying and practicing the key skills needed for success.
Writing – In this stage, students plan, draft, edit, improve, and ultimately publish their own pieces, developing their creativity, technical accuracy, and sense of achievement.

This structured approach ensures that all students develop confidence and proficiency in writing, preparing them for future academic success.

The journey towards the final piece of writing is carefully structured with a variety of deliberate practice activities that help children master essential skills. This process balances short tasks, practice with feedback, and opportunities for reteaching and reviewing, ensuring that students build confidence and proficiency. The culmination of this journey is the summative extended piece, which is showcased in their publishing book. Here, children write for a specific audience and purpose, which might include parents, peers, or even an MP.

Grammar

From Years 3 to 6 at Newington Academy, we place a strong emphasis on the explicit teaching of grammar to ensure students master key elements with confidence. Daily 15-minute grammar lessons run throughout the year, covering all statutory objectives for each year group while revising and consolidating prior learning.

Each grammar unit follows a consistent structure, starting with a pre-unit quiz to assess prior knowledge, followed by 10–12 focused lessons, and concluding with a post-unit quiz to measure progress. Opportunities for reteaching are embedded within each unit to further support the acquisition of new skills.

Individual lessons are also consistently structured for clarity and efficiency, with a sequence of Do Now, Exercise One, and Learning Review activities. In Year 6, the structure is adapted to include Do Now, Rewind and Remember (revisiting skills from previous years), Introduce, Deliberate Practice, Checkpoint, and Learning Review. These sessions are designed to improve precision and accuracy, with built-in challenges to apply the skills learned.

The programme is logically sequenced to bridge the gap between knowledge and practical application, ensuring that grammar skills are both understood and actively used. Students apply these skills directly in their writing sessions, further enhancing their proficiency and confidence.

Spelling

At Newington Academy we aim to develop our children into confident spellers to equip them with the freedom to express themselves. Each week from Years 1 - Years 6 children engage in Pathways to Spell lessons. Each week a new rule will be introduced alongside a review of prior learning. These lessons use a range of games, dictation and memorable experiences to develop our writing transcription. This is further supported in EYFS and KS1 through daily Read Write Inc sessions.

Handwriting

At Newington Academy, we want to give all children the opportunity to express their ideas and develop skills for life. Handwriting is an essential part of our curriculum and is practised every day.

Handwriting begins with our youngest learners in EYFS. Early Years children first start transcription with building their gross and fine motor skills. They are exposed to letter formation through the environment, daily modelling and as part of the Read, Write Inc phonics programme. They are given opportunities to apply these skills to both indoor and outdoor activities.

As children progress through school, we continue to follow the Read, Write Inc. handwriting guide as our scheme for handwriting. In order to make our letters the correct size, shape and orientation, we use a writing scaffold called: Bubble Writing by Steve Phillips.

Teachers model each letter and join through daily handwriting practice.

Newington Academy recognises the importance of providing lots of opportunities for transcription in the Early Stages of Writing. All letter formations, relationship in size and spacing are checked before introducing children to diagonal joins. When children are ready, cursive handwriting is introduced through Read, Write Inc handwriting guide.

Teachers will track: letter formation, joins, legibility and speed. Children successful at all four areas will receive their pen licence. Those who require further support will receive additional transcription interventions with continued support from the Bubble Writing scaffold as we seek to ensure all our children are life-long writers.

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