English -Writing

At Leigh Academy Hartley, we aim to promote a love of writing either for the practical purpose it holds, particularly when communicating, or for the artistic opportunities it gives for expression of the self. We want to equip all children with the skills they need to use writing for a variety of purposes and to be proud of what they produce. 

We want to ensure that children have a purpose for what they are writing, and an audience, so that they aspire to make every piece they produce their very best. 

We want our children to be able to write at the expected standard by the time they reach the end of Year Six and want them to be ready to continue writing in everyday life in their futures. 

Writing lessons are both discrete and transdisciplinary at LAH. When needed, the staff have the freedom to teach specific, discrete skills that children need. Children are then given the opportunity to apply these skills in the pieces they produce. 

Children are usually taught at least one discrete grammar lesson a week to allow them to learn new skills to apply in their writing. Our grammar progression document clearly identifies the pathway the children take from EYFS to Year 6 and how they can develop these skills over the course of their time at HPA. 

Children also have the opportunity to learn spelling rules through inquiry once a week with additional short spelling consolidation activities threaded in through the curriculum. These ensure that the children can revisit spelling rules and apply accurate spelling to their writing. The children are tested on the spelling rules each week and these results are tracked to ensure progress. 

At Leigh Academy Hartley, we expect all students to take pride in presenting their work to the very best of their current ability and teach them a cursive letter formation – progressively – as part of this. At all times, the individual needs of children will be catered for and appropriate personalised strategies and resources will be used with those children who need them. Handwriting is taught as discrete lessons in classes, groups or individually as appropriate. Teachers (including teaching assistants, supply teachers and trainees) will model correctly-joined handwriting, particularly when writing on the board. Where possible, handwriting lessons are linked to phonic development and spelling patterns. High expectations of handwriting and presentation are held by all staff.

Displays throughout the school include joined writing and computer generated writing. From Year Three upwards, children may start to use a blue ink pen if their teacher feels that they are ready to receive a handwriting licence. Throughout the rest of the week, writing skills are embedded as part of our inquiry lessons. This ensures that children are given to the time to generate ideas, conduct research, plan, revise and evaluate their writing. We focus on allowing time to generate ideas so that children can focus on the craft of writing when it comes to recording them. Children are given the opportunity to write for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.  

Learning walks are carried out to ensure that high standards of delivery of the writing curriculum are met. Where good practice is identified, it is shared with staff through CPD to help refresh or improve subject knowledge. 

To ensure that children are making at least expected progress, teachers follow our marking policy. 

English book scrutinies and writing moderations are carried out to check that standards across HPA are consistent and children are progressing at least as expected. 

We identify children who need support and provide intervention for those who aren’t meeting the expected standard within year groups. 

By the time children reach Year 6, they will be familiar with well-known writing genres and the grammar skills they need to demonstrate when composing a piece. 

Writing outcomes at KS2 are above national average and have been on an upward trend for the past three years. We aim to keep with this trend so that every child at least makes expected progress and has the skills they need to equip themselves for the challenges of the secondary curriculum and beyond.