Writing Curriculum Statement

Intent

Writing skills are taught on a daily basis; specific skills are taught explicitly to prepare the children to use within their Inquiry based tasks. Children complete daily skills which are then applied to a long piece of work weekly or more in the older years. The teaching of writing is to be embedded in many different subject areas.

Coverage of writing should be planned in accordance to the yearly overview. Writing skills are embedded in each lesson and National Curriculum objectives are to be covered through each Inquiry. 

Opportunities will exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This will allow them to enrich their knowledge by, for example, creative workshop days, Trust secondary visits or visitors to school. 

Our principal aim is that children leave Horsmonden with a wide range of happy and rich memories in writing, formed through interesting and exciting experiences. This will enhance a child’s awareness of their own abilities and strengths, ensuring that children see writing as an ongoing process and not a one-off event.

Implementation

Children take part in skills specific lessons, which are focused and engaging. Discussion and evaluation are promoted,, which give the children opportunities to ask their own questions and share their ideas.. 

Each class has an English writing display with key skills explained and modelled. 

Learning is adapted to fit the needs of individual children in the class and use of a variety of genres to embed the writing process across all age groups. We engage children in exciting lessons when they are applying their writing skills. 

Children have opportunities to work both independently and as part of a group to explore different writing styles and apply key skills. Use of resources to allow the children to explore writing in a practical manner and engage children in their learning. 

Learning through lines of inquiry: Children should be able to apply skills that they have learnt by writing for purpose and using a variety of genres.   

The subject leader will meet the senior leadership team and representatives from the trust on a regular basis to evaluate provision in order to ensure that teaching and learning in writing is highly effective. At the start of each Inquiry, children can talk about what they know, what they want to know and at the end of the Inquiry they write about what they know now through a review. . We will also make the best use of new technology to enthuse pupils and provide immediacy and relevance.

Teachers use Bromcom and the PYP Programme of Inquiry (PoI) to record children’s progression of skills in writing. Peer and self-assessment against agreed success criteria is used.  AfL questions are used in lessons to challenge children and check their understanding. EYFS record and assess observations.

High quality teaching responds to the needs of children. Spiral learning is a key focus of all formative and summative assessment with teachers actively responding to learning. 

High quality input from experts and educational resources complement the delivery of writing learning admirably. Children understand how writing is used in the wider world, including careers.

Impact

Children’s learning should be displayed to celebrate achievements. Resources to enhance displays. Visual prompts and thought-provoking questions will be used. Writing skills and vocabulary is displayed. Evidence of learning in books, at least one long piece of writing in Inquiry books per week.

Presentation of the children’s books to be neat with titles and dates underlined with a ruler. All writing for purpose to be completed in Inquiry books and linked to the Inquiry theme. Tables, diagrams to be in pencil into Skills or Inquiry books.

Children are happy, feel cared for and have excellent relationships with others. They know how to deal with challenges and have a range of strategies to overcome them. The learning intention is based on the writing skills the children are using.

Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in writing, reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey.  The teaching of writing is embedded in many different subject areas.

Coverage of writing should be planned according to the yearly overview. National Curriculum objectives are covered through each Inquiry. Opportunities will exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This will allow them to enrich their knowledge, for example, creative workshop days or visitors to school. Our principal aim is that children leave Horsmonden with a wide range of s skills and have happy and rich memories in writing, formed through interesting and exciting experiences.

Resources

Resources are kept in each classroom, so children and teachers can easily access daily. 

Resources need to allow children to access writing if they are struggling. Eg, use of laptops where children can speak into them to create their work and the use of word banks, skills mats etc. 

Readwrite has been applied to some of the laptops, so children who need extra help when writing can access the learning.

Teachers inform the writing lead if there are any specific resources that are needed and that cannot be found in the classroom. The writing lead is to replenish resources as and when they are needed. The writing lead will keep up to date about new curriculum developments and relay them to staff when needed.