Writing Curriculum

Intent 

The Leigh Academy Oak’s English curriculum prepares children for the future by giving them the essential skills needed to be successful in primary school, secondary school and in the workplace. Children develop into internationally minded individuals who have a love of reading, writing and speaking about the world around them. Our Phonics lessons teach children the skills they need to decode words as well as read tricky high frequency words they will encounter when reading a range of high quality texts. Phonics is linked closely with spellings in order to give children the skills they need to spell words based on sounds. At Oaks, children write with a purpose which is linked to their inquiry and class text. This allows them to write in a variety of genres after exploring them as a whole class. 

Implementation 

Teaching the life skill of reading at Oaks begins as soon as they walk through the school gates. In Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1, Phonics lessons take place both in specific lessons (using Phonics International) as well as “in the moment” teaching. The consistent structure of Phonics International lessons is continued throughout the school in interventions and provides children with the skills they need. Children are taught how to spell words using the sounds in the word as well as the HFW. Rules (and exceptions!) are taught in short, sharp daily spelling lessons and supported by Spelling Shed - an interactive online game which encourages healthy competition. Weekly spelling tests are conducted as well as close monitoring the application of spellings when children are writing. 

The transdisciplinary learning of the Oaks Curriculum encourages children to write for a range of purposes in both fiction and non-fiction styles. The PYP inquiries lend themselves to a range of real-life issues and circumstances which are used as a prompt for writing. For example, children will write newspaper articles about the extreme weather they have been experiencing and letters requesting permission from the Principal to go to the Science Museum so they can expand their scientific knowledge and understanding of space. Alongside the wealth of non-fiction writing opportunities, each inquiry has a key text. These high quality texts not only inspire children’s imagination but introduces them to vital writing skills (such as parenthesis and inverted commas). They are eager to use the skills they see authors use in the adventure stories and other gripping tales they read with the class in their own writing. 

Impact 

Being exposed to a range of high quality texts has a huge impact on children’s writing. They write in full sentences adding in detail and high level vocabulary which enriches their descriptions. These effective sentences will open doors for them in secondary school and in the future. 

The Pupil Employment Scheme run at Oaks gives children the opportunity to put these skills to the test by applying for a variety of jobs on the school grounds. They have to apply to a specific role in writing (including an application letter) and attend an interview in order to be given responsibilities such as being a Play Pal or Librarian. The role is their responsibility which gives them a valuable taste of having a job and they are given a clear understanding of what will be expected of them when they enter the workplace.