Writing
It is essential that we inspire our children to write by providing them with exciting and memorable shared experiences. At The Hyde we use a wide range of stimuli as a basis for writing; including high-quality texts, outdoor experiences, drama techniques, film clips, visitors and visiting companies in order to develop the children’s enjoyment of writing.
The aims for our children are that through opportunities for writing they will:
Learn to write with confidence, enjoyment and fluency showing creativity, understanding and an awareness of the reader.
Understand and use phonics and spelling rules to spell accurately.
Have fluent and legible handwriting as well as develop word processing skills.
Write effectively in a range of fiction and non-fiction genres.
Use planning and drafting techniques as an integral part of the writing process.
Incorporate a growing vocabulary and literary devices to enrich their writing.
At The Hyde we develop the children’s ability to produce well structured, detailed writing in which the meaning is made clear and which engages the interest of the reader. Attention is paid to the formal structures of English, grammatical detail, punctuation and spelling. The children are given frequent opportunities to write in different contexts and for a variety of purposes and audiences. We have a cross-curricular approach to the curriculum and links to other subject areas are routine. This gives children the opportunity to practise and apply the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired through Literacy lessons to all areas of the curriculum. Our children are encouraged to take care with their presentation and to be proud of their work. We use a cursive handwriting style in school to help children develop fluent, clear and legible joined up writing. A range of methods are used to teach spelling in order that the children become independent spellers. Throughout EYFS and Key Stage 1 the emphasis is on phonics and keywords, using the ‘Letters and Sounds’ framework. This work is continued in Key Stage 2 where appropriate and further spelling strategies are taught, with reference to the ‘Support for Spelling’ document.
We follow the Early Years Framework and National Curriculum for Writing and teachers have a secure understanding of their year groups end of year expectations. Teachers model writing strategies and the use of phonics and spelling strategies in shared writing sessions. Guided writing sessions are used to target specific needs of both groups and individuals, whilst children have opportunities to write at length in extended pieces.
