Intent
At Hugh Joicey School, we use Literacy Tree as our scheme of work for writing. We want all children to be able to have a good understanding of English to be able to communicate confidently in both speech and writing. We use a progressive curriculum that builds upon previous teaching, with regular assessment to ensure each child can reach their full potential. We include and engage all of our children in high-quality learning experiences with the aim that they leave as confident, capable and independent writers, who not only understand the purpose and importance of writing but also enjoy the writing process.
Literacy Tree allows us to plan a progressive curriculum that builds upon previous teaching, with regular assessments to ensure pupils’ individual progress within writing. We ensure objectives in reading and writing have purpose which are linked to high quality texts. Developing spoken language through debate, drama and discussion using the issues raised through, and within, text brings the text to life and helps develop these skills in context.
We aim to provide stimulating writing opportunities and experiences that engage and enhance all pupils teach children to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. Across this range of texts, we give all children a good understanding of grammar so they can apply it to their writing.
Teaching of vocabulary is key and we ensure our children learn a wide vocabulary and how to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they have learnt throughout their time in primary school.
Implementation
Literacy Tree places books at the core and this allows teachers to use the text as the context for the requirements of the national curriculum. We follow the mixed-age planning from Literacy Tree as this provides a framework for progression for all our children. At the beginning of our curriculum implementation, we carefully selected the range of texts from the options on Literacy Tree so that texts match our broader curriculum and this creates links across the curriculum developing a web of understanding within children.
The national curriculum states that it: is not intended to constrain or restrict teachers’ creativity, simply to provide the structure on which they can construct exciting lessons. We construct these exciting lessons through a context for learning which we believe is vital – and our chosen approach supports teachers with ensuring that objectives for reading and writing, including those for grammar can have purpose.
We will always aim for our writing opportunities to be meaningful and to feel authentic. Whether these are short or long and that the audience is clear. Books offer this opportunity: our aim would be that children have real reasons to write, whether to explain, persuade, inform or instruct and that where possible, this can be embedded within text or linked to a curriculum area.
Writing in role using a range of genres is key to our approach and we would always model the tone and level of formality. This sits comfortably alongside the following statement from the English national curriculum: ‘The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.’
In many cases objectives are covered more than once and children have opportunities to apply these several times over the course of a year, as well as to consolidate prior knowledge from previous years. This approach supports children to think deeply and develop skills with depth. Where needed, planning sequences will be adapted, personalised and differentiated to ensure access to the curriculum for all.
Within each unit of work children will:
- Have opportunities to participate in drama & spoken language activities.
- Explore the features of different types of texts and modelled examples.
- Practise and improve their handwriting.
- Use relevant strategies to widen their vocabulary including technical vocabulary.
- Experience shared and modelled writing.
- Be taught lessons in spelling, grammar and punctuation, within English lessons.
- Plan, draft, edit and up-level their writing.
- Write independently and present their writing for an audience.
- Perform or read their work to their peers or an audience.
Handwriting is a key skill for all children to be able to write using a joined, personal style by the end of Key Stage 2. Children are taught the importance of correct body posture, how to hold a pen/pencil correctly and the importance of producing a piece of work in an attractive manner.
During their time in EYFS, children start learning to write through a wide variety of opportunities to mark make and giving meaning to marks. Children are then taught to produce identifiable letters with the correct size and letter formation. By the end of EYFS, most children will be able to think of and write a simple sentence using letters which are mostly formed correctly and can be read by others. In Year 1 to Year 6, children are taught handwriting regularly and progressively. This underpins the expectations of handwriting and letter formation.
Impact
We want children to leave Hugh Joicey as confident writers, with the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of writing.
As a school, we measure the impact of our writing curriculum through:
- Ensuring that the National Curriculum requirements are met in each year group.
- Regular moderation both internally and externally to support teacher judgements.
- Collect evidence which is gathered through book scrutiny, pupil voice and discussions with staff.
- Feedback of children’s work in books, which can be both verbal or written.
- The writing lead’s identification of next steps, which are determined by a cycle of monitoring, evaluating and reviewing.
- Monitoring of children’s progress from year to year ensuring our children are making good progress from their starting points.
