English - Writing

The person responsible for developing English at our school is Miss K. Caldwell

Intent

At Whiston Willis Primary Academy, we aim to develop confident, creative and purposeful writers who can communicate effectively for a range of audiences and purposes.

Our ambitious and inclusive writing curriculum is underpinned by the National Curriculum and sequenced using the Literacy Tree framework. High-quality literature provides meaningful contexts for writing, enriching pupils' vocabulary and exposing them to a diverse range of authors, genres, cultures and perspectives. We adapt our curriculum and teaching responsively to reflect the starting points and needs of each cohort.

Early Writing

Writing begins in the Early Years through purposeful opportunities to develop communication, mark-making, letter formation and early composition. Read Write Inc. (RWI) Phonics supports pupils in applying their phonics knowledge to spelling and writing.

Our approach is responsive to pupils' developmental starting points, incorporating EY2P to support early writing and Strong Start Foundations in Year 1 to strengthen progression from EYFS into the National Curriculum.

Implementation

Writing is carefully sequenced, with teaching adapted according to pupils' needs while maintaining ambitious curriculum outcomes. Pupils progressively develop composition, spelling, handwriting, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation and learn to plan, draft, revise, edit and evaluate their writing.

Teaching reflects our whole-school pedagogical approach, informed by Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction and our six-part lesson structure. Explicit instruction, modelling, retrieval, questioning and guided practice support pupils towards increasing independence.

Oracy is integral to writing. Discussion, oral rehearsal and purposeful talk enable pupils to develop ideas, vocabulary and sentence structures before applying these independently.

As a Rights Respecting School, we value pupil voice and use literature and writing to explore diverse experiences and perspectives, enabling pupils to express their own ideas while developing respect for those of others.

Impact

Our aim is for pupils to leave Whiston Willis as confident, articulate and refelctive writers who can use language effectively for different audiences and purposes.

Curriculum Progression

Our writing curriculum is carefully sequenced from EYFS to Year 6. For further information about the content taught in each year group, click the curriculum overviews below:

Y​ear 1 Curriculum Overview - English

Y​ear 2 Curriculum Overview - English

Y​ear 3 Curriculum Overview - English

Y​ear 4 Curriculum Overview - English

Y​ear 5 Curriculum Overview - English

Y​ear 6 Curriculum Overview - English

For more information about The Literary Curriculum, follow the link below:

https://literarycurriculum.co.uk/