Writing

Our Vision

Our approach to writing enables us to realise both our Mission Statement:

“Be The Best That You Can Be”

And our Disability Statement:

“To make all reasonable adjustments to ensure that any member of the school community with a disability is not placed at a disadvantage and to endeavour to anticipate their needs in advance of their participation in any activities within the school”

Intent

At Ribble Drive Primary School the aim is for our children to see themselves as confident, capable, independent writers who not only understand the purpose and importance of writing but also enjoy the writing process.   

We want to ensure they can communicate and express themselves effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences, applying spelling rules and using a neat, legible handwriting style.

The intention is that pupils will use their writing skills, not only in English lessons, but also across the wider curriculum. 

Implementation

Our teaching of writing explicitly addresses the two clear strands of transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing) as outlined in the National Curriculum and the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.

Understanding the link between spoken language and the writing process is fundamental to our teaching, with all staff putting an emphasis on pupils thinking and talking through what they want to write before putting pen to paper.  We adopt a ‘think it, say it, write it, check it’ approach from the outset, with children being taught to edit and improve their writing as they work.

Daily English lessons follow a ‘Reading into Writing’ approach, immersing our pupils in a wide range of rich, varied and diverse texts covering all genres. Where possible, we link these texts to current topics, allowing pupils to make connections, giving them a context for their writing as well as a reason to write.

Staff have high expectations around the use of vocabulary, encouraging children to learn new words, find definitions and then use these in their independent writing.

Through a mixture of shared, guided and independent work, children are taught the craft of writing in order to develop the confidence and skills to write well for a range of purposes and audiences. 

Wherever possible, spelling, punctuation and grammar are taught through the whole class English lessons, though we also recognise the need for explicit teaching of certain elements.  We address this through short daily SPaG lessons, weekly spellings and focused handwriting sessions.

Impact:

• Ongoing assessment forms an integral part of the teaching and learning process and we measure the impact of our curriculum through learning walks, book scrutiny and ‘pupil voice’.

• Teachers track progress, constantly reviewing and adapting their teaching to meet the needs of all pupils; interventions are put in place for any children identified as not making expected progress.

• A good range of cross-curricular writing shows that skills taught in English lessons are transferred to other subjects.

• Pupils use ambitious vocabulary in their writing, including subject-specific words.

• Our children take pride in their work, developing a neat, cursive handwriting style as they move through school.

• Pupils know that their writing is valued and celebrated through ‘Wow’ moments, in whole school assemblies and on wall displays.