ENGLISH – WRITING
Why do we teach what we teach? (Our intent)
At Ide Hill, our core aim, when teaching writing, is to give the children the necessary skills, knowledge and independence to be able to express themselves in order to achieve both in school and beyond. We believe that if taught well then writing gives children the ability to think, communicate, and make connections with the wider world. We aim to develop self-assured, fluent and enthusiastic writers who can express themselves adeptly for a range of purposes, using rich and varied language, evaluating and making improvements along the way. Through a breadth of genres, we enable our students to achieve their best within the National Curriculum and our wider curriculum offer such as exploring the historical and cultural context of literature. We ensure that our pupils are immersed in a wealth of texts and the experiences that enable them to understand them and develop their writing skills. We have ensured our curriculum for writing supports the needs and diversity of the community in which we serve. We aim for all pupils to leave Ide Hill as well rounded individuals with a passion for writing.
How do we teach it? (Our implementation)
Writing is taught daily from Year 1 to Year 6
- Ide Hill follows the Rocket Phonics programme to teach phonics in Year R to Year 2. Purple Mash is used to teach specific spelling patterns in Years 2-6 with teachers consolidating this within their English lessons.
- Phonics is taught daily in EYFS and KS1 using the scheme Rocket Phonics. Children learn to write single words, using the taught sounds and then apply them into written sentences. Written dictation is also used.
- Within Rocket Phonics, the children are taught to spell the CEW which are appropriate for their year group, in regular weekly sessions.
- We use the writing scheme ‘Ready Steady Write’ to teach daily writing lessons from Year 1 to Year 6. Reception children use ‘Ready Steady Write’ to teach writing, but only once the children are ready to access the planned units.
- The basic structure of ‘Ready Steady Write’ is as follows: immerse, analyse, plan, write. Each aspect can last between 1 and 5 lessons. This structure acknowledges the strong interrelationship between speaking and listening, reading and writing
- There are 2 writing outcomes in each unit with approximately 13 lessons. Each unit lasts half a term where all grammar, sentence, word and punctuation is taught through our high quality ‘vehicle text’. The vehicle texts have been chosen to be read aloud, enjoyed and discussed and inspire children to want to become writers. There is one vehicle text per year group, per term.
- Each session begins with a sentence accuracy task to allow a sentence level focus and a solid teaching of grammar. This is then followed by essential teaching which focuses on a specific text and involves key questions and teacher modelling. Following this, pupils then complete a task which might be independent or guided.
- Each writing outcome uses an ‘Example Text’ which provides the children with carefully crafted example of what the outcome might look like at greater depth. This gives children a clear idea of what an excellent piece of writing, for the particular writing outcome, might look like.
- Work is recorded in English books following the school’s presentation and marking policy.
- In Year R and one, children are taught printed handwriting using the Letter Join scheme. In Year 2 the children are introduced to cursive handwriting, with the expectation that all children will be using cursive handwriting by the end of KS1. Handwriting is taught across the school in isolation, a minimum of 3 times a week Children are also reminded about presentation and letter formation in all phonics, spelling and English lessons. The transition from the use of pencil to pen occurs when children in KS2 have shown that they are able to write neatly and with accuracy, across all subject areas.
- Writing skills, including spelling and handwriting are modelled by teachers and applied across the whole curriculum
What is the difference that this makes? (Our impact)
When pupils leave Ide Hill they have experienced a wealth of immersive opportunities linked to a wide range of texts, allowing them to develop their writing skills. Exposure to rich and varied language enables pupils to move into the wider world being able to express themselves through a range of media. Pupils are passionate about writing and achieve well following the National Curriculum and wider Ide Hill curriculum.