Writing
Intent, implementation and impact
We intend for our children to become masters of the 4 key writing domains: writing to entertain, writing to inform, writing to persuade, and writing to discuss (KS2), through experiencing writing for a range of purpose and audiences. Children will begin by mastering verbal fluency and will quickly progress to apply this to the written form. We believe children who have a secure grasp of these 4 domains become better communicators – a skill which is essential in building successful futures.
Writing is a way for children to express their thoughts and ideas. We want to make it enjoyable for the children and focus on quality rather than quantity. We recognise the link between reading and writing and strive to build links between the two areas. Our children need to recognise that writing can sometimes be difficult, but we seek to give them the resilience to think and talk about what they will write, to use models and resources, and use editing and proof-reading to ultimately construct varying texts that they are proud to share.
We place a great emphasis on speaking and listening at Bowbrook. High quality written work depends on quality speaking and listening and huge amounts of reading.
We provide speaking and listening opportunities through a huge variety of activities such as drama, choral speaking, discussion, and performance. We provide informal opportunities through times such as show and tell, story-sharing and book talk to further development in this area.
The programme of study for writing states that, ‘Writing down ideas fluently depends on effective transcription: that is, on spelling quickly and accurately through knowing the relationship between sounds and letters (phonics) and understanding the morphology (word structure) and orthography (spelling structure) of words. Effective composition involves forming, articulating, and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Writing also depends on fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting.’
Our aim is to empower our children so they can aspire to become an expert in the study of English – if they choose to.
Implementation: How is English taught at Bowbrook?
For our English units we will follow the Bowbrook Writing process, with a focus on audience and purpose for writing.
The Process in EYFS:
- Exposure to vocabulary and verbal communication
- Phonics (continued throughout)
- Use of vocabulary to articulate thoughts leading to the construction of full verbal sentences
- Mark making
- Labels
- Words (synonyms) within given sentences
- Simple sentences with the application of phonic knowledge using a modelled structure.
- Explicit handwriting sessions
English in EYFS is intrinsically linked to phonics and speaking and listening. From the outset, children are taught how to articulate their thoughts about the world around them through highly skilled modelling and questioning which enables them to reach their Early Learning Goals. Children are exposed to challenging vocabulary and are encouraged to use this vocabulary when verbally constructing sentences. Children in Reception have regular practice with mark making. They are taught that writing is a form of communication and when mark making, the children are explicitly taught that when writing, we are recording ideas. They are exposed to many forms of writing (shown letters, dinner list, notes, books, postcards etc.) and will be encouraged to discuss where they see different marks.
Children are taught discrete phonic knowledge every day and explore language with shared reading, imaginative play, and the practice of fine and gross motor skills. They are introduced to the lenses of writing (which are used throughout the school) which drenches the children in language. This new vocabulary is then applied to a new context e.g., during child-initiated sessions.
Writing is the last part of the process. Everyday learning: phonics, mark making, fine and gross motor skills, and explorative play works towards the children being a writer, where they write about real recounts, retelling stories leading to more imagined texts. This process, with the use of the writing lenses, ensures consistency and readiness when moving into Year 1 and beyond.
English in Key Stage 1 and 2
The programmes of study for writing at key stages 1 and 2 will be constructed similarly to those for reading:
- transcription (spelling and handwriting)
- composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing).
Transcription:
Handwriting is taught through explicit handwriting lessons and follows the handwriting scheme, Unlocking Letters and Sounds. Letter formation is revised across the curriculum and we expect children to take pride in their written work and have a high standard of presentation. As with everything in school, we do not expect everything to be perfect, but we expect children to give 100% effort and be proud of their books and want to show them to parents, staff, and peers.
Within phonics, we teach spelling skills daily, building on from systematic phonics and look at the spelling rules and patterns throughout the school, following the Unlocking Letters and Sounds scheme. We then provide opportunities for pupils to use the words in context We believe that children with needs in spelling should receive additional and appropriate phonics or strategy teaching in school and we provide this.
Spelling:
In Year 1, taught phonemes are shared weekly with parents in their child’s reading diary, to further consolidate their learning. Common exception words mats and sound mats are also shared within the reading diary, and updated half termly with spelling focus areas.
In Year 2 for most of the children, taught spelling rules are shared weekly with parents in their child’s reading diary, to further consolidate their learning. For children who did not pass the phonics screening check, they will continue to receive targeted phonics support, and taught phonemes are shared weekly with parents, based on their phonics learning.
Children with specific spelling difficulties are provided with adapted resources to enable them to access spellings successfully, e.g. if they have light, fright, sight, night, the sounds igh, ai, oa, ow are given to allow children to access their spellings.
Revisiting the spellings will give the children the best chance of retaining this new learning and moving it to their long-term memory.
Impact
Impact will be measured by the progress in their writing. Children will write an independent piece at the end of every unit. Children will regularly write in their independent writing books; to show clear progress in all aspects of their writing. Children will gain a coherent understanding of writing for differing audiences and purposes, and will be able to talk about features used.
Summative data will be collected termly and measured against our writing criteria for each year group. This data will be gathered and analysed with next steps and targets subsequently set.
There will be a triangulation of evidence from book monitoring, lesson observations and planning checks to ensure the children are receiving a consistent, high quality Writing programme.
WRITING progression
