Writing
At St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, we want every child to become a confident, creative and purposeful writer.
We believe that writing is a powerful way for children to express their ideas, communicate with others and make sense of the world around them. Our ambition is for every pupil to develop the knowledge, vocabulary, skills and confidence to write clearly and effectively for a range of purposes and audiences.
From the Early Years through to Year 6, children are taught to write with increasing accuracy, fluency and independence. We build strong foundations in handwriting, spelling, grammar and sentence construction while inspiring children to develop their own voice as writers.
Becoming a Writer
Our writing curriculum is carefully sequenced so that children build on prior learning and develop increasing control and sophistication in their writing.
Children learn to:
• communicate their ideas clearly
• develop and organise their thoughts
• write for different purposes and audiences
• use increasingly ambitious vocabulary
• construct accurate and varied sentences
• apply spelling, punctuation and grammar knowledge
• develop a fluent, legible handwriting style
• edit and improve their writing
• make thoughtful choices about language and structure.
We want children to understand that good writing comes from thoughtful choices. They are encouraged to consider what they want to say, who they are writing for and how they can communicate their ideas most effectively.
Writing Through High Quality Texts
Reading and writing are closely connected at St Vincent’s.
Children are immersed in high quality literature, including fiction, poetry and non-fiction, which provides inspiration, models of effective writing and opportunities to develop rich vocabulary.
We explore how authors create characters, settings, atmosphere and meaning. Children are encouraged to notice the choices writers make and apply these ideas to their own writing.
Across the curriculum, children encounter a wide range of texts that broaden their knowledge, develop their vocabulary and provide meaningful reasons to write.
Writing for a Purpose
We want children to see writing as something that has a real purpose beyond the classroom.
Throughout their time at St Vincent’s, pupils write for a wide range of purposes and audiences. They may write stories, poems, explanations, reports, letters, arguments, recounts, instructions and other forms of purposeful communication.
Writing is also embedded across the wider curriculum. Children use their writing skills to demonstrate their learning in subjects such as history, geography, science and Religious Education.
This enables pupils to understand that writing is an essential tool for communicating knowledge and ideas in every area of life.
Vocabulary and Oracy
Strong speaking and listening skills provide an important foundation for successful writing.
We deliberately develop children's vocabulary through conversation, reading, discussion and teaching across the curriculum. Children are encouraged to articulate their ideas before committing them to paper.
Teachers model ambitious vocabulary and sentence structures and provide opportunities for pupils to rehearse and refine their ideas. As children progress, they develop the confidence to select vocabulary precisely and use language for effect.
Spelling, Grammar and Handwriting
We recognise that secure knowledge of spelling, grammar and handwriting enables children to write with greater fluency and confidence.
Spelling patterns and rules are taught systematically and practised regularly. Grammar and punctuation are taught explicitly and applied meaningfully within children's writing.
Handwriting is taught and practised consistently so that children develop a fluent, legible and increasingly joined style. We want children to develop automaticity in these fundamental skills so that they can focus their attention on developing and communicating their ideas.
The Writing Process
Children are taught that effective writing develops through a process.
They learn to plan and organise their ideas, draft their writing, review their work and make improvements. Teachers model the writing process and provide opportunities for children to discuss, evaluate and refine their choices.
Editing is an important part of becoming an independent writer. Children learn to check their spelling, punctuation and grammar while also considering whether their writing communicates their intended meaning effectively.
As they move through the school, pupils increasingly take responsibility for improving their own work.
Supporting Every Writer
We have high expectations for every child and believe that all pupils can become successful writers.
Teachers use adaptive teaching to identify and respond to individual needs. Children who require additional support receive appropriate scaffolding, modelling and opportunities to practise. Children who are ready to deepen their learning are challenged to make more sophisticated choices about vocabulary, sentence structure, organisation and style.
We are particularly committed to ensuring that disadvantaged pupils, vulnerable pupils and pupils with SEND receive the support they need to overcome barriers and achieve well.
Developing a Love of Writing
We want children to experience the creativity and enjoyment that writing can bring.
Pupils are given opportunities to write imaginatively, share their work and celebrate their achievements. We encourage children to see themselves as authors and to take pride in their writing.
Whether they are creating a story, writing a poem, explaining an idea or expressing an opinion, we want children to understand that their words have value and that their voice matters.
Our Ambition for Every Writer
By the time children leave St Vincent’s, we want them to be confident and independent writers who can communicate effectively for a range of purposes and audiences.
We want pupils to have a rich vocabulary, secure knowledge of grammar and spelling, fluent handwriting and the ability to shape their writing thoughtfully.
Most importantly, we want our children to have the confidence to express their ideas, the resilience to improve their work and the creativity to see themselves as writers.
Through our approach to writing, every child is encouraged to achieve, belong and thrive, developing the skills and confidence to communicate their ideas and let their light shine.
At St Vincent’s we aspire to make the learning ambitious for all learners. Our school curriculum includes the knowledge, skills and life experiences children need to thrive. Our learning is carefully planned and sequenced using the National Curriculum that can be found below:
Knowledge and skills are built on from previous years and there is clear progression in each subject. You can see an overview of progression below:
Each curriculum area is taught across the year and evidenced on a long term plan, divided into half termly blocks. You can see the long term plan below:
