Writing Lead - Ruth McArdle
Our Intent at Swinton Queen
At Swinton Queen Primary School, we strive to help our children develop into articulate and imaginative communicators, who are well-equipped with the basic skills they need to become life-long learners. We aim to ensure all of our children develop a genuine love of language and the written word, through a text-based approach; this links closely to the way we teach reading, as the text that we use in writing lessons, where possible, supports the writing journey.
Careful links are made across the curriculum to ensure that children’s English learning is relevant and meaningful: where possible linking our reading, writing to topics. We ensure that children develop an understanding of how widely writing is used in everyday life and, therefore, how important and useful the skills are that they are learning.
Our intentions in writing are for children to: write for a purpose; see themselves as real writers; take ownership of their writing; see their writing as being an enjoyable and interesting process and be skilled and critical editors of their own work.
We aim to make writing inclusive and challenging for all. From our SEND children to our Greater Depth writers, staff use a range of scaffolds to support children with their work from letter formation, planning and sentence structure. It is our intent that all our children will become confident and able writers.
Our Implementation at Swinton Queen
Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, and to flourish to become the very best version of themselves they can possibly be. We teach the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children
We aim to develop children’s ability to produce well-structured, detailed writing in which the meaning is made clear and which engages the interest of the audience / reader. Particular attention is paid throughout the school to the formal structures of English: grammatical detail, punctuation and spelling. Teachers clearly model writing skills and document the learning journey through consistent working walls; guided writing sessions are used to target specific needs of both groups and individuals. Children have opportunities to write at length, in extended, independent writing sessions at the end of a unit of work – applying their taught skills to an unsupported piece of writing.
Pupils are taught discrete punctuation and grammar skills, appropriate to their year group, within our text based approach to planning, allowing opportunities to identify, practice and consolidate grammatical understanding, whilst also being immersed in a text. Children then apply the grammar and punctuation skills that they have learnt in their extended pieces of writing.
Spelling
Once the children have completed their phonic learning and are fluent readers, our children are taught formal spelling rules and patterns. We use the national curriculum and Spelling Shed to support in the learning of this.
Credits:
Created with images by picjumbo_com - "child kid play" • _Alicja_ - "crayons pencils write" • Pexels - "pens brushes art materials"