OUR RATIONALE

Writing is essential for success. The ability to express themselves clearly and fluently opens doors and enables young people to take advantage of opportunities in education and employment. Conversely, pupils who struggle to express their ideas in writing are likely to face challenges across the curriculum, not just in English.

The spoken word is important. Children first develop language through talk. Interactions with adults enable them to develop speech and their control of spoken language. This is vital for learning about written language, since reading and writing are acquired skills.

The value of talk to children’s mastery of language is as important for writing as it is for reading and pupils should be taught how to engage in dialogue that enhances learning.

Writing is complex and it involves transcription and composition. Writing is more than spoken words written down; it requires control of language in ways that differ from speech and must be explicitly taught. Both composition and transcription are necessary for proficient writing. Writing places demands on working memory, requiring writers to manage everything consciously, from holding the pen correctly to forming letters legibly and then combining them accurately into words. These are the necessary precursors to expressing ideas effectively.

AIMS

Our intent is for all pupils – irrespective of their needs, abilities or background to learn to write fluently, developing their own writer’s voice.  We aim to meet, and where possible exceed, the expectations laid out in the Early Learning Goals and National Curriculum, with pupils progressing appropriately across school. We recognise that spoken language underpins the development of writing. The quality of language that pupils hear and speak is vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding of writing.  We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in literacy skills is crucial to a high-quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.

We cultivate a love of writing and communicating through vocabulary-rich and high-quality literature. By inspiring and developing an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and providing meaningful and exciting provocations to write, we develop a habit of writing widely and often. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing; they can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts.

 

 

We aim to develop a love of writing and help children to see how powerful the written word can be. In line with the National Curriculum, writing skills are divided into two strands:

• transcription (spelling and handwriting)
• composition (articulating ideas in speech and writing)

Both these elements are essential to success; we teach the acquisition of both sets of skills through various methods. These areas are clearly linked to the other aspects of English learning: speaking and listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary.  We develop the child’s growing ability to construct and convey meaning in written language through carefully planned activities and opportunities. 

In Melling Primary, we have identified that being literate is part of our Learner Profile. In the teaching of writing we aim to ensure the following:

• that children can write for a variety of purposes and for a range of different audiences;
• that writing enables them to develop their thinking across a range of subjects
• that they can express themselves clearly in written form
• that they enjoy their writing
• that their writing provides a communication tool for learning across subjects, in everyday situations and in future life.

OUR HIGH QUALITY TEACHING APPROACH

The key principle of the Melling Approach to Writing

THINK – SAY & REHEARSE – WRITE – READ – CHECK – EDIT

YR & Y1

Transcription: In Melling we use Letter Village, a programme for teaching handwriting that is linked to RWI (Read Write Inc – our Phonics Programme). In Reception, we teach every child how to hold a pencil comfortably and to form letters correctly using the mnemonics from our phonic lessons. This is Stage one of our handwriting programme.

Once children can write the letters, they are ready to join our Letter Village. At Stage two, children form letters that will eventually flow into a joined style.

In later stages, we teach children how to join the letters and then build fluency.

Composition: In Early Years and through to the end of KS1, composition is developed using two main principles: the power of the sentence and talk for writing.

The power of talking:

Talk through Stories (RWI) enables children to share quality texts with a view to extending their vocabulary:

• Talk Through Stories grows children’s vocabulary through partner talk. Children need to talk, in order to develop their language for writing. 

• In Story week, children get to know – and love – the story through talk: they understand the plot, the characters, and their actions and motives. 

• In Vocabulary week, the talk focusses on eight words from the story. These are words that children are unlikely to hear in everyday conversation but are likely to come across in stories; for example, in I’m in Charge by Jeanne Willis, we chose: bellowed, startled, barged, sneaked, grinned, dreadful, stomped, refused. 

• Children develop their understanding of each word by using the words in the context of their everyday lives. 
• Children are encouraged to see how these words can be used in the context of a sentence.

The power of the sentence:

 

Y2 – Y6

Our writing curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. We follow the award-winning Ready Steady Write from Literacy Counts to develop confident, independent and successful writers with high aspirations. Our writing curriculum is research-informed and impact-proven, carefully designed to support all children to master the foundational skills and write for a clear audience and purpose. Through the use of high-quality, vocabulary-rich texts, we provide exciting and meaningful reasons to write. Children are immersed in literature and taught to craft their writing with precision, using a range of pedagogical approaches, including sentence accuracy, modelled writing and shared writing, as well as regular opportunities for editing.

We value spoken language as a foundation for writing. Through structured talk, drama and vocabulary exploration, children learn how to organise and express their ideas clearly before writing them down.

Our aim is for every child – regardless of need – to write fluently and take pride in their work. We want our pupils to leave primary school as enthusiastic writers, ready for the next stage of their education.

Our English curriculum is developed around a sequence of high-quality age-appropriate texts, using Literacy Count’s Ready Steady Write units of learning. We use each book to create opportunities to:

• develop grammar and punctuation knowledge and understanding to use and apply across the wider curriculum, through sentence accuracy sessions;

• explore the writing structure and features of different genres, identifying the purpose and audience;

• plan and write an initial piece of writing with a clear context and purpose before evaluating the effectiveness of writing by editing and redrafting.

Building on this foundation, we teach literacy using a range of strategies which include:

• Group Discussion – Children discuss and interrogate new ideas in a small group or whole class setting. They listen to and value each other’s ideas whilst taking feedback onboard to improve their own explanations.

• Partner Talk – Children work with partners to discuss their ideas. They are able to explain their ideas about texts they have read and prepare their ideas before they write.

• Questioning – Teachers use a range of questioning strategies to establish children’s current understanding and develop their learning.

• Modelled Writing – Teachers model writing and editing to demonstrate the high expectations they have. They verbally ‘think aloud’ in order to make the writing process explicit and provide a rich and varied vocabulary for the children to utilise in their own work. This happens daily, through sentence accuracy.

• Shared Writing – Teachers use the ideas from the children to create shared pieces of writing. This enables the children to see the writing process in action as well as have pride and ownership over the finished piece.

• Editing – All children are signposted to regular opportunities for reviewing and editing their own and the work of others.

• Working walls – Teachers and children regularly update working walls to ensure learning is documented within a unit of work.

Class teachers ensure that the writing process is clearly evident on working walls, with modelled examples being available to all pupils as the sequence of lessons develops.

INCLUSION – ADAPTIVE TEACHING

Some children experience learning difficulties which affect their progress in English – this may be due to special educational needs, confidence or reluctance to write. Class teachers will adapt their teaching to support these children in their writing journey. This may include:

• scaffolds and supports to develop writing ideas and language acquisition

• technology to support the generation of ideas, develop word banks and plan and write

• explicit instruction, including the modelling of sentences, paragraphs, planning and editing – with opportunities for the children to practice modelling techniques

• a focus on cognitive and metacognitive strategies to help children articulate their learning

• flexible groupings to ensure peer support and appropriate level of challenge

 

-DIVERSITY & EQUALITY REPRESENTATION IN TEXTS USED

-ORACY

- ASSESSMENT OF THE SUBJECT

- ACHIEVEMENT

MELLING PRIMARY – ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING KS2
	2023		2024		2025		2026
ALL CHILDREN	Met the standard	Greater depth	Met the standard	Greater depth	Met the standard	Greater depth	Met the standard		Greater depth
	84%	16%	80%	7%	59%	6%	87%	6%
DISADVANTAGED	71%		80%		22%		75%

Documents

- Progression within the subject (EYFS KS1 KS2)  - doc

-Handwriting Policy

-Oracy map