Our Writing Intent:

Roots to grow wings to fly

Our intention when planning and teaching writing at By Brook Valley Primary School is to help the children establish their roots as writers through developing a genuine love of language and the written word, through a text-based approach; this links closely to the way we teach reading. We strive to support our children to grow into fluent and confident writers, able to articulate their opinions, emotions, and ideas.

It is our aim that all children:

• Develop a good linguistic knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and apply this to their writing;
• Apply their learning of synthetic phonics and spelling accurately in their writing;
• Take pride in the presentation of their work in part by developing a good, joined, handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school;
• Edit and re-draft
• Let their imagination flourish through the writing of fiction and poetry;
• Write for a variety of purposes and audiences across all curriculum subjects;
• Have a variety of opportunities to showcase their writing.

How We Teach Writing:

This will be achieved through the quality first teaching of our text-based English curriculum, including phonics, spelling, grammar and reading. Phonics and spelling are taught using the Sounds Write programme from EYFS to Y6. This is supported by weekly spelling home learning.

Grammar is taught through English lessons so it is purposeful and linked to the text. Through our grammar progression documents, teachers have a clear understanding of the knowledge each year group needs to learn to prepare them for the next stage in their learning. This is all linked to the National Curriculum.

In English lessons, children learn how to write a variety of text types, such as narrative, poetry, letters and speeches. In our foundation subjects, children get the opportunity to embed their learning by writing texts like scientific reports or historical diary entries.

Speaking and listening is a key part of the English curriculum and supports children when learning to write. At By Brook, we create multiple opportunities for children to share their writing with the class, with other pupils around the school and with their parents. All children get the opportunity to publish some of their work and share it with an audience.