English
Writing
At Wykeham 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 and achieve the best that they can in life.
Our writing curriculum aims to ensure:
- All of our children develop a genuine love of language and the written word, through a text-based approach.
- All of our 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.
To achieve this, we make careful links – where applicable - with areas across the curriculum. This ensures that children’s English learning is relevant and meaningful. Reading and writing are linked to the learning challenge that we are covering in History or Geography.
Our intentions in writing are for children to:
- Write for a purpose.
- See themselves as real writers.
- Take ownership of their writing.
- See writing as an interesting and enjoyable process.
- Acquire the ability to organise and plan their written work.
Our writing curriculum follows the prescribed National Curriculum. 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.
Writing is taught through a text-based approach that aims to meet the needs of the children through texts that will engage, inspire and motivate. Reading is closely linked to writing. Children are given frequent opportunities to develop their skills in reading and writing in different genres.
Children 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. Children then apply the grammar and punctuation skills that they have learnt in their extended pieces of writing.
The teaching of spelling also follows the prescribed National Curriculum for each year group. Learning to recognise the high frequency words on sight is crucial in developing fluency and accuracy in reading and then writing; high frequency words are displayed in all classrooms. Spellings are sent home by each year group as part of the children’s home learning tasks; the children are then tested on these words in their weekly spelling tests. All pupils are also taught how to spell the technical and specialist vocabulary of subjects at an age appropriate level.
Please click here for Key Stage 1 English Overview and Key Stage 2 English Overview.
