Writing

Writing is a way of portraying knowledge and creativity. It enables children to successfully communicate their thoughts, ideas and feelings in an alternative way than verbalisation.

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

Jodi Picoult

EYFS

Laying the foundations for writing fluency by building upper body strength and making the body position needed for fluent writing second nature.

Developing fine motor skills to orientate and form letters correctly as a stepping stone to joining handwriting within the next phase of education.

Using drawing as a major drive for improving gross and fine motor skills. Using ‘Talk for Writing’ to establish the story formats that will enable children to begin to use their imagination within their mark making.

Key Stage One/Two

Building upon the foundations laid down in EYFS, children in Key Stage One continue to use ‘Talk for Writing’ as a way of learning the structures of different writing formats. Children in Key Stage Two are expected to join their writing with greater fluency when they are physically ready. Once neat and legible handwriting is established, children are awarded a ‘Pen License’, progressing from writing with a pencil to a pen. Using our varied Reading curriculum as stimulus, children are encouraged to discover their own author voice, experimenting with a range of vocabulary to enhance their own creative writing.

Our Writing Curriculum Implementation

The skills and knowledge that children will develop throughout each Key Stage are mapped across each year group and throughout the school to ensure progress.

Writing is split into the following key skills:

  • Gross motor skills
  • Fine motor skills
  • Drawing skills
  • Formation
  • Orientation
  • Joined up writing
  • Writing with a pen
  • Creative thinking
  • Vocabulary
  • Grammar skills
  • Knowledge of layouts