MERSEY DRIVE COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL
Writing
Intent
We recognise that children come to our school with lower levels of literacy than average when compared nationally. Our curriculum intends to ensure that barriers to literacy are addressed so that children can leave our school as confident and literate, ready to tackle the next stages in their education and lays the foundation for our children’s adult lives. At Mersey Drive, we aim to ensure that wherever possible, our writing supports the teaching and learning across our wider curriculum.
We know that a love of reading exposes children to the rich literary materials required to support skilled writing. Our writing curriculum is centred around high-quality fiction, non fiction and poetry.
It is important that our children develop a sense of purpose for writing, and we ensure that writing for different purposes is planned to ensure children gain a secure understanding of writing for a range of purposes.
Writing for a range of purposes is planned as outlined below:
- In Key Stage 1: Writing to entertain and writing to inform.
- In Lower Key Stage 2 (Year 3 and 4): Writing to entertain, writing to inform and writing to persuade.
- In Upper Key Stage 2 (Year 4 and 5): Writing to entertain, writing to inform, writing to persuade and writing to discuss.
We understand that in order to facilitate strong writing, the component transcriptional writing skills are critical. From the earliest foundations in phonics, through to the explicit teaching of spelling and handwriting, whole-school approaches support children's cognitive load and develp a broad 'toolkit' for writing.
Implementation
The teaching of writing at Mersey Drive follows our school writing journey. This writing journey includes three main phases:
Each phase of the writing journey comprises of a sequence of additional small steps which ensures that children:
- Analyse high-quality examples of the text type
- Consider audience and purpose and how these affect the construction of a written piece
- Understand the presentational, grammatical and stylistic features of a text type
- Develop and embed vocabulary
- Develop and embed grammatical structures
- Experience modelled writing
- Plan, draft and edit an independent example of the text type
The Mersey Drive Writing Journey
Handwriting
We use the Penpals Handwriting Scheme as a whole-school approach. In EYFS and KS1, handwriting teaching follows the following format:
- Handwriting Gym: a range of gross motor and fine motor exercises designed to engage the children's muscles for writing and develop strong writing foundations
- Sky writing and pattern making: Children practise a range of repeated patterns designed to develop muscle memory for fluent letter formation and joins
- Modelled writing: Using a consistent patter, letter formations are taught in isolation. As children move through KS1, simple digraph joins are also taught in isolation
- Independent practise: Chidlren have the opportunity to practise their new learning in their handwriitng books. Pupils receive feedback from adults on how to improve their handwriting.
In Key Stage 2, children continue to use the Penpals scheme for handwriting. Key Stage 2 handwriting lessons include:
- Explicit teacher modelling of the new join or handwriting style.
- Opportunities for repeated practise of the join or formation in isolation
- Application of the selected join in words and sentences.
- Teacher feedback to support new learning and embed historic learning.
Spelling
We use a variety of approaches to the teaching of spelling at Mersey Drive. In EYFS and Year 1, the foundations of spelling teaching are taught through our Little Wandle for phonics scheme. Children engage in daily spelling as part of their phonics teaching.
The Little Wandle 'Bridge to Spelling' programme is a 6-week transitionary scheme that aims to build on the strong foundations of the children's phonics learning and introduces spelling rules and patterns for the children to learn. Children in Year 2 then use the Little Wandle spelling scheme for the remainder of the year.
In Key Stage 2, the teaching of spelling follows the Spelling Shed scheme. Weekly spelling teaching focuses on a different spelling rule or pattern each week, and children have the opportunity to practise their spellings in spelling lessons during the week. Spelling tests are completed each week.
Grammar
The teaching of grammar forms a component part of the Mersey Drive Writing Journey. Pupils have the opportunity to identify grammar features that are pertinent to different text types where appropriate and have the opportunity to practise and embed their grammar learning in the context of their independent writing. Modelled writing also focuses on the application of grammar rules in extended pieces of writing. The grammar objectives for each year are taken from the appendix to the English national curriculum.
