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Writing at St Paul’s
Intent
At St Paul’s, it is our intent that writing across the curriculum will inspire, engage and challenge all pupils, enabling them to develop the skills to effectively communicate their thoughts, ideas and emotions to others. We understand that writing is not simple. It is probably the most cognitively demanding thing children have to do while they are at school. It is also incredibly rewarding – both emotionally and socially and this is what we promote. We believe that literacy, particularly writing, is foundational to all learning and is essential for each child's future success. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that all children:
- Develop a strong foundation in phonics: We incorporate systematic, synthetic phonics from the early years, using the Little Wandle scheme, which enables children to decode and encode words confidently, ensuring that reading becomes a pleasurable and enriching experience.
- Cultivate a love for literature: We expose pupils to a broad range of genres and authors, encouraging them to explore diverse voices and narratives. Our reading and writing curriculum ensures that students engage with both classic and contemporary texts, fostering an appreciation for literature and its impact on culture and society. We have designed our curriculum so that all of our children are exposed to a diverse range of texts which promote our SMSC, school and British values. We use texts with a broad range of characters/backgrounds as well as historical settings, modern day settings and fictitious settings.
- Enhance their writing abilities: Through a focus on the writing process, using our 7 step approach, students learn to express their ideas creatively and coherently. Our writing tasks are purposeful and linked to real-world contexts, enabling pupils to understand the relevance of their skills.
- Promote effective communication: We emphasise the importance of spoken language, encouraging discussions, debates, and presentations that allow children to articulate their thoughts clearly and confidently, preparing them for future interactions and engagements. This includes participation in a nativity or play each year and taking part in delivering choral speaking to the rest of the school each term.
Implementation
To enact our intent, we implement a well-structured English curriculum that is both progressive and inclusive. Key aspects of our implementation include:
- Broad and Balanced Curriculum: We follow the National Curriculum's objectives while providing additional enrichment opportunities such as author visits, book fairs, trips to the local library and participation in reading challenges that enhance the pupils' engagement with literature.
- High-Quality Phonics Instruction: From Reception onwards, we use a consistent phonics programme, ensuring that all staff are trained to deliver the phonics framework with fidelity. This is supported by regular assessments to identify and address individual needs promptly. In Reception and Year 1, teachers identify children who may need additional sessions to ‘keep up’. In Year 2 and above, ‘rapid catch up’ sessions are identified and used for children who need more support with mastering the phonic code and becoming fluent readers.
- Adapted Instruction: Lessons are carefully designed to meet the diverse needs of all our learners, using a variety of teaching strategies—including guided instruction, independent work, and collaborative tasks—to cater to different learning styles and abilities. Teachers and LSA’s have been trained to ‘adapt in the moment’. Visual, verbal and written scaffolds are used and gradually withdrawn as the teacher sees fit, so that independence is grown and learning owned by the child. Challenging and measurable intended learning outcomes are clarified and shared via a learning objective slip which includes ‘success criteria’ so all children are aware of what is expected during that writing session. This also includes a challenge which every child can strive to achieve. Scaffolding is given to those who might require additional or supportive progression steps to access the same ambitious curricula. The adaptations involve effective planning prior to the lesson, as well as the continual adjustments made to learning throughout the lesson.
· Regular Assessment and Feedback: We employ formative assessment practices to inform our teaching and provide pupils with meaningful, timely feedback. This helps them understand their strengths and areas for improvement, promoting a growth mind-set and encouraging perseverance. At the start of a new writing unit, the children complete their writing targets for that half term. This is based on feedback they received during the previous unit where teaching staff live mark and give feedback in the moment. Our approach to feedback in writing lessons has a positive impact through supporting our children to focus future learning on areas identified together with an adult, identifying and explaining misconceptions and allowing children to take greater responsibility for their own improvements.
· Progression of Skills and Knowledge: Writing outcomes and SPaG for each year group are carefully sequenced and revisited throughout the year using our writing progression map. The units we teach are supported by high quality texts and describe a sequence of knowledge and concepts. While it is important that pupils make progress, it is also vitally important that they develop a secure understanding of each key block of knowledge and concepts in order to progress to the next stage. By ensuring that children are secure in their understanding before moving on to the next year's curriculum, we are aiming to avoid gaps in learning that could hinder future progress. There is an understanding that the grammar, punctuation, spelling and composition for a particular year group is not all that is taught, but previous year group’s learning is revisited and re-taught where necessary. An additional process we use to improve our intended writing outcomes is an approach called RAFT. Together with the children we identify why we are writing (Reason), who we are writing for (Audience), we unpick the language and layout (Features) and think about how we want the reader to feel (Tone). We have found that giving our children reasons for and the theory behind their writing engages them more deeply in the full writing process and improves outcomes.
- Cross-Curricular Links: We ensure that English is not taught in isolation by integrating literacy skills across the curriculum. This approach enables pupils to see the applicability of English skills in subjects such as history, science, RE and the arts.
Impact
The effectiveness of our English curriculum can be measured through:
- Pupil Outcomes: We aim to achieve high attainment rates in reading and writing assessments, with a significant percentage of pupils meeting age-related expectations. National assessments at the end of Key Stage 2 show that our pupils' results place them at the same as national averages.
- Engagement and Enjoyment: Pupil voice surveys indicate a high level of enthusiasm for reading and writing. Many students express a deep appreciation for literature and participate in library activities and reading outside of school hours.
- Parental Involvement: We foster strong partnerships with parents to support their children's literacy journey. Our workshops and family reading sessions encourage parental engagement and contribute to enhanced pupil learning at home.
· Inclusive learning environment: Our commitment to inclusivity is reflected in the high levels of participation from all pupils, including those with additional needs, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to develop their writing skills.
· Lifelong readers and writers: Observations and feedback from pupils suggest high levels of engagement and enthusiasm for reading and writing. Many children report reading for pleasure beyond school hours and express a desire to write creatively.
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