Goldenhill Primary Academy
Statement of Intent, Implementation and Impact
Writing
Intent
At Goldenhill Primary Academy, we want all children to be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing and reach their full potential.
Our aims are to
Implementation
At Goldenhill Primary Academy, writing is taught 4x per week across the whole school. Each class studies a different high-quality text, lasting from a few weeks to a whole term depending on text type, length and year group. In KS2, this text is the same text that is studied during daily Guided Reading sessions. We passionately believe that reading and writing are inextricably linked therefore studying the text in both reading and writing sessions encourages children to make links and become empathetic and ambitious writers.
Long, medium and short term planning and the use of progression maps ensure that a variety of genres are progressively taught and built upon both throughout the year and throughout the school.
Writing is also a key focus in the wider curriculum, especially in ‘Topic’ lessons. Children are given the opportunity to transfer and build upon their knowledge of a genre studied during English lessons and apply this learning to a topic focus.
Through the ‘differentiated texts’ writing process, children will acquire and learn the skills to plan, draft and refine their written work over time and are encouraged to develop independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvement in all pieces of writing.
Within each unit of work, sequenced lessons ensure that prior learning is checked and built upon and that National Curriculum objectives are taught through a combination of approaches/opportunities e.g.
Handwriting
It is paramount that children are rigorously taught correct letter formation from the very beginning of their time in school. During the foundation stage at Goldenhill Primary Academy, the children are taught to sit properly in order to have the correct posture for writing, hold a pencil in the correct position and develop a legible handwriting style. In KS1, we use a handwriting scheme which takes a holistic view of teaching handwriting, developing both a child’s Key Strengths (Gross & Fine Motor Skills) and Key Abilities (Knowledge). It is a systematic, differentiated and progressive approach which supports children of all ability levels.
Teachers are expected to role model the school’s handwriting style when marking children’s work, writing on the board and on displays around the school.
Spellings
From Year 2, classes follow a progressive spelling scheme. Through exploring spelling patterns and rules, we aim to create confident and proficient spellers using a discrete teaching approach underpinned by phonics.
Children are also taught to
Impact
Teachers use assessment as an integral part of the teaching and learning process and link it clearly to the children’s next steps.
The impact on our children is that they have the knowledge and skills to be able to write successfully for a purpose and audience. With the implementation of the writing sequence being established and taught in both key stages, children are becoming more confident writers and have the ability to plan, draft and edit their own work. By the end of key stage 2, children have developed a writer’s craft, they enjoy sustained writing and can manipulate language, grammar and punctuation to create effect. As all aspects of English are an integral part of the curriculum, cross curricular writing standards have also improved and skills taught in the English lesson are transferred into other subjects; this shows consolidation of skills and a deeper understanding of how and when to use specific language, grammar and punctuation.