‘‘Literacy is the tool we use as humans to find one another, so it must belong to everyone’’ – Pam Allyn

Writing and GPaS at Washingborough Academy

Intent

At Washingborough Academy, a good writer will have a confident, positive attitude and be enthused by writing – sharing this love with their peers and adults in the school community. The children will be able to communicate their ideas effectively both in a written and verbal form. Through our teaching, children will be competent in both transcription and composition with the confidence to plan, revise and edit their work to achieve a desired effect, showing an increased awareness in style dependent on their audience and purpose as they progress through the school.

Through quality first teaching and engaging texts and stimulus, children will be able to recognise that writing is a relevant and important skill to use in everyday life and apply this to communicate effectively across all areas of the curriculum and in the role they play in society. Through the teaching of values and the high expectations we hold for all children, they will be expected to present their work to a high standard and show a sense of pride in every piece of work produced.

Implementation

At Washingborough Academy, our writing and grammar curriculum has been based upon the National Curriculum and the needs of our own individual children. The grammar curriculum is taught on a yearly cycle, tailored to each year group’s objectives within mixed year group classes whilst the writing curriculum is based on a two yearly-cycle linked to the themes for the key stage. The overarching learning objectives are set out in the writing and grammar LTP documents. These are then built upon in medium term plans, which are shared with and monitored by the writing leader. On the medium-term plans, links are made throughout the whole school curriculum to ensure children solidify their learning. Individual lessons are consistent across the whole school using a structured format which includes opportunities to learn and implement taught transcriptional and compositional skills.

Writing

Writing lessons are taught at least 3 times a week
Key slides are used throughout the whole school and include opportunities to revise grammar concepts and national curriculum spelling words. This includes using questions that support teaching exam craft
Use of WAGOLLs and class writes allow children to develop the competence to write independently
Quality texts and stimulus, such as video clips and audio, are used to inspire writing
All units of work have a real-life outcome and audience which provides a sustained motivation for the children
There are opportunities to write in groups, pairs and independently
Drama is used to explore texts and empathise with characters
Talk for Writing strategies are used to provide a scaffold to the younger writers and these are then developed into independent text maps for the older children when writing their own pieces
As children progress through school, they begin to take more ownership in the planning of their writing e.g. skeleton plans, bullet points, story mountains, text maps
There is a real focus on using quality vocabulary throughout the lessons
Clear steps to success support the children to produce high quality work
All teachers have access to key features of text types documents that are used to support planning along with quality, relevant texts that link to their themes
Children have access to a range of high-quality resources to support their independent writing e.g. synonym wheels and writing mats appropriate to their ability
Independent writing is marked and next steps are provided to support children e.g. “Can you add a simile to this descriptive piece?” All marking is purposeful and children respond and correct their work with a positive attitude
Children have access to whiteboards and jotters to draft their writing and the skill of re-drafting is taught throughout writing units
Children have the opportunity to be guided through their writing lessons – sometimes guided groups are identified by teachers prior to the lesson or selected during the input in response to the children’s needs
High standards are encouraged in writing lessons and the importance of writing skills are highlighted in all subject areas and with all age groups
KPI grids have been made for each year group highlighting the high expectations of each year not just the end of key stages. These support staff in ensuring that all children are ready for the next phase whether this be a year group or a key stage
The KPI grids are used to identify gaps in learning and next steps. Personalised targets are then produced for each child at least three times a year
Just writes are used at the end of a unit of a work to assess each child’s understanding of the text type as well as their writing ability. Personalised targets are then set from these pieces too to support each child

Handwriting

Handwriting sessions are taught at least three times a week
Children are encouraged to use cursive script, including entry and exit flicks, from around half way through Year 2
In addition to the handwriting sessions, KS1 children practise their fine motor skills through completing a colouring activity once a week
Regular feedback and modelling of letters is provided to ensure good progress is made

Grammar

KS1

An Active Grammar lesson is taught once a week. The content of these lessons is then used as Active Grammar warm up activities for all other writing lessons
Physical actions, characters and songs motivate the children and support their retention of information
Grammar long term plans have been produced and reviewed regularly to best meet the needs of our children
As well as a specific grammar lesson per week, grammar is also taught and embedded through text types in writing focused sessions too e.g. using adjectives to describe characters in a narrative

KS2

A specific grammar lesson is taught once a week, the focus of which is then embedded and applied throughout subsequent lessons
Grammar warm up questions and games reinforce the children’s learning
Grammar long term plans have been produced and reviewed regularly to best meet the needs of our children
Video clips and songs are included to reinforce learning

Spelling

From Year Two onwards, spelling is taught daily – as long as the child has secured their phonics knowledge. Prior to this, the children will complete daily phonics sessions
Active Spelling is used throughout the whole school
The format of lessons follows a similar structure as Read Write Inc to provide continuity for the children
Spelling lists are provided weekly for the children to practise at home
Handwriting sessions provide an opportunity to practise spelling patterns and National Curriculum words
National Curriculum words are practised through the ‘Tricky Words’ element of writing sessions
Games and practical activities are used to support learning
Whiteboards are used during spelling sessions to ensure low stakes
High expectations of spelling are held by all staff and this includes copying spellings accurately from resources provided – the use of ‘Konner’s Game’ encourages children to develop an attentiveness with their work in a fun way!

Impact

The impact of our writing and grammar curriculum is measured in a variety of ways:

Discussions with children in lessons
Targeted questions during lessons
Marking of children’s work
Pupil’s voice
Book studies
Learning snapshots
Termly assessments using our school’s own writing assessment grids
Termly GAPs assessments that are then used to inform future planning and target areas for development
Moderation – internal and external
Children’s responses to warm up activities and grammar sessions
Success in external competitions and writing events e.g. children’s work being selected for publishing in an anthology
Celebrations of work e.g. reading poems that the children have written at Grandparents’ Events
Handwriting Awards in Celebration Assemblies

By the time children leave Washingborough Academy they will:

Be coherent and fluent writers
Be equipped with the transcriptional and compositional skills to write clearly and effectively
Be able to ensure they are understood in society through their written and verbal work
Be able to appreciate the work of others including well-known and famous authors
Have a wide repertoire of high-quality vocabulary and language
Be able to communicate effectively to a range of audiences
Appreciate the skills associated with drafting and publishing work
Be critical and aware of the impact of their work
Have the confidence to use their communicative skills to make a difference

By the time children leave Washingborough Academy they will:

Be coherent and fluent writers
Be equipped with the transcriptional and compositional skills to write clearly and effectively
Be able to ensure they are understood in society through their written and verbal work
Be able to appreciate the work of others including well-known and famous authors
Have a wide repertoire of high-quality vocabulary and language
Be able to communicate effectively to a range of audiences
Appreciate the skills associated with drafting and publishing work
Be critical and aware of the impact of their work
Have the confidence to use their communicative skills to make a difference

‘‘Writing is the painting of the voice.’’ – Voltaire