Intent

At Gunter Primary School, it is our intent to inspire all children to write by delivering an engaging and exciting curriculum. We aim to help all children develop into articulate and imaginative communicators, who are well-equipped with the skills they need to become life-long learners. We believe that English is an essential part of the curriculum; a subject that not only stands alone, but one that is an integral part of all learning. Our English curriculum has been developed to recognise the importance of English in every aspect of daily life and to develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We aim to deliver daily English lessons that inspire children and recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children love to read, take pride in their writing and can clearly and accurately adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and to be able to use discussion to communicate and further their learning. By the end of Year Six we intend our children to have developed a love of writing and to be able to ex?press their thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively through the written word. We also intend to develop writers who can re-read, edit and improve their own writing, and enable children to be able to confidently use the essential skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Implementation

At Gunter, the English objectives from the National Curriculum have been mapped out and linked with wider curriculum themes to create bespoke units of work that cover a variety of genres of writing including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Some units of writing will be revisited throughout the year and across year groups to build on and develop writing techniques. For each unit, a routine of shared, modelled, guided reading and writing allows our children to explore, discuss, practise and develop confident pieces of writing. Handwriting, spelling and grammar skills are interwoven into these units and our children are encouraged to develop and build on these skills in all subjects.

Developing a Success Criteria:

After each immersion into a unit of writing, our children have the opportunity to draw upon what makes the text examples successful/not successful. In collaboration with the teacher, children develop a success criteria for writing using our T Targets (T1 Spelling, T2 Handwriting and Presentation, T3 Punctuation, T4 Vocabulary and T5 Grammar). These then form the basis of self and peer-assessment throughout the unit.

Handwriting:

Correct letter formation is taught from Reception and practised each day. Once the children are confident with printing letters, children in Year 2 are introduced to cursive handwriting which we continue to embed into KS2.

Spelling:

A rigorous and consistent spelling approach is used through the ‘Little Wandle’ phonics scheme. Once the children have completed the programme, they move onto the school’s own spelling programme that is closely matched to the National Curriculum and provides challenge for each child using the hot, hotter, hottest strategy. The school spelling programme runs on a two week cycle allowing children the time to embed spelling patterns and rules.

Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary:

Children are encouraged to draw upon what they have read when writing, and to ‘magpie’ vocabulary from shared texts. All classes have VCOP word walls to use for collecting and exploring vocabulary for each unit of work and children make use of these in English lessons. Children also independently access dictionaries, thesauruses and word mats to support them when writing. Post-writing, children are encouraged to proof-read and edit their work. Edits are shown in books using purple pens to clearly show the editing process. Grammar and punctuation objectives are mapped out to lend itself to the genre in which the children are writing, e.g. passive voice in newspaper reports.

Speaking & Listening:

Across both Key Stages, we use a range of drama techniques to enhance children’s spoken language, presentation skills and to use as stimuli pre or post-writing. These include role-play, hot seating, freeze frame and conscience alley. In addition, there are opportunities across the curriculum for children to enhance their spoken language, through carrying out formal presentations; taking part in class performances; and engaging in debates.

Wider Curriculum:

English is integral to all learning, so at Gunter, we make the most of every opportunity to exploit English in all other subject areas. Skills taught in English lessons are encouraged to be displayed in our Creative Curriculum lessons giving the children opportunity to practise and refine their written skills.

Progression Strands:

Our progression strands help to keep a focus on what is expected for each year band and how a unit of writing, when revisited will need to have progressed. (See Below)

Impact

As children progress through Gunter Primary School, they will know more and remember more about the appropriate age-related knowledge linked to the English curriculum and the skills which equip them to progress from their individual starting points. The children are engaged and thoughtful in lessons, producing good-quality writing which incorporates ambitious vocabulary and literary devices. Through their time at our school, their communication skills are strengthened and children make good progress

Writing Maps