Writing

Writing Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement

Intent

Writing is a crucial part of our curriculum at Eccleston St. Mary’s. By the end of Year Six we intend our children to have developed a love of writing and to be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and creatively through the written word. We also intend to create writers who can re-read, edit and improve their own writing, and enable pupils to be able to confidently use the essential skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling. At St Mary’s, we set high expectations for all our children to take pride in their work and have a fluent, cursive handwriting style alongside, allowing their imaginations to flourish.

The aims of teaching writing in our school are to develop pupils who:

show high levels of achievement and exhibit very positive attitudes towards writing; use and understand language as speakers; readers and writers; are competent, confident and independent in the use of language in their writing; have an awareness of different audiences and purposes for writing; apply their grammatical knowledge in their writing; apply their phonetic and spelling knowledge in their writing; apply the English written language in all areas of the curriculum.

Special Educational Needs Disability (SEND) / Pupil Premium / Higher Attainders

All children will have Quality First Teaching. Any children with identified SEND or in receipt of pupil premium funding may have work additional to and different from their peers in order to access the curriculum, dependent upon their needs. As well as this, our school offers a demanding and varied curriculum, providing children with a range of opportunities in order for them to reach their full potential and consistently achieve highly from their starting points.

Implementation

At Eccleston St. Mary’s CE Primary School, we provide daily English lessons that are progressive and support skill development. The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is followed to ensure continuity and progression from Reception Class and then through to the National Curriculum in KS1 & KS2.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is divided into prime and specific areas of learning and development. 'Communication and Language' is one of three prime areas that are fundamental to
supporting children’s language development. 'Communication and Language' is made up of the following aspects: listening and attention, understanding and speaking. ‘Literacy' is one of four specific areas which include the development of essential skills and knowledge and is made up of the two aspects: reading and writing. Pupil provision is related to attainment, not age. Children learn through play, speaking and listening activities, teacher modelling, group work and self-direction.

In English lessons across Key Stages 1 and 2, teachers plan a sequence of lessons based on the Literary Curriculum. This is a curriculum which is literature-led. All units of work are based on a specific text and only high quality books are selected for inclusion. These books offer opportunities for empathy and philosophical enquiry, where children see their and others' cultures, families and relationships reflected. This leads to many opportunities to develop spoken language through debate, drama and discussion, which, in turn, lead to many and varied stimuli for writing.

This curriculum ensures progression throughout school as well as guaranteeing that children explore high quality texts.

Each unit ends with a piece of independent writing that is saved in the pupils’ writing portfolios. These writing portfolios are used throughout the children’s time at St Mary’s.

Impact

Assessment for learning strategies are used on a daily basis. These will allow a picture to be built up of the pupils’ progress, any areas of strength or weakness which can then be addressed in teachers’ planning.

Assessment of learning is completed termly. Children complete independent writing pieces within a unit of work, which are assessed against our writing criteria. Analysis of the data impacts upon teachers’ planning so pupils’ needs can be addressed. Moderation of teacher assessment is also completed regularly in order to ensure that judgements are accurate. Children are formally checked using our tracking system to ensure that they are making at least expected progress if not more than expected progress.This document is then monitored by subject leaders and SLT. Children who are not on track are identified for intervention/targeted teaching.

Leadership and Management

The subject leader's role is to empower colleagues to teach Writing to a high standard and support staff in the following ways:
• By keeping up to date on current issues; disseminating relevant information and providing training for staff members (either directly or through other professionals)
• Leading by example by modelling lessons or styles of teaching
• Having a knowledge of the quality of writing provision across the school and using this to provide a coaching and mentoring role
• Identifying and acting on development needs of staff members
• Monitoring expectations, provision and attainment across the school and providing feedback to develop practice further in order to raise standards.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The quality of teaching and learning is monitored as part of the appraisal process through lesson observations and through the progress and attainment documents. In addition, continuity and progression across the school are monitored by the subject leader as is the implementation and impact of Assessment for Learning. The subject action plan and external advisors identify actions intended to raise standards.

A named member of the governing body is briefed to oversee the teaching and learning of English. The link governor meets with the subject leader to review progress.

Partnerships with parents

A curriculum overview of each year group is available for parents to view on the school website. The website also has a page celebrating our children’s writing. During Parents' Evenings, curricular targets are shared and a written report is completed annually in the Summer Term. Parents are also invited to Celebration Assemblies which occur at the end of every half term or at the end of a themed week such as World Book Week or Arts’ Week where children’s school achievements and exceptional work are shared.

At Eccleston St. Mary’s CE Primary School, pupils make good progress from their own personal starting points. By the end of Year Six they are able to write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. Our pupils acquire a wide vocabulary and have a strong command of the written word. Most importantly, they develop a love of writing and are well equipped for the rest of their education and life in the wider world.