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Writing

Intent

At Tylers Green, we aim to give our children a purpose-led writing curriculum that enables them to become confident, creative and independent writers, who can communicate their ideas and write for a range of purposes. We support our children to develop transferable skills, which they can use across the broader curriculum and throughout their lives. We use educational visits, high-quality literature, film and the arts as stimuli for writing, which links learning to real-life experience and provides a contextualised and meaningful curriculum. TGMS writers leave with the technical skills necessary to communicate clearly in the modern world.
 

Implementation

Children at TGMS receive a one-hour English lesson daily, where they are exposed to high expectations and aspirational, greater-depth examples of writing across a range of texts.

 

In Key Stage 2, our children follow the National Curriculum through purpose-led lessons designed by our skilled teachers and English writing lead. These lessons cover all traditional genres and are enriched with text, image, video and real-life experiences. Wherever possible, units of work are linked to the creative curriculum, giving children a broad base of knowledge, facts, vocabulary and meaningful experiences to influence their writing.

 

At TGMS, we focus on six main purposes for writing:

  • To argue
  • To describe
  • To explain
  • To inform
  • To narrate
  • To persuade

 

All teachers follow the same sequence of lessons:

 

 

In the FLAP lesson, pupils identify the Features, Layout, Audience and Purpose of a range of texts, allowing them to focus on the specific purpose of that unit. This is followed by a skills lesson or lessons, where pupils are taught the techniques and tools required to write for the intended purpose. Pupils then progress through several lessons to plan, draft, edit and publish their work.

 

Having every class follow the same sequence of lessons ensures consistency across the school, helping pupils to build on their knowledge and skills as they progress from Year 3 to Year 6. This systematic approach supports long-term retention and mastery of writing purposes. Within this framework, our teachers bring their own creativity and individuality to their teaching, making lessons engaging, inspiring and tailored to the needs of their pupils.

 

By revisiting these purposes for writing throughout the year, pupils consolidate and deepen their understanding. We recognise that children joining TGMS in Year 3 may have limited experience with some writing purposes, often focused on familiar stories and experiences. During Key Stage 2, our curriculum broadens this understanding, enabling pupils to write confidently for a wider range of purposes and audiences, both within and beyond English lessons.

 

In Years 5 and 6, particularly after Christmas, pupils are encouraged to write more independently. They apply the skills they have learnt to showcase their strengths and identify areas for improvement. This independence helps teachers plan future lessons that address specific needs and further enhance pupil development.

 

Impact

Assessing writing is an ongoing process that takes place periodically across the year. After the children have published their final piece of writing for the unit, teachers assess the writing against the Year group framework. At the end of each term, the teacher makes a judgement based on national age-related expectations, which we have used to develop the Tylers Green writing framework.

 

Children are assessed as one of the following:

  • Working below the national standard (Emerging)

  • Working towards the national standard (Developing)

  • Working at the national standard (Secure)

  • Working above the national standard (Above)

 

Children’s spellings are tested at the beginning and end of the year. Additionally, Year group spellings are included in the weekly homework spelling lists.

 

Progress is closely monitored by the class teacher, subject leader and senior leadership team. Monitoring includes lesson observations, learning walks, termly moderation of teacher assessment, book and planning scrutiny. Other methods that we use are pupil voice interviews, staff meetings for teacher CPD and disseminating best practices. The findings of this monitoring are used to inform the next steps for the children and the implementation of writing across the school as a whole.

 

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

Spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG) is mapped by year group, based on the National Curriculum expectations, and embedded within the writing curriculum, so that children learn skills and use them in context. SPaG is recapped through starter activities at the beginning of every English lesson, and new skills are taught during the 'Skills' lessons at the beginning of the writing sequence.

 

We supplement this with additional opportunities to develop the children’s knowledge and skills, such as the teaching of SPaG within Guided Reading lessons, in which children learn different SPaG elements embedded within texts. Spelling is taught explicitly in each year group. In our school, children who need further spelling support may continue to follow the Bug Club phonics scheme, also used in Tylers Green First School.

 

Handwriting

The children continue to build on their handwriting skills after joining in Year 3, following a continuous cursive programme. Additionally, the Twinkl handwriting programme incorporates Year-specific elements of spelling and grammar. All children are expected to produce neat, joined, legible handwriting.

English Writing Overview

English Writing Progression of Knowledge and Skills

English Writing Assessment Strategy

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