Writing

WRITING VISION

“Our vision is for all children to write effectively for different purposes and audiences. To empower them to have a voice in school and society, both now and in later life, we want our children to be able to confidently communicate ideas and express their opinions verbally and through writing. Through exposure to a wide range of children’s literature, children write creatively, explore imaginatively and experiment with language and vocabulary.”

WRITING INTENT

The Langney Primary Academy Writing curriculum links to the school’s overarching vision for each of its subjects by ensuring:

Curriculum innovation and teaching pedagogy in Writing is at the forefront of education.
Langney Primary Academy is a Centre of Excellence in Writing with the highest standard of teaching.
Talent discovery of pupils showing aptitude in Writing is harnessed and opportunities provided to enrich and challenge.
There is a balance between high standards (excellence) and enjoyment for the subject.
Life chances and career aspirations are raised.
Health and Wellbeing is endorsed.

INNOVATION

IN WRITING

BEING A CENTRE OF WRITING

EXCELLENCE

INNOVATION IN WRITING

Our vision is for all children to write effectively for different purposes and audiences. To empower them to have a voice in school and society, both now and in later life, we want our children to be able to confidently communicate ideas and express their opinions verbally and through writing. Through exposure to a wide range of children’s literature, children write creatively, explore imaginatively and experiment with language and vocabulary.

BEING A CENTRE OF WRITING EXCELLENCE

As spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing it is essential that our children hear and use a rich and varied diet of language. Opportunities for our children to internalise the language of books by talking for writing is paramount in their early language development.

Our pupils are exposed to a range of quality texts with rich and sophisticated vocabulary. Across both reading and writing we put particular emphasis on vocabulary and word meaning. This connection between reading and writing allows the children opportunities to apply the sophisticated vocabulary they encounter in books to their own writing pieces.

We have also specifically identified the need for our children to master the correct use of grammar when writing. As a result, we have created a progressive whole school model for writing lessons that integrate grammar and punctuation into daily writing. These scaffolded lessons generate pupil’s work that is displayed on the Working Wall under each objective within the effective writing sequence. The pupils then refer to the Working Wall and their own scaffolded writing when drafting, editing and improving their final piece.

We recognise the importance of pupils developing effective language skills, not only via the learning of how to best employ the written word, but also in relation to speaking and listening. We will support all of our pupils in becoming effective communicators and believe this to be the most fundamental requirement of achieving success and fulfilment, not only in an educational setting, but throughout their lives. To this end, we will ensure that our curriculum provides ample opportunity for children to be taught the skills of ‘oracy,’ and ample space for them to rehearse and refine what they have learned. For instance, within English lessons, pupils will routinely be required to read aloud using taught fluency strategies, not only from published texts, but also from their own writing. This will be particularly evident in the ‘edit and improve’ stage of each Sequence of Learning, where pupils will be taught how to participate in purposeful dialogue with their peers, on the subject of how best to develop and improve their own compositions.

As well as being strong role-models in the spoken language, our staff will also teach children how to join in class debates on curriculum-linked topics, how to best articulate ideas and opinions and how to deliver presentations to an audience. We will also seek to create whole-school opportunities for pupils to engage with one another on relevant issues, such as pupil participation in assemblies and via meaningful application of pupil-voice.

TALENT DISCOVERY OF PUPILS IN WRITING

TALENT DISCOVERY OF PUPILS IN WRITING

Enrichment activities and Trust competitions target talented pupils. Highly attaining Upper Key Stage 2 pupils, on a flightpath to achieve Grades 7-9 at GCSE, are identified as part of the ambitious Swale Scholars Programme. Pupils are given opportunities to harness their interest, enhance their writing style and gain Key Stage 3 insight into the writing of expository essays.

A BALANCE BETWEEN EXCELLENCE (STANDARDS) AND ENJOYMENT IN WRITING

A BALANCE BETWEEN EXCELLENCE AND ENJOYMENT IN WRITING

Curriculum design evidences clear progression of learning in Writing and high expectations for learning. Good teacher subject knowledge and developed teacher confidence in the teaching of writing, as a result of peer-led continuing professional development, has resulted in sustained successful pupil outcomes. This is balanced by supporting children to become enthusiastic and effective writers who will retain a lifelong enjoyment of writing.

RAISING ASPIRATIONS & LIFE CHANCES IN WRITING

RAISING ASPIRATIONS & LIFE CHANCES IN WRITING

We want our pupils to be able to listen, speak and write both fluently and accurately in order to communicate their thoughts and emotions. We want them to have a voice in school and in society - therefore emphasis is placed in the school’s curriculum on writing and oracy.

As part of the school’s careers education programme, pupils who are passionate about writing and have a natural instinct for using words are signposted to possible career options. The curriculum has been designed to include oracy, as verbal communication is a highly ranked employability skill by potential employers.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

LINKED TO WRITING

HEALTH & WELLBEING LINKED TO WRITING

In addition to improving penmanship, the school’s Writing curriculum supports development of critical thinking and problem solving skills. Through journals and personal story writing, children can discover their identities and work through real life problems.

WRITING IMPLEMENTATION - How Writing is Planned, Taught & Assessed

To view our full Writing Implementation document, please click this link.

WRITING END OF YEAR EXPECTATIONS

To view our full Writing End of Year Expectations document, please click this link