At Putnoe Primary, we want children to be confident speakers and writers so that they are ready for life in the wider world. Through an engaging writing curriculum, children are taught to read, speak and write fluently so they are able to articulate their ideas and communicate in a self-assured way.  We recognise the positive impact regular reading has on speaking and writing, and therefore, we prioritise the teaching of language acquisition throughout the school curriculum. Our aim is to create a vocabulary-rich classroom, where children are excited to speak and write.

Writing lessons are taught as a whole class and follow a clear writing sequence involving deconstructing texts, identifying features, planning ideas, spoken rehearsal, drafting, editing and publishing. Units of work help children to develop an understanding of a range of text types and provide children with opportunities to write for a range of purposes and audiences. The teaching of grammar and punctuation is taught both as discrete lessons as well as being integrated throughout writing units. Children will learn about the dynamics of writing and how to improve their work – we use purple pencils to edit work, ensuring their ideas have been expressed clearly.

Writing for children with Special Educational Needs

We believe all children should be entitled to a diverse, balanced and differentiated curriculum that will help them to achieve their potential and build skills to become confident individuals. Therefore, we ensure teachers set high expectations for all children and teach each child according to their needs. We ensure clear and achievable targets are set, which are regularly monitored by the teacher. We provide clear directions for setting work out and encourage a variety of ways for representing information and recording of ideas. Word lists are provided to encourage discussion and independent writing. Extra time is also offered to those who work at a slower rate and ICT is used where fine motor skills are preventing a child from reaching their potential when writing.

Ways you can support your child with writing at home

Writing is a complex skill, involving imagination, understanding of sentences as well as the physical act of writing; some children will happily choose to write for pleasure whilst others need more encouragement to write. So how can you help make writing seem more attractive?

• Follow your child’s interests: tap into what your child is interested in, whether it be cooking, films, sport, making things; whatever their interests are, there will be many good writing opportunities.
• Talking is a must: writing is not just how neat their handwriting is or how well they can spell. Children must also be able to express their ideas clearly. Encourage talking to help them express their ideas, feelings and reactions to experiences. Discuss new and unfamiliar vocabulary with them often to broaden their vocabulary libraries.

Early Years and Reception

• Encourage children to write their names and family members’ names, letter sounds and key words
• Explore writing using chalk, paint, sand or on a misty window
• Speak with your child and encourage them to express their ideas verbally and offer lots of praise
• Model speaking in full sentences
• Make labels for objects in the house

Key Stage 1

• Encourage writing through play e.g writing shopping lists, registers, posters, signs, recording results for sport
• Make up stories and represent as a story/ picture board or act out as a drama
• Encourage your child to say when a sentence begins and ends
• Provide different pens or pencils to make it exciting
• Use post cards or post-it notes and encourage them to write messages or words to describe their toys

Key Stage 2

• Encourage keeping a diary or a journal to document their hobbies or experiences
• Have discussions with your child and encourage them to talk about their ideas or experiences
• Read through their writing and encourage them to reflect on their writing Does it flow? Are there any missing words? Did you get across the message you wanted?
• Encourage them to write to family members – letters or emails
• Create signs or posters for play e.g café signs, menus, posters
• Write a fun review of their favourite television show or film
• Try creating a comic strip of a day out and help them to add speech or captions to describe each part
• Write a match report after their weekend football match
• Make up stories with them and act them out

Monster Phonics

In school, we use the Monster Phonics scheme.  To find out more about this, please click on the bade below where you will be taken to their website which explains how it works.