We want every child to leave us with the skills of an excellent writer who:

• has the ability to write with fluency and has an author’s voice
• can write for a particular purpose and intended audience
• can think about the impact they want their writing to have on the reader and knows how they will achieve this
• has a bank of vocabulary and a knowledge of writing techniques to extend details or description
• can structure and organise their writing to suit the genre and include a variety of sentence structures
• displays excellent transcription skills which ensure their writing is well presented, neat, punctuated and spelled correctly
• re-reads, edits and improves their writing so every piece they produce the best they can do and better than the last.

Implementation

Our writing curriculum is purposefully sequenced so that knowledge and skills for writing are built upon term by term and year by year. We ensure that knowledge, skills and concepts are secure before moving on and that pupils have regular opportunities to revisit prior learning to apply their understanding in new contexts. Writing lessons are delivered daily in National Curriculum Year Groups 1-6 with EYFS also accessing Literacy on a daily basis. 

In Years 1-6, the structure of our writing units is as follows- 

1. Immersion: We begin each unit delving into the core text: enabling our pupils to become fully engaged with what we are writing. At this stage, pupils will explore vocabulary, structures and conventions of the core text and the intended outcome for the genre in which the children will be expected to write in. To ensure children have an awareness of the purpose and audience for their written outcome, it is planned and shared at this point in the journey.
2. Adding detail: During this stage of our writing journey, pupils will develop their word and sentence-level skills. At this point, teachers will explicitly revise and teach core skills and GPS appropriate to that year group and the intended outcome. The purpose of this phase is to generate ideas, practise writing and linking sentences. This phase will integrate multiple GPS skills where teachers will authentically model manipulating techniques to ensure the writing is having the desired impact on the audience.
3. Planning: Pupils will be taught to discuss and plan for writing using a range of structures dependent on the genre. This will enable them to understand and select appropriate vocabulary, grammar skills and content in preparation for extended, purposeful writing. Pupils are taught to record using age-appropriate methods, including visuals and note form.
4. Drafting & Revising: At this point in the journey, pupils review the learning from the unit so far, creating a shared success criteria. Pupils then draft and revise their written outcome, supported by their plans, the success criteria, and any words, phrases and ideas collated on the working wall over the course of the unit. As pupils write, teachers provide feedback and personalised support through 1:1, group and whole class conferencing, as appropriate to the needs of the class. Pupils will be reminded to regularly pause to proof-read for misspelt words, omissions and punctuation errors. They will also consider the impact and atmosphere they have created for the reader, revising their choices as they write.
5. Proof-reading, Evaluating & Editing: Upon completion of their first draft, teachers model the skills of proof-reading for errors in spelling and punctuation, focusing on the accurate use of intended GPS skills for the unit delivered. The whole class will evaluate and edit their writing, highlighting examples within the text of where they, as a writer, have met each element of the shared success criteria and suggesting any improvements or changes to grammar and vocabulary. Pupils share their own completed stories with a collaborative partner, proof-reading for errors and evaluating and editing the writing.
6. Publishing, Presenting & Performing: To finish, pupils create a final and polished published piece to share with their intended audience. Additionally, pupils will seek feedback from their intended audience to feedforward into their next piece of writing.

Impact

Our aim is that children become fluent, confident and accurate writers, adept initially at communicating their personal news and simple narratives, so that they can focus on developing their awareness of the reader for a range of purposes, and more complex grammatical ability as they move through the school.

Attainment and progress in writing is measured using:

• Teacher assessment at the end of each year group.
• Writing is moderated on a termly basis and moderated across other schools in the Trust
• Retrieval practice at the beginning of each lesson to review prior learning. This demonstrates how well children can remember and recall key knowledge. It also enables teachers to identify gaps in knowledge and/or address misconceptions with ‘in the moment’ feedback.
• Spaced retrieval after a period of time to assess how well pupils have remembered prior learning over time.
• Progress is demonstrated by children knowing and remembering more and by them being able to keep up with the demands of the curriculum

English Writing Long Term plan