Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School
‘An excellent, happy school, where we enjoy learning’
Writing
In writing we want children to:
Implementation - How Do We Deliver the Writing Curriculum?
Our children are provided with a variety of opportunities to develop, extend and deepen their writing skills in and across each phase of education. In Nursery and Reception, the learning of writing follows the Early Years Foundation Stages Framework. Children are given opportunities to extend their understanding of language learning through play and investigation, developing their characteristics of learning. The National Curriculum 2014 describes what must be taught in key stage 1.
Our writing curriculum sets out to:
- Provide opportunities to explore a variety of different genres and to be exposed regularly to high quality texts, providing a model for pupils to aspire to;
- The ‘threshold concepts’ pupils should understand;
- Criteria for progression within the threshold concepts;
| Range of Writing Genres for Years 1 and 2 |
|---|
| Threshold concepts |
| Milestone 1 |
| Threshold Concepts | ||
| Transcription | ||
Present neatly This concept involves developing an understanding of handwriting and clear presentation. | Spell correctly This concept involves understanding the need for accuracy. | Punctuate accurately This concept involves understanding that punctuation adds clarity to writing. |
| Composition | ||||
Write with purpose This concept involves understanding the purpose or purposes of a piece of writing | Use imaginative description This concept involves developing an appreciation of how best to convey ideas through description. | Organise writing appropriately This concept involves developing an appreciation of how best to convey ideas through description. | Use paragraphs This concept involves understanding how to group ideas so as to guide the reader. | Use sentences appropriately This concept involves using different types of sentences appropriately for both clarity and for effect. |
| Analysis and Presentation | |
Analyse writing This concept involves understanding how grammatical choices give effect and meaning to writing. | Present writing This concept involves learning to reflect upon writing and reading it aloud to others. |
How do children progress in writing from Nursery to Year 6?
Procedures for Teaching Composition:
Talk for Writing
- ‘imitation’ (where pupils learn and internalise texts, to identify transferrable ideas and structures);
- ‘innovation’ (where pupils use these ideas and structures to co-construct new versions with their teachers);
- ‘invention’ (where teachers help pupils to create original texts independently).
These tasks aim to improve writing ability by giving pupils an understanding of the structure and elements of written language.
Big Write and Little Big Write
Big Writing is an approach to teaching writing and raising writing standards that focuses on:
- The importance of talk and oral rehearsal
- Accurate basic skills – spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting.
- High expectations for all pupils.
- Giving writing a purpose and making it fun!
Talk homework must be sent home prior to a Big Write. Information about this is given to parents on an annual basis.
Big Write opportunities are planned into the long term plan.
Special Education Needs in English
How do we ensure all children can access English lessons?
We aim to provide an exciting and engaging writing curriculum which will inspire children to nurture a passion for learning and develop the real-life skills necessary to support the most successful future possible. We have high expectations and differentiate carefully to ensure that all pupils receive a level of challenge appropriate for them to thrive. Our inclusive ethos means that all children are taught to understand that there are different pathways to success, that ‘getting stuck’ is good because it is when our best learning can happen and to develop perseverance by supporting them to overcome any barriers, which helps develop a sense of achievement in their successes. A focus on the development of basic skills provides our pupils with a secure foundation that they are able to build on securely throughout their learning journey.
To support successful transition across the school, we use a range of whole-school resources to support learning. Each of these resources include lots of opportunity for modelled and shared writing that employs ‘thinking out loud’ and supports all children to develop an awareness of how they learn best. These include ‘Talk 4 Writing’ which supports pupils by rehearsing language structures through actions and repetition. Visual supports such as text maps are used to support sequencing and aid memory.
Genre-specific units of work are planned and grammar is taught in context. Where necessary, children are supported with pre-teaching of the text and any unfamiliar technical vocabulary.
‘No Nonsense Spelling’ is a ‘little but often’ approach which allows children to revisit and review before learning and applying new strategies.
Impact
Children aged between two and three will be assessed in accordance with the literacy area of learning and development, outlined in the ‘Non Statutory Curriculum Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage’. At the end of Reception, teachers will report on the Early Learning Goals.
Throughout the year, teachers will plan on-going creative assessment opportunities in order to gauge whether pupils have achieved the key performance indicators for Years 1 and 2, based on the key performance indicators.
Assessment is undertaken in various forms, including the following:
- Talking to pupils and asking questions
- Discussing pupils’ work with them
- Feedback against success criteria
Verbal reports will be provided at parent-teacher interviews during the Autumn and Spring terms. Parents will be provided with a written report about their child’s progress during the Summer Term every year. These will include information on pupils’ attitudes towards writing and understanding of the key concepts.
The progress of pupils with SEND will be monitored by the SENCO. From 2022, where pupils are working below National Curriculum levels at the end of KS1, they will be assessed against the Engagement Model.