Writing Curriculum – Intent, Implementation, Impact
Why?
The North Petherton Community Primary School curriculum addresses the challenges observed in children transitioning from Key Stage 2 (KS2) and beyond, where some students continue to grapple with basic grammatical errors and may not be adequately prepared for Key Stage 3 (KS3). Our curriculum aims to bridge these gaps by implementing targeted strategies to enhance children being able to articulate their thoughts effectively.
At North Petherton Community Primary School, we are dedicated to fostering efficient and confident writers among our students. The acquisition of writing skills is paramount in a child's primary school journey, shaping their ability to communicate effectively. Writing is an integral part of our daily lives, serving as the foundation of communication. It manifests in various forms, allowing children to express themselves across different subjects in the curriculum. Proficient writing empowers children, providing them with a voice to share their ideas with the broader world.
Our commitment to developing writing skills is evident in our daily English lessons, where the teaching of writing encompasses two essential dimensions:
1. Transcription: This includes spelling and handwriting, ensuring students master the mechanics of written language.
2. Composition: Students learn to articulate ideas effectively and structure them coherently in both speech and writing, fostering a well-rounded approach to communication.
At North Petherton Community Primary School, we believe that nurturing these writing skills is fundamental to empowering our students for a successful academic journey and beyond.
This writing curriculum is grounded in the most recent research on cultivating proficient and expressive writers. It incorporates evidence-based practices, including instruction in grammar, vocabulary enrichment, and effective composition strategies, to establish a robust foundation in writing skills. By integrating insights from research on literacy, the curriculum ensures that students benefit from focused assistance and personalised interventions to elevate their writing proficiency and articulation of thoughts. This approach is designed to optimize overall writing competency, contributing to heightened academic success for every student.
Intent: Our Vision is to...
- Cultivate Proficient Writers with Expressive Articulation: Our foremost goal is to nurture adept writers who possess the ability to articulate their thoughts effectively, fostering a generation of communicators with a rich and expressive command of language
- Enhance Children's Fluency and Automaticity in Sentence Crafting: We aspire to elevate children's writing skills by instilling fluency and automaticity in the construction of sentences. This deliberate focus aims to equip students with the mastery needed for seamless and expressive written communication.
- Empower Independent Whole-Text Writers: Our vision extends to providing children with the essential tools to write independently at a comprehensive text level. By instilling the confidence and skills necessary for holistic writing, we aim to empower students to engage with and create meaningful written content.
- Achieve Transcription Mastery for Key Stage 2 Composition: With a keen eye on future academic stages, our aim is to build children's transcription skills to a point of automaticity. This strategic approach ensures that in Key Stage 2, children can dedicate their focus to composition, laying the groundwork for confident and proficient writers.
Implementation
Transcription
-Establish Strong Foundation in Phonics and Handwriting: We aim to build a solid foundation in phonics and handwriting during early years and Key Stage 1 (KS1) to reduce cognitive demands associated with transcription. This foundational focus is designed to create space for enhanced concentration on composition in later stages.
- Transcription Skills Development: Specifically address transcription skills, dividing them into spelling (ELS) and handwriting (Kinetic Letters). This targeted approach allows for a focused development of these essential elements within the broader writing curriculum.
-Spelling (ELS) and Handwriting (Kinetic Letters): Implement dedicated programs for spelling (ELS) and handwriting (Kinetic Letters). These programmes contribute to the mastery of transcription skills, providing students with the tools to express themselves effectively in writing.
- Ongoing Spelling (ELS) and Handwriting (Kinetic Letters) Programs: Sustain dedicated programmes for spelling (ELS) and handwriting (Kinetic Letters) throughout Upper Key Stage 2. These programmes remain instrumental in developing and maintaining advanced transcription skills, contributing to expressive and effective writing.
Composition
-Plan Sequential Sentence Construction: Our goal is to plan a meticulously sequenced approach for teaching sentence construction, progressing in small, incremental steps to achieve high levels of accuracy. This strategy ensures a systematic development of students' ability to construct sentences with precision.
-Facilitate Deliberate Practice for Automaticity: We aim to provide ample time for deliberate practice in sentence construction, facilitating repeated and focused exercises to achieve increasing levels of automaticity. This intentional practice is intended to enhance the fluency and efficiency of students' writing skills.
Utilise Sentences for Curriculum Coherence: Our approach includes using sentences strategically to secure curriculum coherence. By incorporating sentences as a fundamental element, we aim to maintain a cohesive structure that fosters a comprehensive and interconnected approach to writing education.
- Structured Sentence-Level Sessions: Integrate sessions specifically dedicated to sentence-level skills. These structured sessions focus on building a strong foundation in sentence construction, laying the groundwork for more complex writing tasks.
- Scaffolded Writing Sessions: Provide scaffolded writing sessions that offer support and guidance as students develop their writing skills. This gradual release of responsibility helps students gain confidence and independence in their writing abilities.
Independent Writing Sessions: Foster independent writing sessions to encourage students to apply the skills they've learned autonomously. These sessions promote creativity and self-expression while reinforcing the writing concepts covered in previous lessons.
Audience and Purpose Exploration: Incorporate lessons that explore different writing audiences and purposes. This enriches students' understanding of the diverse contexts in which writing is applied, enhancing their ability to tailor their writing to specific situations.
Structured Writing Process: Talk, Plan, Draft, and Edit: Guide students through a structured writing process that includes talking about ideas, planning, drafting, and editing. This systematic approach instils effective writing habits and ensures a comprehensive exploration of the writing process.
Strategic Integration of Writing Essays: Infuse the curriculum with a strategic emphasis on disciplinary literacy, specifically targeting the art of writing essays. This involves imparting structured skills for effective communication and critical analysis within various academic disciplines.
Cross-Curricular Application in Foundation Subjects: Extend disciplinary literacy across foundation subjects, facilitating the application of writing skills to diverse academic areas. This cross-curricular approach ensures that students can articulate their understanding and insights across a range of disciplines.
Writing for a range of purposes: Children write narratives, expository texts, literacy essays and poems during their time at North Petherton.
Impact –
The North Petherton Community Primary School's writing curriculum, designed with a clear intent and diligently implemented, has demonstrated significant positive impacts on students, fostering a transformative journey in writing proficiency and communication skills.
1. Enhanced Articulation and Expression:
- The curriculum's intentional focus on cultivating proficient writers has resulted in students who possess an impressive ability to articulate their thoughts effectively. Students now exhibit a rich and expressive command of language, reflecting the success of the curriculum's overarching vision.
2. Fluency and Automaticity in Sentence Crafting:
- Through targeted strategies aimed at enhancing fluency and automaticity in sentence construction, students have demonstrated mastery in the seamless and expressive crafting of sentences. This accomplishment signifies a notable improvement in the fluidity and efficiency of their writing skills.
3. Empowered Whole-Text Writers:
- The curriculum's commitment to empowering students as independent, whole-text writers has yielded impressive outcomes. Students are now equipped with essential tools to write comprehensively, demonstrating confidence and skill in engaging with and creating meaningful written content.
4. Key Stage 2 Transcription Mastery:
- A keen focus on developing transcription skills to a point of automaticity in Key Stage 2 has laid the foundation for confident and proficient writers. The strategic approach employed ensures that students can dedicate their focus to composition, marking a crucial preparation for future academic stages.
5. Solid Foundation in Phonics and Handwriting:
- The emphasis on establishing a strong foundation in phonics and handwriting during early years and Key Stage 1 has resulted in reduced cognitive demands associated with transcription. This foundational focus has created space for enhanced concentration on composition in later stages of the students' academic journey.
6. Advanced Transcription Skills Development:
- The specific and targeted addressing of transcription skills, dividing them into spelling (ELS) and handwriting (Kinetic Letters), has contributed significantly to the advanced development of these essential elements within the broader writing curriculum.
7. Curriculum Coherence and Structured Sessions:
- The intentional use of sentences to secure curriculum coherence, coupled with structured sessions dedicated to sentence-level skills, has laid a robust foundation for more complex writing tasks. This comprehensive and interconnected approach ensures a cohesive structure in writing education.
8. Disciplinary Literacy and Cross-Curricular Application:
- The strategic integration of disciplinary literacy, with a focus on writing essays and cross-curricular application in foundation subjects, has enabled students to apply their writing skills in diverse academic areas. This approach enhances their ability to articulate understanding and insights across a range of disciplines.
9. Student Independence and Confidence:
- The scaffolded writing sessions, independent writing sessions, and audience and purpose exploration have collectively fostered student independence and confidence in applying writing skills. Students now engage with writing autonomously, promoting creativity, self-expression, and a deeper understanding of the writing process.
10. Continuous Improvement and Adaptation:
- The data-driven adjustments and ongoing professional development for teachers have ensured that the curriculum remains responsive to the evolving needs of students. This commitment to continuous improvement reflects in the positive impact on writing competency and academic success for every student.
In essence, the North Petherton Community Primary School's writing curriculum has not only addressed the observed challenges but has also become a catalyst for elevating writing proficiency, fostering effective communication, and preparing students for success in their academic journey and beyond.
How will we know if we have achieved our aims?