Writing at White Court School
Intent:
At White Court School, we believe that our English Curriculum should instill and develop a love of literacy through reading, writing and discussion. We support pupils by encouraging the habit of reading and writing widely and often, both for pleasure and information, and developing an appreciation for our rich and varied literary heritage. Pupils are supported in the acquisition of a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and the knowledge of linguistic conventions for writing and spoken language. We want pupils to flourish, to feel empowered and to be inspired to be confident readers, writers, speakers and listeners who are able to adapt their language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. We aim to provide the children with varied reasons for writing as well as extended writing sessions to build their writing stamina, and believe that this not only produces higher quality writing, but allows our learners to apply their skills to a range of different contexts. We aim to inspire our children and develop a love of writing.
Implementation:
When planning and teaching English at White Court School, we use the English Planning Kit, developed by Literacy Consultant Jonathan Bond. This kit has two aims. Firstly to develop children with excellent English skills and, secondly, to develop children who love the subject. This kit wishes to develop a love of all English, particularly a love of writing. The use of this kit enables us to plan and deliver the 2014 Primary National Curriculum for English coherently and effectively. It provides smaller learning steps for each year group, based on the broad objectives from the National Curriculum. Additional objectives lead to a more rounded and complete English curriculum for our school. Following the structure of the National Curriculum, the English Planning Kit is divided into four key areas which are then subdivided into fifteen strands, as follows:
English learning objectives are taught and embedded, not only in English lessons, but also across the wider curriculum, through purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. We use a wide and varied selection of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire pupils and we celebrate successes regularly in class, as a school and with parents.
At White Court School, we teach children to write using cursive handwriting following Letterjoin which is a school wide scheme and is a systematic method of teaching handwriting to National Curriculum expectations. Cursive writing teaches children to join letters in words through a series of continuous flowing movements or patterns.
As a school we want to create ‘intelligent spellers’ who are interested in words and who understand how phonemes, morphemes and spelling conventions all link together in words. We have dedicated discrete teaching time for spelling as the direct teaching of spelling has proven to be the most important factor in spelling improvement.
Impact:
Planning, Teaching and Learning:
Because of the use of thorough and progressive planning through the Jonathon Bond Kit, our children are resilient writers who enjoy showcasing their learning through purposeful activities and regular writing opportunities. They are able to edit and improve their work through peer and self-assessment. High expectations of presentation are reflected in the work in children’s books and on displays. Children are confident to share and refine ideas through collaborative discussions. We aim for our attainment at the end of EYFS, KS1 and KS2 to be consistently higher than the National Average. By the end of Year Six, our pupils will be able to write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. They will acquire a wide vocabulary and have a strong command of the written word. Most importantly, they will develop a love of writing and be well equipped for the rest of their education.
Marking and Feedback:
All work is marked in line with the school marking policy. Green highlighter is used for live marking of successful elements and pink highlighter is used for areas of development. Children use purple polishing pens to edit and improve their work.
There is a clear marking policy across the school to ensure children know and understand the expectations and feedback provided. Each unit/lesson reflects the outcome and pitch of the current unit. Additional criteria is added and changed for each unit so it is bespoke to the text type. KS1 has an adapted success criteria with the use of visual symbols to help with their understanding of their own success and areas of development within their writing.
Assessment:
At the end of each unit, children produce an independent piece of writing in Writing Journals in order to track and show the progress each individual child has made through their journey at White Court School. This writing is used for moderation. Assessment in writing is ongoing as teachers carry out in-depth assessment of children’s writing at the end of each term using Jonathon Bond’s assessment tools.
The following formal statutory tests are administered annually, in line with national requirements:
• Year 1 Phonic Screening Check
• Year 6 Standard Attainment Tests
Other summative assessments are used throughout the school, for example to assess pupils’ progress with spelling and reading.
Children are tested half termly on statutory spellings as well as the spelling progress check (spelling rules/patterns) which is completed twice a year. This data is used to inform next steps for writing.
Target Tracker is used to gain an overview of specific groups of children across school and any progress they make within the year. Any children not achieving Age Related Expectation are then identified on Cohort Achievement Plans to ensure targeted interventions can be implemented.
Learning Environment:
Writing is celebrated in each classroom with a dedicated Working Wall which displays the writing journey for each unit which is updated as the unit progresses. It will include the text type, text form, purpose, unit outcome, basic text structure and toolkit for each unit.
Displays at White Court School
Working Walls
These are an extremely important part of the learning process as they provide children with a form of continuous provision they can keep referring to throughout the journey. These should detail the skills being taught, give explanations and model examples. These should be written clearly and placed where all children can see them. During the process, the working walls should be referred to regularly and often as a way of modelling their use. The children should see that you are using these as a form as of continuous provision and these should remain on the walls for as long as the children need.
Writing Walls
In all of the classes at White Court, you will find a Writing Wall display. Each term, the children complete an independent piece of writing that is then displayed on the wall. The work follows the children through the school and documents the progression each child has made throughout their time at White Court.
