Writing

Writing Rationale

Writing is a crucial part of the curriculum at Birkwood. Our core objective is to foster a love of writing and for children to be able to express their thoughts and ideas with creativity and clarity. In line with The Birkwood Way, children write together and independently to master the art.

To develop confident, enthusiastic writers, who can express themselves using a strong vocabulary, we develop close links between writing, reading and our wider curriculum. Our reading spines provide a wealth of classic, contemporary and non-fiction texts which children become fluent in reading, and which also inspire them as authors. Our writing curriculum is bespoke, allowing both structure and flexibility in developing the essential transcription and compositional skills involved in the complex process of writing.

Our children have regular opportunities to write in a range of styles and for a range of purposes and audiences. Writing tasks are specific and meaningful to engage children and to illustrate how writing skills can be applied to real life contexts. As well as engaging texts, memorable experiences frequently stimulate writing.

Children follow the same process as an author; they work to become writers who can draft, re-read, revise, edit and improve their own writing. A wide range of vocabulary is discussed, understood and applied in context and the fundamental skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling are learned and applied throughout the writing journey. We set high expectations for all our children to take pride in their work so a joined, cursive style is used where possible allowing imaginations to flourish and published pieces to shine. Spelling rules are taught explicitly, and priority is given to handwriting until children are fluent, speedy and legible. Published pieces are celebrated online, in person or in anthologies which are shared with parents, carers and the wider community.

Our approach to teaching writing is through clear, structured, daily lessons. In each lesson, the teaching of vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, speaking and listening objectives are interwoven so that children absorb these features in context. All lessons build up to a published piece at the end of each cycle. At each stage of this cycle, children are given the opportunity of one to one, group or peer feedback based on agreed success criteria. Children are given time to plan, draft, revise, edit and improve their written work, using feedback from teachers and peers to support them before publishing. Teachers assess children’s writing, moderating both in school and locally, to inform future teaching and learning needs.

The impact of our writing curriculum is sustained progress, learning and transferrable skills across all subjects and disciplines for our children. By the end of Year Six, children write clearly and accurately, adapting their language choices and style appropriately. We aim for children to write effectively, coherently and with increasing command and conscious control. Our pupils acquire a wide vocabulary and have a strong command of the spoken and written word. Most importantly, they develop a love of writing and are well equipped for the rest of their education.