At Longstone CofE Primary School, our aim is to ignite our pupils' love for writing whilst providing them with opportunities to gain the communication skills necessary to be successful learners and citizens. We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture where children take pride in their writing; can write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts. We strive to equip pupils with the skills needed to write effectively for a range of purposes and for a range of different audiences. Pupils are guided to use accurate spelling, grammar, punctuation and handwriting in written pieces, so that pieces are clear, fluent and engaging. Pupils will edit and improve their work, taking pride and care in producing high quality final drafts. Through the use of adventurous vocabulary, varied sentence structure, careful planning and imaginative flair, pupils’ writing will shine and enthral the reader. 

We have undertaken a multifaceted approach to writing, whereby many subject areas include the opportunity for pupils to express their thoughts in a range of written styles and contexts. We follow a teaching sequence for writing, where we immerse our children in a genre of writing; analyse and identify the skills necessary to be successful; teach the skills (often linked to grammar and punctuation); draft, edit and improve our writing. We write for a purpose, which allows children to cover a range of genres. We expose our children to a range of exemplar texts, from across different genres, different cultures and different themes, to embed ambitious vocabulary choices and secure expectations of writing across the curriculum.
 
We use a hook to start our pupils’ writing sequence, which may be a piece of text, photo, video or an event. Example texts are then used to inspire and direct pupils to use other similar pieces of writing as models for their own.  Lessons also focus on teaching specific spelling, grammar and punctuation skills to enable our pupils to apply the skills they have been taught to their extended writing and writing across the curriculum.

In EYFS, a strong emphasis on the teaching of phonics contributes to the development of writing. There are many planned opportunities in EYFS to support the development of writing and pre-writing skill acquisition for example, speaking and listening activities; tasks that develop fine and gross motor skills and activities exploring media and materials. Pupils learn to read and write high frequency words and words with RWI Set 1 and 2 graphemes.. The teaching of writing is structured in a similar way to the rest of the school; pupils are exposed to quality texts for reading as a writer, to promote a growing knowledge of language and vocabulary, a requisite for high outcomes in writing. Writing activities are planned with purpose to encourage pupils to write for a reason. 

WHOLE SCHOOL WRITING SEQUENCE

Longstone CofE Primary School has a community of enthusiastic writers who enjoy showcasing their developing writing knowledge and skill. They are confident to take risks in their writing and love to discuss and share their ideas. Attainment in writing at the end of key stage 2 is in line or above national expectations as well as in Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling.