The Teaching of Writing

At Barons Court, children receive a stimulating and enriching experience in English, developing the skills necessary to master the English curriculum. Through high-quality teaching, well planned and structured lessons, we ensure that children are engaged and progressing with their writing ability in line with the National Curriculum expectations and are also developing a lifelong appreciation for literature and language. We believe that writing is a fundamental life skill and we inspire children to become creative and confident communicators, readers and writers, leading to improved opportunities.  Through our English curriculum, children at Barons Court experience a wide range of purposeful texts, tailored to them, which enriches and broadens their vocabulary and grammatical technique through writing. Through meaningful teaching and learning experiences and through writing for a purpose, children are encouraged to value their own work. "You can make anything through writing."  C.S. Lewis.

Through our writing curriculum:

• Teachers reinforce an expectation that all pupils are capable of achieving high standards in English. 

• The large majority of pupils progress through the curriculum content at the same pace. Differentiation is achieved through additional support and encouraging children’s individual flair and fluency. 

• Interventions focus on gaps in knowledge and developing a growth mind-set in order to ensure all children achieve.

• Teaching is underpinned by using high quality texts and high quality examples from the teacher which focus on skills to be taught. These texts are then analysed in depth with the children in order for them to learn and apply specific skills.

• Grammar and punctuation skills are practised and consolidated until all children have a firm understanding of how to apply them in to their own work.
• Teachers use precise questioning in class to develop the children’s thinking and explanations, helping children to make literary choices in their writing.
• We ensure that we have a clear progression of handwriting, spelling and sentence construction to ensure our English curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills in writing. Being clear about the progression in handwriting, spelling and sentence construction from Nursery to Year 6 enables teachers to create personalised ways forward for children in writing which allows them to make progress regardless of their starting point.

At Barons Court we ensure that our writing curriculum supports children by:

• Valuing their writing at all stages of development thus encouraging them to see themselves as writers from an early age. 
• Providing a real purpose for writing and enabling pupils to become increasingly aware of their intended audience. 
• Providing a multi-sensory approach - ensuring a range of contexts and stimuli. 
• Using a range of spoken language skills, e.g. hot seating, re-enacting, use of the theatre for making and presenting. 
• Providing outstanding role models through shared writing, where the teacher shares their own writing processes and experiences. 
• Providing opportunities for collaborative writing. 
• Providing scaffolding and appropriate support where appropriate.
• Giving the children experience of a range of ways to plan, edit and revise their work so they can choose which is appropriate for their needs as they progress through the school.
• Using checklists and success criteria for pupils to self-assess and/or peer assess, when appropriate, so they can evaluate effectively and identify areas for development.
• Encouraging joined handwriting to support spelling and fluency.
• Supporting pupils with learning and motor difficulties through specific, targeted interventions and support from the relevant outside agencies.

As a school we embed the teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar in our daily English lessons as well as teaching these as discrete sessions. All children engage in daily phonics or spelling lessons and daily English lessons that enhance their learning.  We believe that spelling, punctuation and grammar are an essential part of learning and communication.