"You can make anything by writing."

C.S. Lewis

Writing Intent

All pupils should be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing.  We want all pupils, regardless of ability, to develop a wide vocabulary, a solid understanding of grammar and be able to apply spelling rules to spell new words. We want them to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. The belief of all staff at Wainscott is that every child is expected to take pride in the presentation of their work, in part by developing a fluent, joined, handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school.  

Implementation

Reception- Planning is based upon a rich text. The text is read daily, so the children are fully immersed and can join in with confidence. Children also write daily in phonics and, later in the year, they have a weekly focus writing task. All topics are used as motivation for writing as well as following the children's interests in writing. Each week, children work in small, adult-led groups to develop their skills and strategies to promote independence. Children are taught to form letters with fine motor control supported through activities that promote hand and core strength in addition to visual perception. Spelling is taught discretely during ELS phonics lessons. Independent mark making is promoted from the earliest stages within the learning environment. As children role-play, they write in real-life situations which encourages them to see writing as purposeful which also develops independence. Writing is not limited to English lessons and is embedded within the wider curriculum so that children have as many chances as possible to learn to write for different purposes and to apply the skills they have learnt in English.

Key Stage 1 and 2- Year 1 follow the same process as Reception at the beginning of the year. From here, writing is taught whole class with planning based upon a rich text that is usually linked to the topic (unless this compromises the text quality). Teaching strategies throughout a unit include modelled, shared and guided writing. Lessons involve the children working collaboratively to support all to achieve using differentiation and tailoring, with dedicated lesson time directed for the children to self-assess, peer assess and edit to improve their work. Writing is not limited to English lessons and is embedded within the wider curriculum so that children have as many chances as possible to learn to write for different purposes and to apply the skills they have learnt in English.

Spelling, grammar and punctuation are taught in phonics and English lessons. Often, these elements are taught discretely at first but then within the writing lessons, so the skills are embedded and in context for the children. 

Handwriting is taught discretely and through spelling.

Handwriting- Cursive handwriting style

At Wainscott, we teach all children (from Year 1 upwards) a cursive script as a way of promoting excellent handwriting and presentation across the school. In Reception, when your child first comes to school, they will learn to form every letter in the pre-cursive style in preparation for Year 1. A cursive script is a continuous script where every letter starts on the line. The alphabet below demonstrates this:

Every child's writing develops at a slightly different pace (as with most learning) but we have set out the following goals for each child's handwriting development.

By the end of the Reception year - the majority of children should be able to form all 26 letters of the alphabet correctly (pre-cursive)

By the end of Year 1 - the majority of children should be able to form all 26 letters of the alphabet correctly. 

By the end of Year 2 - the majority of children should be joining most of their writing using our cursive script.

By the end of Year 4 - the majority of children should be ready to use a pen throughout Years 5 & 6.

As with any skill, handwriting develops more rapidly with regular practice. Below is a selection of helpful resources which you can download and use to develop your child's handwriting at home. Please speak to your child's class teacher if you have any questions about the resources, how to use them effectively or to discuss your child's handwriting. 

Click on the image below to access a useful website which has video animations on how to form and join letters in the cursive style we use at Wainscott. This will support your child too.