"Writing to me is simply thinking through my fingers"  Isaac Asimov

The aims and objectives of English teaching are in line with the National Curriculum and enable children to:  

• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences

Intent

Our intent at Heartwood is that all pupils should be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing. We want pupils to acquire a wide vocabulary, a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn.

We want them to write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. 

We believe that all pupils should take pride in the presentation of their writing, in part by developing a neat, joined, handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school.

We believe that all good writers refine and edit their writing over time, so we want children to develop independence in being able to identify their own areas for improvement, editing their work effectively during and after the writing process.

Implementation:

'Scribble Club' and then 'Drawing Club' is used in our Nursery to engage children in the joy of mark-making and early writing. Drawing Club is continued into Reception and, throughout the year, children are taught to write single sounds, CVC words, phrases and then single-clause sentences. The teaching of sentence writing and the components needed is a focus for all year groups throughout the whole school. In KS1 and KS2, English units all have a purpose, audience and core text. Each writing unit consists of four phases: sentence work, immersion in the text, sentence work using the text, and finally, planning, drafting, writing and editing. All English lessons follow the gradual release model: I do, we do, you do.

Spellings (known as ‘red’ words (RWI) in Reception) are taught following the school’s spelling scheme. The spellings taught are based on spelling rules from the National Curriculum and the Common Exception Words.

Handwriting is modelled daily and children practise frequently to ensure they have correct letter formation. Teachers follow the school’s Handwriting policy.

Impact:

The impact on our children is that they have the knowledge and skills to be able to write successfully for a purpose. Children are more confident writers and have the ability to plan and edit their own work. By the time they leave Heartwood, children have developed a writer’s craft. They enjoy sustained writing and can manipulate language, grammar and punctuation to create effect. As all aspects of English are an integral part of the curriculum, cross-curricular writing standards and skills taught in the English lessons are transferred and applied to other subjects.

Enrichment in 23/24 and 24/25:

Southbank Centre: Imagine a Story

Blue Peter Book Badges

Romlit project with Richard O'Neill

Meeting and working with author Nigel Lungenmuss-Ward