Subject on a Page for Writing

Why you teach it - your purpose of studyAt Oak Tree we want all of our pupils to become fluent and confident writers. We also recognise that reading and writing are inextricably linked and aim to broaden our pupils’ cultural capital by introducing them to a variety of genres and authors to discover the pleasure and benefits that reading can bring as well as, in turn, supporting the development of their writing. The children are introduced to some of the possibilities that writing can open up for them in real life contexts and encourage ambitions for the future in the working world, via the door signs. We give them the opportunity to explore writing within a wide range of genres not only in English lessons but also across the wider curriculum, through our writing missions which are completed each term. Given the low entry levels of many of our pupils, we have introduced Read Write Inc to develop the key skills of reading and writing in a structured way and have also extended this to include pupils in LKS2 who are not yet fluent readers. Through this approach, we believe that the short term narrowing of the curriculum to allow extra time to focus on reading and writing will ensure that our pupils gain the fluency, confidence and resilience to equip them to access the wider curriculum with greater success in the future.

INTENTWhat you teach - your programme(s) of studyWe use Read Write Inc (RWI) in Reception and KS1 to ensure that pupils gain a structured knowledge of phonics to allow them to confidently decode and then to apply this knowledge in their writing. We also include targeted pupils in LKS2 due to the low entry level of many of our pupils and our recognition of the crucial importance of the key skills of reading and writing to progress across the curriculum. RWI develops children’s reading, writing, spoken language, vocabulary, grammar and spelling in a fully integrated way. In addition to this, pupils in KS1 (and RWI pupils in LKS2) have a daily writing lesson which is linked to the topic.

In KS2 we use the Write stuff as a basis for our teaching, with greater levels of scaffolding incorporated in year 3 and for lower ability pupils to build their resilience as writers, whilst encouraging children to steadily grow in independence as they progress through school. Film clips are often used, as well as a wide variety of texts from different genres, to motivate and engage pupils whilst broadening their cultural capital, which can be very limited for many of our pupils. Our reading VIPERS are often linked to subsequent writing in order to broaden pupils’ vocabulary and extend their understanding in preparation for writing We also complete regular writing missions which may be linked to work being completed in any area of the curriculum such as geography, history or science. To reinforce aspects of grammar, Nelson is used in standalone SPaG lessons to explore aspects of grammar in greater detail to supplement the ‘drip-feed’ application of these concepts through the Write Stuff. Writing success is celebrated with examples of quality work being displayed both in classrooms and across school in corridor displays.IMPLEMENTATIONHow you teach it - your delivery of the aboveRWI lessons are fully structured (see phonics subject on a page) and are taught across FS, KS1 and targeted pupils from LKS2 at the same time to enable all pupils to access a group at the appropriate level for their stage of learning. All staff have had RWI training and delivery is regularly monitored to ensure consistency across school. RWI develops children’s reading, writing, spoken language, vocabulary, grammar and spelling in a fully integrated way. Children learn the alphabet through sounds and letters that represent them, and then learn how to blend these sounds together for reading and segment them for spelling. Children embed their phonic knowledge through writing activities. This begins with learning to form each letter, followed by spelling correctly and then composing their ideas step by step. Lessons are sequenced with pupils moving between groups as they progress.In KS1, daily writing sessions supplement the aspects of writing taught in RWI sessions. The skills taught are sequenced based on previous outcomes from independent writing. The two-weekly units begin with a high-quality picture book as the stimulus and for each unit a different genre is chosen as the focus. Children are taught skills in line with the National curriculum, culminating in an independent, assessed piece of writing at the end of the two-week block. Similarly, RWI pupils from LKS2 have additional writing sessions based on the Write stuff approach to build their resilience as writers.

In KS2, the Write Stuff approach is used as the basic structure of daily lessons. Experience sessions, which may take a wide range of formats such as drama, tasting or exploring, are included within units to give children a hook at the start of

the unit or to gain practical experience relevant to the unit to enhance their understanding and broaden their vocabulary. The Write Stuff breaks the teaching of writing into 3 key zones of ideas, tools and techniques. Learning is scaffolded with each lesson having 3 distinct parts:

Initiate- inspire pupils through a text extract, film clip, drama, image or other hook to stimulate ideas and build rich word banks. Children have the opportunity both to record their own ideas and to share with their peers.

Model- Teachers model how to construct sentences, varying the focus between ideas, grammar and technique, entwining all of the aspects that contribute to skilled writing with control over content, tools and effects.

Engage.- Children are encouraged to construct their own sentences, based on the principles of the model, using words and phrases from their word banks constructed in the initiate phase. Able pupils are encouraged to ‘deepen the moment’ adding more of their own ideas to enrich the plot (rather than move the story on) thereby encouraging greater depth to their writing. Challenges for more able writers such as deepening the moment are included as ‘add ons’ on our daily Up2/Go4 objectives. These challenges are open to all pupils to encourage aspiration, regardless of ability.

At the end of each unit of work, children then produce a piece of independent extended writing based on the key concepts covered in the unit. They will also have access to a progress ladder from previous pieces of work to enable them to see which aspects of their writing they should focus on improving.

This process allows a structured approach to ensure that pupils gain confidence to build paragraphs using a variety of sentence structures and writing techniques, breaking writing into manageable chunks and encouraging greater focus on the quality of the content of their writing. Texts and other sources such as film clips and images are frequently linked to work being completed across many different areas of the curriculum, showing that the importance of reading and writing extends far beyond the English curriculum.Writing missions are also completed each half-term. These focus on different aspects of the curriculum such as science and provide pupils with a real purpose for their writing, as well as embedding the importance of writing well beyond the English curriculum. Whilst aspects of SPaG are taught each day through our Write Stuff lessons, we recognize that more in-depth study of some aspects of grammar is necessary and this is taught through stand-alone SPaG lessons based on Nelson as well as regular spelling and handwriting practice. Door handle signs give pupils regular reminders about the importance of writing in real life contexts and awareness of some prospective careers where they skills would be particularly valuable.

Writing success is celebrated with examples of quality work being displayed in classrooms and corridors throughout the school. Pen licences are awarded in Golden assembly to pupils who consistently demonstrate neat handwriting and ‘take care’ presentation in line with our school values.IMPACTSo what - your evaluations of the aboveRWI groups are assessed regularly so that pupils progress between groups when they are ready to do so. This ensures that the learning is appropriate for each pupil and allows for different rates of progression.At the end of each Write Stuff unit (usually 2-3 weeks), pupils complete an independent extended piece of writing which is assessed against a ladder using Focus statements for each year group. Whilst individual ladders show progress within a piece of writing, our combined ladders show broad cumulative progress helping to identify any gaps, whilst allowing for differences in focus between different genres which may lend themselves more to different aspects of writing. Writing missions help to reinforce the relevance of writing across the curriculum and beyond.

On the scale below rate where you believe this subject currently stands in terms of your overall curriculum offer:

Previous Improvement Actions and Impact Current Improvement Actions Future Improvement Actions

Introduction of RWIIntroduction of Write Stuff

Introduction of Writing missions to place greater value on quality extended writing across the curriculum

Monitor the impact of RWI on participating LKS2 pupils.Monitor and develop the use of writing missions across school.

Developing Secure Embedded