Writing at Charter
Intent
At Charter, we aim to create an intrinsic love of writing through an engaging and relevant curriculum. Our commitment lies in nurturing confident, expressive and effective writers who not only convey their thoughts with clarity but also harness the power of words to inspire, inform and connect with others.
Key Aims and Objectives:
Language mastery: At Charter, our curriculum emphasises the mastery of language, empowering children to articulate their ideas with precision and sophistication. Writing lessons provide continuous exposure to advanced vocabulary and grammar, fostering the development of effective written communication skills that can be applied across various contexts.
Contextualised grammar lessons: We strive to instil in our children an understanding and appreciation of the mechanics of language needed to become an effective writer and communicator. Grammar is taught through context to enhance its relevance and allow children to apply new concepts more quickly.
Composition skills: Our explicit focus on teaching composition skills at Charter enhances children’s ability to organise their thoughts coherently and produce well-structured pieces of writing.
Creativity and imagination: We nurture the creative spirit within our children, encouraging them to explore their imagination through writing. Our curriculum – and extra curricula offer – allows children to unleash their creativity, whether in crafting fictional stories, poems or personal reflections, fostering a deep appreciation for the art of storytelling.
Critical analysis: At Charter, we cultivate the skills necessary for our children to become reflective writers who can evaluate their own work and that of others. Through a focus on revising and editing, children learn to critically assess their writing, leading to continuous improvement in their written communication skills.
Inclusivity: Our curriculum is designed to accommodate the diverse needs of all learners, including those with special educational needs or who are disadvantaged. Teachers adapt their lessons and target support where necessary to ensure that every student makes progress.
Assessment and progress monitoring: At Charter, we employ a range of assessment tools to gain a comprehensive understanding of each student’s writing proficiency. In addition to ongoing teacher assessment, extended pieces of writing are used to evaluate writing. All teachers attend Trust and network moderation termly to clarify their judgements against other schools.
Continuous curriculum development: Our writing curriculum adapts to incorporate the most recent research, case studies, educational progress and evolving context of the school. This commitment guarantees that our writing program stays up-to-date, efficient and in harmony with the changing requirements of our children.
With these aims at the heart of its design, our writing curriculum provides our children with the skills and passion necessary to become lifelong writers who can confidently write for a variety of purposes and audiences.
Implementation
Early Writing
From the moment children start at Charter, we encourage mark making through continuous provision and exploration. As emergent writers, children are equipped with the skills to form letters clearly and legibly, allowing them to begin to express their ideas. Once children are enabled with these skills, they are ready to write with greater independence and confidence.
The Read, Write Inc programme, allows children to build on their emerging writing skills through ‘Fred Talk’, ‘Hold a Sentence’, scaffolded writing outcomes and oracy. The programme’s writing structure provides children with progressive learning and development of grammar skills.
The Writing Structure
Our writing curriculum at Charter Primary School is designed to be progressive and sequential, providing students with a clear path to developing their writing skills. Each year, carefully selected texts are used as stimuli to inspire and engage children’s interests, covering various genres and grammatical skills. Our goal is to cultivate enthusiastic and ambitious writers.
Reading into writing: At Charter, we harness the power of ‘reading into writing’ to bridge knowledge gaps among our students. By immersing ourselves in literature and using books as a shared language, we inspire and unify our students, enhancing comprehension, empathy and creativity. This approach seamlessly blends reading and writing, deepening their connection to literature and enriching their vocabulary.
Model texts: Model texts serve as exemplary guides, showcasing the quality of writing that students will strive to achieve by the unit’s end. They offer tangible examples of the grammar and syntax to be explored during lessons and introduce relevant key vocabulary.
Vocabulary: We are dedicated to expanding every child’s vocabulary across the curriculum, including subject-specific language. We meticulously identify and select vocabulary to enhance their understanding. This identified vocabulary is mapped for each English text and other curriculum areas and we use Word Aware strategies to teach it effectively. In Vocabulary Boost sessions, children establish definitions, synonyms, actions and pictures for each word, deepening their comprehension.
Grammar: We emphasise the importance of teaching correct punctuation and grammar in writing. These skills are thoughtfully integrated into each English text, providing rich and varied opportunities for application. Whether learning a new grammatical concept or reinforcing previous knowledge, our “identify, fix, practice and apply” structure encourages independent application of learning. This learning is then consolidated through our approach to writing in the wider curriculum.
Composition: At Charter, we teach composition through model texts, explicit instruction in composition skills and focused editing practice. We also emphasise collective reflection, allowing students to compare and evaluate texts. This holistic approach fosters confident and proficient writers.
Critical analysis: Parallel with our maths curriculums, we foster reflective practice in our writers through reasoning and problem-solving. Moreover, students are equipped with a ‘Writing Essentials’ checklist in their English books, building on prior grammar and punctuation skills. Alongside explicit teaching of editing, this gives them a scaffold to independently edit and refine their writing effectively.
Handwriting
Throughout school, handwriting is taught discretely. The focus in EYFS is on the correct formation of phonemes using a memorable handwriting phrase.
Once children have established correct letter formation, from Year 1 onwards they are taught a pre- cursive script through the Letter Join programme. As children advance to Key Stage Two, they are taught to correctly join their letters, developing their own style of handwriting. Handwriting lessons are taught discretely across the school and across the curriculum.
As an incentive to produce written work to a high standard, children aim to achieve their pen license earning the privilege of producing written work with a pen. Ultimately, this results in children being awarded a fountain pen.
Spelling
Early spelling is taught through the use of ‘Fred Talk’ and ‘Fred Fingers’ to count out the sounds in words. Children have daily sound lessons to embed and apply their learning of phonics to spell words. From the Spring term, in Key Stage One, weekly spelling tests focus on high frequency focus words.
Children are familiar with these words as they form the ‘red words’ in Read, Write Inc. Here at Charter Academy, we also utilise the ‘Spelling Shed’ resource in Key Stage Two to plan and deliver additional spelling sessions. These resources provide challenging, competitive weekly spelling activities matched to key curriculum spelling patterns and word lists.
Assessment
Through our carefully mapped English and wider curriculum planning, we provide children with multiple opportunities to showcase their developing writing skills. In the moment feedback is given verbally to children in all lessons and is a key part of formative assessment. As independent learners, children are encouraged to reflect and self-assess their work using the Writing Essentials criteria.
Staff engage in both external and internal moderation to clarify judgements and work with colleagues across the city.
Promoting a love of writing:
To encompass the very best from our children, we understand the impact that enrichment opportunities provide. Therefore, once a term we dedicate a whole week to immersing our children in a high-quality selected text. The spotlight text becomes a focus for writing and creativity.
We celebrate writing in our school, displaying ‘We are Writers’ work for every child. We encourage children to reflect on their writing and display new pieces they are proud of, identifying how their writing has developed.
As an integral part of our broader curriculum, our ‘golden sentence’ strategy fosters an environment where children learn to appreciate the significance of iterative writing, thereby nurturing their resilience and fostering a growth mindset.