Writing

Intent

At James Oglethorpe Primary School, our writing curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils become confident, competent and creative writers, able to communicate effectively across a range of purposes and audiences.

We intend that pupils:

Develop fluency, accuracy and creativity in writing.
Make strong connections between reading and writing, using high-quality texts as models and stimuli.
Engage with diverse texts, authors and themes that reflect British Values, inclusion, rights and key life lessons.
Build confidence as authors, becoming experts in the texts they study and able to write independently with purpose.
Develop grammar, vocabulary and structural knowledge progressively across the school.
Experience a clear progression in genre, vocabulary and writing skills, supported by retrieval practice and scaffolds.
Enjoy writing as a creative and purposeful activity.

Implementation

Use of high-quality texts

Writing units begin with carefully chosen texts to act as stimuli and models.
Texts include fiction, poetry, non-fiction, graphic novels and diverse authors to broaden vocabulary and perspective.
Reading objectives are integrated into writing lessons to reinforce the link between reader and writer.

Learning journeys

Each unit follows a structured journey: immersion, vocabulary and language exploration, sentence-level work, shared writing, independent writing, editing, and publishing.
This approach enables pupils to become experts in their focus text before independent composition.

Explicit teaching of writing skills

Teacher modelling demonstrates sentence construction, language choices, structure and authorial techniques.
Scaffolds (planning frames, sentence stems, graphic organisers) support learning.
Oracy and discussion develop ideas and vocabulary before writing.
Independent writing is supported by clear success criteria and targeted feedback.

Grammar, punctuation and spelling

Grammar is taught explicitly, cumulatively, and applied in context.
New learning and retrieval of previous knowledge are embedded.
Curriculum progression includes:

KS1: capital letters, full stops, joining words, simple sentence structures, suffixes.
Lower KS2: expanded noun phrases, paragraphs, speech punctuation, fronted adverbials.
Upper KS2: cohesion across paragraphs, clause variation, formal/informal tone, semi-colons, colons, dashes, figurative language.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary is pre-taught, discussed and revisited.
Emphasis on tier 2 and tier 3 words to support academic writing and precise expression.
Pupils are encouraged to make deliberate authorial choices in word selection.

Progression and coverage

Long-term plans ensure progressive coverage of genres, text types and skills across year groups.
Pupils write in a range of forms, including narrative, explanation, instruction, recount, report, discussion, persuasive text, poetry and creative writing.

Assessment and feedback

Continuous assessment informs teaching through verbal feedback, marking, conferencing and moderation.
Pupils are taught to revise and edit their work, developing independence and resilience.

Inclusion

Scaffolds, modelling and targeted support ensure all pupils, including SEND, EAL and disadvantaged pupils, access ambitious writing tasks.
All pupils have opportunities to succeed and excel in writing.

Impact

By the end of KS2, pupils at James Oglethorpe will:

Write confidently and creatively across a range of genres and purposes.
Apply grammar, punctuation and spelling accurately and effectively.
Use rich and precise vocabulary to enhance clarity, style and expression.
Make meaningful links between reading and writing, drawing on model texts to inform their own composition.
Plan, draft, edit and publish their writing independently.
Demonstrate progressive mastery of skills, building on prior learning through retrieval practice.
Show enjoyment and pride in their writing.
Be fully prepared for secondary education, equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence to succeed.