National Curriculum Writing

“A high-quality education will teach pupils to write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.”

Writing Curriculum at Cottesmore 

At Cottesmore, we aim to inspire learners to write by sharing high quality texts together. We believe that by driving our writing in this way, learners at Cottesmore will be able to unlock their writing potential and be inspired to write with creativity and flair.

We aim for learners to become creative writers and to express their knowledge clearly through the medium of writing. We recognise that writing is integral to our daily lives, and we encourage the children to ‘dare to dream’, and to make a difference in the world. Therefore, we aim to prepare them to harness the writing skills that they may need in their future careers, where they can share their gifts and talents with others.

We encourage the children to consider and explore the purpose of their writing, whether to entertain, inform, or persuade their audience. Wherever possible, we aim to share their writing in some way, so children complete the writing unit feeling that their writing had the effect on the reader that was intended. We also want them to feel that their writing is valued.Our writing topics are based on a high quality texts and are often linked with learning in other subjects. Skills are mapped sequentially and progressively, as laid out in the NC so all pupils can acquire the intended knowledge and skills. Each unit consists of a balance of skills from writing strands: composition and transcription. Learning builds towards key end points, at the end of EY, KS1 and KS2.

Implementation

Teachers utilise a yearly English overview, which ensures coverage of objectives for their year group, as well as genres and a host of rich texts. Writing lessons are taught daily at Cottesmore, five times a week. We have our own tailored writing process which follows a structured sequence of lessons. This structure ensures that all children are able to see a model text – a good example of a piece of writing that they can refer back to when creating their own finished piece at the end of the sequence.

The sequence of lessons is as follows: 

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The structure of our sequence of lessons in writing ensures that children see models of excellence and are able to talk about the features of a genre, so that they can mirror these skills in their own writing.

We believe that good writers are good editors, and children are taught vital editing and proof reading skills in each unit of writing that they undertake. 

Cottesmore has developed a coherent and well planned mastery approach to writing, ensuring that skills are practised repeatedly and then applied in pieces of writing. We focus on a set of objectives in one school term and through a variety of writing opportunities. We aim to embed these skills, before building upon them in the following term with new skills. Our aim is that, rather than skimming the surface of these skills, the children will ‘deep dive’ into them, using them confidently, so that they are embedded before moving on to new skills. Children are given rich opportunities and supported by adults within the classroom to reach their full writing potential, through small group work and master classes. Teachers are supported by the Writing lead to plan units as needed and are provided with regular CPD to ensure that their subject knowledge is developed.

We ensure that all learners are supported, including our SEND and EAL learners, using effective resources and approaches including scaffolds, word banks, chunked texts or tasks, talking tins and a range of others. Teachers are acutely aware of an individual child’s needs to ensure that they can be successful in their writing journey, whichever stage they may be at. We ensure that learning is remembered by repeating skills in units several times and ensuring objectives are revisited during starters. A range of interventions are offered to those needing further support. 

For those needing additional support, we run tailored interventions, where entry and exit data is recorded. After each session, progress is reviewed and links to classroom learning is set with the class teacher. We ensure that sessions are brief, regular and sustained and staff are provided with training for the delivery of the intervention. The below chart shows interventions on offer, linked to writing. 

Writing home learning is offered weekly to every child, including a modelled example of writing and steps to success to support parents in helping their child at home. Our website also has additional writing challenges, to inspire a love of writing. Our annual poetry completion in collaboration with a local bookstore is relished to enrich our enjoyment of writing, as is our Roving reporters group who meet with the Subject lead and contribute pieces to the newsletter. 

After completing the ‘Big Write’, teachers mark this writing in depth. Using a green highlighter, they identify where in the writing the children have achieved the steps to success – the skills taught in that unit. This gives the teacher a clear understanding of what the child can do independently and demonstrates to the child where they have been successful in using the skills taught. Every child is then given a ‘Next Step’ to ensure that a skill which they have not yet embedded, is reinforced, supported by the teacher or teaching assistant. A whole lesson per unit is dedicated to this Next Step, to ensure bespoke targets and progress for all pupils. At the end of the term, the independent writing assessment is used to assess the child’s writing against the termly objectives, to determine if the child is on track for this point in the year. Our aim is that children will develop strong literacy skills to help them to flourish on both their academic and career journey in the future. Teachers also give verbal feedback during every writing unit to ensure progress and bespoke feedback is given to pupils, as well as picking up on common misconceptions and addressing these in class.

An example of skills progression in Writing 

Punctuation

 Poetry Competitions

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