Writing

Writing Curriculum, Teaching & Learning and Assessment Outcomes

Curriculum

At St. Thomas’ School, we are committed to improving writing outcomes across the entire school, striving for excellence at every stage of pupils' learning. Through the Talk for Writing approach, we aim to ignite pupils’ creativity and inspire a lifelong passion for written expression, with a relentless focus on improvement. Our writing curriculum seeks to:

• Develop Purpose, Audience, and Form: Pupils will learn to understand how purpose, audience, and form shape writing across a variety of genres, and continually strive to improve their ability to write for different purposes and audiences.
• Build Confidence and Individuality: We foster confidence in all pupils, encouraging them to express their ideas with clarity, imagination, and precision, while pushing for improvement in their written expression.
• Foster Critical Thinking and Reflection: Through planning, editing, and refining their work, pupils will be encouraged to think critically and reflect on how language choices impact meaning, supporting a continuous improvement cycle in their writing.
• Promote Essential Writing Skills: Emphasis is placed on improving key skills such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary, ensuring pupils can communicate effectively and make connections between their reading and writing.

Foundations in Early Years: In Early Years, we lay the foundation for writing through play-based learning, where children engage in storytelling, mark-making, and drawing - setting the stage for continuous improvement in writing as they progress through the school.

Teaching & Learning

To ensure whole-school improvement in writing, we implement a dynamic and well-structured writing curriculum that builds progressively from Early Years to Year 6, with a shared commitment to improvement. Key elements of our teaching and learning approach include:

• Curriculum Design

Our writing curriculum is designed to build writing skills progressively, with a strong focus on continual improvement. Talk for Writing underpins this process, with pupils working through the phases of Imitation, Innovation, and Independent Application. Each phase supports pupils in refining and improving their writing skills. In Early Years, mark-making, drawing, and storytelling provide the foundation for later writing development.

• Teaching Strategies

Our teaching strategies incorporate Talk for Writing methods, including storytelling, shared writing, role-play, and discussion. Pupils engage in oral rehearsal before writing, helping them refine and improve their ideas. Teachers model the writing process and encourage pupils to strive for improvement through planning, drafting, and editing, applying new vocabulary, grammar, and writing techniques to their work.

• Experiential Learning

Writing projects are connected to real-world experiences, such as creating letters, reports, or class books based on trips or community events. These experiences help make writing meaningful, motivating pupils to improve their writing skills by writing for real audiences. In Early Years, storytelling, mark-making, and collaborative writing tasks support children in developing early writing skills that are built upon throughout their school journey.

• Adaptive Teaching

We are committed to ensuring that every pupil, regardless of ability, can progress in writing. Differentiated resources and scaffolded support are provided, particularly in the Talk for Writing process. Teachers use formative assessments to provide targeted support and guidance, ensuring every pupil has the opportunity to improve and meet their individual potential.

• Handwriting

Handwriting is taught explicitly and systematically using the ‘PenPals’ for Writing scheme and is delivered separately from writing lessons. This ensures pupils develop secure handwriting knowledge and motor skills, enabling them to write fluently and focus on the composition and quality of their written work. The school places a strong emphasis on consistent handwriting practice through the explicit teaching and reinforcement of the 3Ps: posture, position and pen/pencil grip. These expectations are modelled by staff, verbally reinforced before all writing tasks, and displayed in every classroom to promote consistency and independence. As a result, pupils develop increasing fluency, stamina and pride in the presentation of their work.

• Spelling

Spelling is taught in line with the requirements of the national curriculum, with a clear progression of knowledge and skills across year groups. Pupils receive regular, structured spelling instruction and are supported to apply their spelling knowledge accurately within their writing. Regular spelling assessments are used to monitor pupils’ progress, identify misconceptions and inform targeted teaching, ensuring that pupils make strong and sustained progress over time.

• Assessment and Feedback

Formative assessment is key to tracking pupils’ progress and ensuring continuous improvement. Teachers provide timely, constructive feedback, encouraging pupils to reflect on their writing and make revisions. This feedback loop helps pupils understand how to improve their work, fostering a growth mindset and a focus on improvement. Data is used to track progress against national curriculum expectations and inform next steps.

Assessment Outcomes

The impact of our Writing curriculum is measured through various outcomes and indicators:

• Pupil Engagement and Enthusiasm

Observations show high levels of engagement and enjoyment during writing lessons. Many pupils express excitement about creating stories, experimenting with language, and sharing their ideas.

• Knowledge Retention and Understanding

Assessment data indicates pupils consistently achieve age-related expectations in writing. They demonstrate an understanding of different genres, structures, and conventions, often making connections to prior learning and reading.

• Skills Development

Pupils leave St Thomas’ with well-developed writing skills, including planning, drafting, editing, and crafting coherent and creative texts. These skills prepare them for secondary education and beyond.

In Early Years, children develop emerging writing abilities through mark-making, storytelling, and simple composition activities.

• Cultural Awareness and Identity

Through writing, pupils explore diverse perspectives and experiences, fostering empathy, respect, and an appreciation for cultural diversity. This supports the promotion of British Values, including mutual respect and tolerance.

• Community Involvement

Writing projects often connect with the local community, such as class books, letters, or collaborative projects, enhancing relevance and encouraging pupils to engage with real-world contexts.

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In summary, our intent, implementation, and impact statements reflect our commitment to delivering an outstanding Writing curriculum that meets national standards while nurturing confident, creative, and thoughtful writers prepared to express themselves effectively and engage meaningfully with the world around them.

Overview of Writing

Progression of Skills in Writing

Writing in the Early Years

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, writing is a key part of the Literacy area of learning. It is closely linked to children’s communication, language, and early reading skills. Writing in the EYFS is about developing a love of mark making, stories, and imaginative play, as well as building the foundations for forming letters, building sentences, and expressing ideas.

Children learn that writing carries meaning by exploring marks, symbols, signs, and environmental print in meaningful contexts. They enjoy creating stories with adults, joining in with oral retelling and predicting what might happen next. Through these shared experiences, children begin to understand how stories work and to talk about characters, settings, and events before attempting to write their own ideas.

As children’s language and listening skills develop, they engage in conversations about what they have written or plan to write, expressing preferences and making connections to their own experiences. Practitioners encourage this by modelling writing, using story maps, and showing genuine enjoyment when creating and sharing texts with children.

Early writing also involves developing phonological awareness - listening for rhymes, rhythms, and sounds in words. As children progress, they are introduced to systematic phonics to help them link sounds (phonemes) to letters (graphemes) and begin to write simple words.
Through daily story time, rhymes, modelled writing, and phonics sessions, children learn to:

• Listen to and join in with familiar stories and poems
• Recognise that marks and print convey meaning and are written from left to right, top to bottom
• Identify and talk about favourite characters and events
• Hear and identify sounds in words
• Begin to segment sounds to write simple words
• Use new vocabulary from stories in their own speech, play, and writing

Teaching staff create a language-rich environment with inviting writing areas, mark-making resources, and opportunities for children to explore writing independently and with others. Families are encouraged to share stories, support early mark making, and celebrate children’s writing at home, fostering positive attitudes to writing from the earliest age.

Through these experiences, children develop not only the skills needed to become confident early writers but also the joy, curiosity, and imagination that support a lifelong love of writing.

Achievements & Celebrations in Writing