At Holy Trinity we believe that all children, given the right tools, can become confident writers who have the ability to express themselves clearly and appropriately in a range of contexts both within the school community and beyond.

Our curriculum intent for Writing is that every child will: 

• Write fluently, demonstrating a good understanding of phonics (understanding of relationship between sounds and letters), and the morphology (word structure) and orthography (spelling structure) of words
• Articulate, communicate and organise ideas coherently for the reader
• Understand and use an increasing range of grammar and vocabulary
• Write for a range of purposes and audiences within different contexts
• Plan, revise and evaluate their writing.
• Write in a consistently fluent and legible handwriting style at a productive speed. 

Implementation of the Writing Curriculum at Holy Trinity

Writing is focused on two strands: transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing).

Transcription

In EYFS and Year 1, spelling is directly linked to the ELS phonics scheme. In Year 2 this continues with the ELS spelling programme, which focuses on the transition from decoding to encoding. From Year 3, spelling is taught using the Spelling Shed Scheme of Work, which focuses on the orthography, morphology and etymology of words. Pupils continue to build on the firm foundations of phonics, breaking down words into the smallest units of sound and syllables. They also learn about the meanings of parts of words and their origins and how these both affect spelling. 

Handwriting is explicitly taught from when the children join in EYFS. In year one, the children secure their precursive script and then move onto cursive in year two. Cursive script is consolidated in years three and four. Intervention is provided for children in years 5 and 6 who have not secured a fluent script at an appropriate speed.

Composition

At Holy Trinity we believe that reading greatly impacts upon writing; therefore, we link much of our teaching of writing to the high-quality texts that we are reading in class. Many of these texts link to other curriculum areas, which increases pupil engagement and provides a wealth of opportunities for writing for a range of purposes and audiences. Additionally, it allows for subject-specific vocabulary to be reinforced and revisited and pupils’ understanding to deepen and become embedded.  

Grammar and punctuation is taught in discrete lessons and revisited little but often during starters to English lessons. This ‘walking the wheatfield’ approach referred to by Pie Corbett cements the children’s understanding and aids application of this in their writing.

We use ‘The Write Stuff’ to explicitly teach writing. It is a systematic, mathematical and structured approach to teaching the process of writing. The foundation of TWS approach is a visual representation of the three zones of writing - ideas (vocabulary), tools (grammar & punctuation) and techniques (literary devices) - called The Writing Rainbow. Within TWS units there are ‘Experience’ lessons that engage and excite the children, often generating vast amounts of vocabulary that is later used in ‘Sentence Stacking’ lessons that model and scaffold writing. Children go on to write independent pieces applying the ideas, tools and techniques explicitly taught in these sessions.

The Impact of the Writing Curriculum at Holy Trinity

Pupils acquire an excellent knowledge of grammar and punctuation as demonstrated in our end of KS2 attainment data in the grammar, spelling and punctuation test.

Pupils leave Holy Trinity able to express themselves confidently, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. They are well prepared for the writing demands of secondary school.   

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