Rose Hill Primary School

‘English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society.  A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to
speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through
their reading and listening, others can communicate with them.’
(Primary National Curriculum, 2014)

The principal focus of writing at Rose Hill is to extend children’s knowledge of different kinds of writing, across a range of purposes, ensuring that pupils extend their understanding of grammatical features. This should help children develop a fluent style of writing.

In order to do this we teach the National Curriculum Programme of study which covers

• Transcription (spelling and handwriting)
• Composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing).

Spelling rules and patterns are taught discreetly across the school. In EYFS, spelling is taught as part of phonics.  In KS1, phonics lessons continue and spelling is explicitly taught in line with year group expectations. This continues into KS2. Spelling Shed supports the teaching of spelling.

Handwriting is also taught explicitly across the school starting with print and moving to a cursive script. Letter join is used to support the teaching of cursive script.

Writing at Rose Hill is based on a range of quality texts. A clearly defined structure supports children to use grammar rules accurately whilst developing their own ‘writers voice’. The cycle of writing includes:

• Text interrogation and vocabulary building
• Drama activities
• Teaching of grammar and punctuation
• Planning
• Modelled and shared writing
• Editing and Proof Reading

Tales Toolkit and Talk for Writing strategies are also used when appropriate.

Children learn to apply their skills learnt to new genres across the year. Opportunities for writing are also provided across the curriculum where as they progress, children are provided with opportunities to choose which genre and style they would like to apply to their learning.