Writing

The programmes of study for writing at Key Stages 1 and 2 are constructed as follows:

• transcription (spelling and handwriting)

• composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing).

It is essential that teaching develops pupils’ competence in these two dimensions. We follow a progressive currriculum, gradually building up substantive knowledge from year to year. In addition, pupils are taught how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing.

Stimulus for writing

As a school, we a choose high-quality and highly-engaging texts. You can see our choices of texts in our Long Term Overviews.

We encourage children to explore ideas prior to composition through art, drama and role-play, music and movement and small world play, providing opportunities to write independently to develop these ideas into extended pieces.

Purpose for Writing

Our teachers plan carefully to give our children a clear purpose for writing. Where possible, we believe a shared experience (trip, visitor, activity, drama) provides a purpose for writing and will engage the children highly and produce their best writing. Moreover, we find that our links to Global Citizenship drive highly engaging topics, which inspire some of our best writing. 

Children are taught to write through various means:

• Modelled Writing: This occurs when a teacher writes in front of the class, sharing the thought processes and strategies of an adult writing by speaking aloud as writing takes shape.

• Shared Writing: helps pupils to see that the writer is in control of the words. Any short, relevant text is written on a large piece of paper or the board by the teacher, who thinks aloud as the text takes shape. The children are active participants in the process, contributing ideas and comments as the writing progresses.

• Guided Writing: provides the scaffold for pupils to shape and reshape their own piece of writing and is usually carried out in small groups, according to the needs of those pupils at the time.

• Independent Writing: gives children have the opportunity to write at length and put the skills they have learned into practice. At St Stephen’s children write at least one piece at length. This can be in any subject area.

• Edited Writing: There is a strong emphasis on editing as being part of the writing process. All children at St Stephen’s edit work, both before and after feedback, using blue pen.

Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling are embedded within our English lessons. Where necessary, grammar is taught in discrete sessions.

CUSP Spelling

At St Stephen’s, we use the CUSP Spelling programme from the end of Year 1 (Summer term) to Year 6. This programme has been purposefully built around the principles of evidence-led practice. This is to ensure that pupils acquire deep knowledge about the English spelling system and that this learning endures. The curriculum is written cumulatively to allow teachers to move backwards and forwards depending on the starting points for their pupils. CUSP Spelling is a balanced approach, drawing together knowledge about phonics and vocabulary and pairing this with pattern seeking and reasoning. 

We do not give our children a list of spellings per week to learn by heart as we find that this is ineffective at helping the children to learn the words long-term. Instead, homework will focus on spelling concepts so children gain a deeper knowledge of the words. We will monitor each child's progress in spelling in their independent writing. 

Handwriting

From Year 1 at St Stephen’s children are taught cursive script.

Please click here to see A-Z Letter Formation Activity Sheets Continuous Cursive.