Writing

‘My heart overflows with a good theme;

I address my verses to the King;

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.’

Psalm 45:1

Summary 

At St Catherine’s, we follow a book-based approach for our Writing curriculum. Our texts have been carefully selected to reflect our diverse school community. All children in our school should feel represented in the texts that we cover throughout the year. Our children are engaged and passionate writers and realise the power of the written word to affect positive change in the world.  

Intent, Implementation and Impact of Writing at St Catherine’s

Intent
At St Catherine’s, our approach to Writing reflects our commitment to ensuring that our children can be agents for change with the written word. Our curriculum challenges children across the year groups to engage with different text types and styles. We use books and texts with authors, illustrators, and main characters from a variety of backgrounds to echo our commitment to a curriculum that every child feels seen and heard. We wish children to realise that the written word is powerful and something that can be used to inspire.

We wish that all children make at least good progress in their Writing year-on-year and constantly monitor and implement intervention where we see support needed. We are proud of our adaptive approach to teaching in Writing and believe that all children can achieve the intended outcome of a Writing unit, provided that strong, consistent and appropriate scaffolds are in place.

Implementation
We use the Literary Curriculum’s Literary Leaves to shape our planning. This scheme of work allows for creative and engaging lessons to take place that allows all learners to be excited and ready to write. We have selected diverse texts from a variety of authors to reflect our commitment at St Catherine’s to diversity and inclusion.

We are proud that our teachers adapt to the areas that the pupils need support in in their Writing lessons. Teachers scaffold up to ensure that although there may be a different journey for pupils, all pupils will reach the same written outcome. Teachers understand the needs of their classes and feel empowered to adapt the planning of the Literary Curriculum to allow their classes to thrive.

With the support of the Writing Lead and other members of staff, we encourage a robust debate on how and when to teach certain objectives to ensure that gaps are addressed effectively and that staff with great expertise are deployed effectively.

The quality of teaching and outcomes in Writing is regularly monitored through book scrutinies, learning walks, pupil and staff voice surveys, observations and data analysis to ensure that all pupils are making progress and that the teaching of Writing is of the highest standard.

From our monitoring, teachers and support staff are provided with training and support that will allow them to address the areas in their practice that needs improving to ensure their teaching is consistently high-quality.

Teachers assess regularly in Writing to get a continuous idea of the strengths and areas for improvement for individual children. Using whole class feedback, teachers inform their planning for future lessons to allow for misconceptions to be corrected. Through our constant feedback with pupils, all children should be confident of the areas of improvement that they have and how they can address these areas.

We put into place rigorous and focussed interventions in a timely manner to ensure that pupils are achieving their greatest potential. Many of these interventions may be same-day so that pupils involved feel confident in how they can move on with their learning before the next lesson.

Impact
All children should be able to communicate their ideas in written form accurately, with pride and with confidence. Every child should be able to write in a variety of different ways for a variety of different audiences. By the time a pupil finishes their time at St Catherine’s and progresses onto secondary school, they will be confident and prepared to face the new challenges of writing at a secondary school level.

No matter the lesson that children are in, they should be confident in their ability to write clearly and communicate their ideas. Pupils should recognise where their writing is strong and where they can edit and improve. Moreover, handwriting should be consistent and legible with a strong understanding shown of the school’s handwriting approach.

Writing Competitions at St Catherine’s

To encourage excellence in Writing at St Catherine’s, we will regularly be holding writing competitions around specific themes. Winners of these writing competitions will be celebrated in assembly and will be added to our Writing WOW board in school and online. Please visit this page regularly and look out on class Twitter pages for updates about upcoming competitions. 

How To Support Your Child at Home With Their Writing

Below are a number of websites with writing prompts that can be used to practise writing at home. Take one picture and allow your child’s imagination to go wild!

https://www.onceuponapicture.co.uk

See below a document outlining all of the grammar terms you will come across from Year 1 to Year 6.

‘I work really hard on my writing and I feel good when I get to read what I have written!’ – Year 2

This academic year, a key focus is to offer pupils abundant opportunities to engage in writing across the curriculum. We are committed to instilling the belief that writing is not confined solely to English lessons but is an essential skill applicable across all subjects. By integrating writing into various aspects of their learning journey, we aim to foster a holistic understanding of its importance and relevance. Whether crafting scientific explanations, historical narratives, mathematical arguments, or creative interpretations, students are encouraged to see writing as a versatile tool for expression and comprehension. Through this interdisciplinary approach, we strive to equip pupils with the confidence and proficiency to articulate their thoughts effectively in any context, nurturing them into adept communicators and critical thinkers.

Year 2 created posters to help carry out their protest and gain support for their cause!

‘In Science we created texts about the water cycle!’

As part of our history curriculum, we wrote letters in the role of soldiers during WW2.

As part of Black History Month, we researched activist Rosa Parks and created a non-chronological report on her life!

In Year 6 , children embarked on a poignant literary journey, crafting heartfelt poems centered on the theme of uniting as God’s family. Inspired by the values of compassion, unity, and inclusivity, they delved into the depths of their creativity to express the profound significance of togetherness. Through evocative language and imagery, children articulated their reflections on the beauty of diversity and the bonds that unite us all as members of a larger spiritual family. As they penned their verses, they not only honed their poetic skills but also deepened their understanding of empathy and interconnectedness, embodying the essence of St. Catherine’s ethos. These poems serve as powerful testaments to the transformative power of literature in fostering unity, empathy, and a shared sense of belonging within our school community.