Writing
At Lightwater Village Schools, we aim for all children to develop a lifelong love of writing and see themselves as confident, authentic writers. Through exploring high-quality texts, children read as writers, analysing how language, structure and literary devices are used effectively. They are encouraged to apply these techniques in their own work. Writing is meaningful and purposeful, with children given regular opportunities to write for real audiences and purposes. Grammar is taught in context so that pupils understand how it supports clarity, precision and effect and can apply it fluently in their own writing. We provide space for children to write about what matters to them, so they grow not only as capable writers but as passionate communicators with a strong sense of voice. By the time they leave us, our pupils are confident, reflective and skilled writers.
Implementation
Here at Lightwater Village Schools, we followed the Essential Writing Curriculum. Essential Writing is fully aligned with the National Curriculum for English including writing composition, vocabulary, grammar & punctuation for each year group. Our pupils are exposed to a range of high-quality texts which act as a stimulus for writing. These carefully chosen texts help children explore language, structure, and purpose, supporting them to read as writers. Scaffolded sentences and regular opportunities for discussion are key to helping pupils to share their opinions of the text and to build an understanding of the decisions made during the writing process. Teachers model how to apply these techniques to their own writing through live modelling, using metacognitive talk to explain the impact of specific word choices and devices and to demonstrate the writer’s craft.
Writing is taught progressively, with pupils building their understanding of writing for different purposes. In Year 1, pupils begin writing to entertain and inform. In Year 3, they are introduced to persuasive writing and by Year 5, they explore writing to discuss. This purposeful progression ensures a clear understanding of audience, intent, and tone.
Each unit of work is carefully sequenced, building on prior learning. Children begin by exploring a stimulus text. They then identify its key components and features and have opportunities to practise using these techniques through a range of independent and group tasks. Pupils apply this understanding to plan, generate ideas, draft and edit their own work, before publishing their writing for a specific audience. This approach not only develops technical skill, but also encourages pride, ownership and authenticity in their writing.
Impact
Pupils at The Federation of Lightwater Schools will:
- Have carefully planned opportunities to explore, draft, edit and publish writing
- Apply their grammatical understanding in context
- Understand the impact their writing has on the reader
- View themselves as authentic and passionate writers
The following methods are used to measure the impact:
- Reflective approaches to teaching and learning providing opportunities for all in every lesson
- Regular learning walks, book looks and pupil voice surveys to monitor the teaching of maths
- Writing moderation within the year group, across year groups and within the wider Academy trust
- Termly assessment data
What the children say:
“I love all the books we read. My favourite was Before I met Dudley.”
“Writing is my favourite subject!”
“My teachers help me when I don’t know what to write.”
“The lessons feel like they’re shorter than before but they’re not. I just enjoy them more.”
“I am really proud of my newspaper report and I hope it helps us to find Oswald!”
