Writing Curriculum Intent

At Wickham Market Primary School, we aim to develop confident, motivated and skilled writers who can communicate effectively for a range of purposes and audiences. We want all pupils to make sustained progress, building their writing skills progressively year on year. All children have the opportunities to plan, draft and publish extended writing, meaning they develop a sense of pride in their writing and are able to view themselves as writers. Meaningful cross curricular links are made to deepen engagement, subject knowledge, context and purpose. We promote engaging, high-quality writing opportunities, explicit vocabulary development and purposeful oracy, recognising that children need opportunities to articulate and rehearse their ideas before writing them. We are committed to identifying and removing barriers so that every child, including those with SEND, can achieve their potential.

Curriculum Implementation

Our writing curriculum is progressive, engaging and responsive to pupils’ interests and needs. Drawing Club is used in EYFS, Talk for Writing in Key Stage 1 and a bespoke curriculum in Key Stage 2.

Writing units are linked to high-quality texts, foundation subjects and meaningful contexts, with clear teaching sequences incorporating engaging hook lessons, model texts, grammar development, teacher modelling and independent application. Weekly spelling (using SpellingShed) and handwriting lessons (using Letterjoin) develop essential transcription skills, which are revisited throughout the week. Oracy is embedded in teaching and planned for with structured opportunities for discussion, drama, debate and poetry.

Regular assessment, pupil progress meetings, learning walks and book looks inform teaching and identify pupils requiring additional support. Targeted interventions and adaptations, including phonics, Nessy, handwriting support, colourful semantics, writing frames and sentence stems, enable all groups of children to make progress and engage in writing.

Curriculum Impact

Children leave Wickham Market Primary School as confident writers who can communicate effectively for a range of audiences and purposes. They demonstrate secure transcription skills, including spelling and handwriting, alongside increasingly sophisticated use of grammar, punctuation and vocabulary.

Children apply their writing skills across the curriculum, drawing upon their reading, subject knowledge and spoken language to create purposeful and engaging outcomes. They write with increasing independence, resilience and creativity, editing and improving their work thoughtfully.

Children take pride in their achievements as writers, understand the craft of writing and are able to articulate how and why they make particular language choices. All children, including those with SEND and other identified needs, are supported to make meaningful progress and achieve success within an ambitious curriculum.