Intent
At Trafalgar Community Infant School, we prioritise the teaching of writing both as a core subject and one which unlocks opportunity in all other areas of the curriculum. We aim to inspire children to become imaginative and creative writers, by equipping them with the tools they need to write effectively for different audiences and purposes.
Implementation
Writing at our school is carefully planned around the children’s interests, termly topics and our local community.
The children’s writing journey at Trafalgar begins in our reception year where we introduce synthetic phonics, Little Wandle, and continue to build upon phonics prior learning throughout the school and discrete spelling, grammar and punctuation lessons. High quality texts are planned to encourage and develop the children’s language, imaginative and creative skills. The writing objective is shared with the children at the start of each lesson so the children are involved in their learning and know the steps to being successful writers. We encourage our children to be writers everywhere, including the outdoor areas.
EYFS follow the Statutory framework for the early year’s foundation stage Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and KS1 follow the 2014 National Curriculum knowledge and skills for Writing and Grammar National curriculum in England: English programmes of study - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Writing is assessed against the statutory requirements in the National Curriculum’s programme of study which are used to record children’s progress and to set their next targets. The weekly plan identifies which objectives are being taught, together with texts being used.
Letter formation is taught using the Little Wandle patter which the children learn in phonics sessions and continue to use throughout the curriculum. Children are encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their work.
Impact
Children at Trafalgar see themselves as writers and are proud of their writing achievements. This can be seen in all curriculum areas of writing across the school. The children’s writing journey is evident in their books, our displays and independent learning, both indoors and outdoors!