English - Writing

Intent (before the teaching)

At Wendell Park, we believe all pupils should be able to communicate their knowledge, ideas, and emotions effectively through writing. Our aim is for children to develop a rich vocabulary, secure transcription skills (handwriting and spelling), and confidence in grammar so they can write with accuracy, creativity, and impact. We want pupils to adapt their writing for a range of meaningful contexts, purposes, and audiences.

Strong foundations are central to our approach. Writing builds on spoken language, gross and fine motor development, and secure handwriting and spelling. Oracy and vocabulary development are at the heart of our curriculum: children are given opportunities to talk, explore, and rehearse language so they can transfer it confidently into writing.

Children are encouraged to take pride in their presentation and to see themselves as authors. They are taught to plan, draft, edit, and refine their work, developing independence in evaluating their writing and understanding how to write for real purposes and audiences.

Implementation (subject in action)

Transcription and composition are taught in balance and interwoven, so children develop fluency, accuracy, and creativity. All writing outcomes have an audience and purpose, with real-life opportunities. From the summer term of Year 2, children begin publishing their work, producing four pieces per term to celebrate progress and develop their self-belief.

High-quality texts are used as hooks to inspire writing used to teach the core skills with the expectations of the National Curriculum. Teaching approaches include:

• Drama and oracy strategies (e.g. hot seating, conscience alley, role on the wall, debating) to build ideas and vocabulary
• Modelled, shared, group, and independent writing
• Unpicking WAGOLLs (What A Good One Looks Like)
• A clear writing process: planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing
• Writing across the wider curriculum to deepen subject knowledge

Handwriting

Handwriting is taught consistently across the school with a strong focus on gross and fine motor skills, posture, and pencil grip. All children are taught to use the nip, flip and grip technique to hold their pencil correctly. In Reception, handwriting builds on Read Write Inc. letter formations, with daily practice embedded alongside physical development. In Years 1 and 2, children follow a clear scheme with daily handwriting lessons to secure fluency and confidence. In KS2, children have handwriting lessons twice weekly to ensure progression, with an emphasis on developing a fluent, joined style. Children in Years 4–6 can earn their pen licence once they demonstrate consistent, legible, joined handwriting.

Spelling

Spelling is taught systematically, focusing on understanding rules and patterns and using multisensory strategies so that children can apply their knowledge confidently in writing. Children begin by learning spelling through the Read Write Inc. phonics programme in Reception, then continue to build their knowledge in Year 1 and beyond through short, focused sessions reinforced throughout continuous provision. As they progress through the school, children explore spelling patterns and rules more explicitly, supported by Spelling Shed, and are taught to spell accurately, identify reasons for mis-spellings, proof-read their writing, recognise and use word origins, families, and roots, and, in KS2, use dictionaries and thesauruses to support their writing. Through this approach, we aim to develop confident and proficient spellers who can transfer their skills across all areas of writing.

Grammar, punctuation and vocabulary

Grammar and punctuation are taught in context, linked to the learning journey and the class texts pupils are studying. Children apply these skills directly in their writing, noticing how authors use them effectively. Vocabulary is explicitly taught, rehearsed orally, and applied across the curriculum. Colourful Semantics is used where appropriate to support sentence structure development.

Impact (after the teaching)

Assessment is embedded throughout teaching to identify strengths, address misconceptions swiftly, and inform next steps. Teachers track progress against curriculum expectations and adapt planning accordingly.

As a result of our approach, pupils at Wendell Park:

• Write with confidence, clarity, and purpose for a range of audiences
• Apply spelling, grammar, and punctuation accurately in context
• Demonstrate pride in their presentation and handwriting
• Use ambitious vocabulary and sentence structures, supported by strong oracy foundations
• Show independence and resilience in drafting, editing, and refining their work
• Produce high-quality published outcomes that showcase their progress and achievement

By the end of KS2, pupils are equipped with the transcriptional fluency, compositional skill, and creative confidence needed for the next stage of their education and beyond.

Progression of Skills and Knowledge 

Our Writing subject progression of skills and knowledge document gives further information about what the children are taught in this subject by year group.

Progression of skills and knowledge document 

Writing Long Term Plan  

Our writing long term overview details what texts children are writing by year group. 

English National Curriculum 

If you would like to know more, please visit National Curriculum for English.