Writing
Intent
At Huntington we believe that a high quality English curriculum should develop children's love of reading, writing and discussion. We understand, in particular, the importance of the written word and its role in inspiring children and unlocking their potential across the whole curriculum.
We believe that writing is a key skill for life, and therefore that a secure grounding in the written word is crucial within a high quality education.
We recognise the importance of nurturing a culture in which children take pride in their writing, can write clearly, and accurately, and adapt their language and style for a range of contexts.
To do this, we believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge base, following a clear path of progression as they advance through the primary years. Recognising this, our writing curriculum is based on the 'Pathways to Write' scheme, created by the experienced, award-winning consultants of The Literacy Company, with whom the school has worked over many years.
The curriculum content for each year group is outlined in our English progression map.
For further detail on the skills that your children are learning on a termly basis, please contact your class teacher.
Implementation
We follow a Mastery approach to English through the ‘Pathways to Write' programme. Units of work are delivered using high quality texts, and children in all year groups are given varied opportunities for writing, dovetailed effectively within our Linked Learning curriculum. The units of work are adapted by our teachers for bespoke delivery to their classes, based on each year group's individual needs. Skills are built up through repetition within the units, and children apply these skills in the writing activities provided. Many opportunities for widening children’s vocabulary are given through the 'Pathways to Write' approach, and this builds on the extensive work we do in school to provide our children with a rich and varied vocabulary.
High quality texts (Reception to Year 6)
Assessment
Assessment in Writing is ongoing, guided by our feedback policies, and teachers carry out in-depth individual assessments at the end of each 'Pathways to Write' unit. Moderation work with partner primaries and The Literacy Company consultants supports teacher assessment, and termly judgements against age-related expectations are recorded within our INSIGHT tracking system, enabling analysis of attainment and progress.
Teachers have received training in the delivery of the 'Pathways to Write' scheme, and in assessment via moderation.
Impact
Our Writing curriculum gives pupils a clear path to make progress and develop essential transferrable skills. With a clear and progressive writing journey being taught thoroughly in both key stages, children will become more confident writers and, by the time they reach upper Key Stage 2, most genres of writing will be familiar to them and the teaching can focus on creativity, writer's craft, creating extended texts and the manipulation of grammar and punctuation.
The most recent KS2 Writing results (2022) showed that Huntington pupils made better than national average progress in Writing.