Writing Vision Statement

A Stoke Park writer will

- have a rich diet of texts that stretch their stamina and cover a wide range of interests and genres

- write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences, selecting language that confirms a good awareness of the reader

- develop an awareness of writing captivating narratives, which include detailed setting descriptions, characters and build atmosphere

- develop their powers of imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness of issues e.g. deforestation

- learn how to use dialogue in narratives to convey character and advance the action

- build knowledge of and select ambitious vocabulary and grammatical structures that reflect what the writing requires

- use a range of devices to build cohesion, including conjunctions, adverbials of time and place, pronouns, synonyms, within and across paragraphs

- use verb tenses consistently and correctly throughout their writing

- use a range of increasingly expressive punctuation for effect

- learn to spell accurately by developing their phonological awareness and understanding of the morphology and etymology of words, whilst building the use of semantics and visual word form

- develop and refine fluency of letter formation and legibility in joined handwriting

Intent

Our aim is for all children to become competent and fluent writers who are able to write for a range of purposes and audiences, whilst showing connections to their reading and experiences. We enable children to make independent and expressive vocabulary and grammar choices, which exhibit an awareness of their audience and the effect they set out to create.

We provide a stimulating and progressive writing journey, which complement the learning and texts studied in our main feeder school. We immerse children in rich and captivating texts they love to read and are used to inspire their own writing. All children receive high quality teaching and learning experiences to enable them to become enthusiastic, confident and independent writers. Their use of rich language is promoted through the sharing and rehearsal of ideas through drama, debates and writing for real purposes, which are related to our local community, national and global issues.

Implementation

Children are inspired and engaged through a rich and stimulating text driven curriculum. Our learning journeys follow the Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Service (HIAS) approach which promotes immersion in the text driver, in order to generate and stimulate ideas. Precise vocabulary and grammar choices reinforce ideas, which are ‘sifted and sortied’ by the children as they transition from reading as a reader to reading as a writer.

At Stoke Park, we support children to understand the choices an author has used; we unpick the grammar and sentence structures used for effect and give children the opportunity to apply their skills in apprentice pieces; through the experimentation of a range of skills and knowledge. Finally, the refining and editing of a child’s own composition results in a ‘polished’ piece, through appropriate use of scaffolds and support. This enables all children to develop and refine their writer’s voice, in order to meet their planned purpose and effect of their writing.

Impact

Most children at Stoke Park Junior will be on track for making expected progress, or better, in order to achieve their age-related expectations. Our children will become well-rounded writers who have a good understanding of writing for different purposes and have the ability to control and refine their writer’s voice.

The use of rigorous termly assessments, plus the monitoring and tracking of the progress of all pupils, will ensure that no pupil falls behind and gaps are closed quickly. The accurate moderation of children’s writing, regular writing opportunities within and across a range of curriculum subjects and high quality planning and task design (which support the needs of all pupils) will ensure they become effective writers and communicators as they more through Stoke Park Junior and beyond.