How to improve your child’s writing
A parents’ guide
Writing is a key skill that is used in all areas of the curriculum and the breadth of our curriculum ensures that pupils make links across all areas and subjects, writing a range of genres using subject-specific vocabulary to enhance their writing and engage their reader. Through cross-curricular writing, the skills taught in English lessons are transferred into other subjects, showing consolidation of skills and a deeper understanding of how and when to use specific grammar, punctuation and grammar objectives.
Writing is taught in daily English lessons through units that are planned around high-quality texts. We teach English as whole class lessons, so that all children have access to the age-related skills and knowledge contained in the National Curriculum. Through differentiated quality first teaching, all pupils receive the support they need in order to make good progress, to be confident and to be able to enjoy writing. Those working above age related expectations are given opportunities to extend their writing in a variety of ways, such as being given a choice of tasks in order to write effectively for a range of audiences and purposes, having a deeper understanding of the impact their writing has on the reader, selecting the appropriate form and drawing independently on what they have read as models for their own writing; showing greater control in their writing, exercising an assured and conscious control over levels of formality, particularly through manipulating grammar and vocabulary to achieve this; and to use the range of punctuation taught at Key Stage Two correctly and, when necessary, to use such punctuation precisely to enhance meaning and avoid ambiguity.
Children are given adequate time to plan and edit their work. Teachers use high quality texts, full of rich vocabulary, to immerse the children in their learning and their writing builds on the knowledge that they have of the world around them. Teachers plan real life reasons for writing; tasks are meaningful and the children write for purpose, carefully considering the audience of and the purpose for their writing. Grammar is taught through the language used by the author in the class text. Class teachers model high quality writing, editing and proofreading, and use whole class writing to support all pupils. Teachers use WAGOLLS (what a good one looks like) to demonstrate the high expectations they have of all pupils. They recognise that good writing stems from reading and they place a high value on books and reading, regularly demonstrating the link between reading and writing. Children working above age-related expectations are able to draw independently on their own reading as a model for their writing.
Writing is celebrated throughout the school at WJIPS. We have whole-school writing events, such as Little Big Me Day, National Poetry Day, the BBC 500 Words Competition and other class-specific events. We have displays celebrating writing in all subjects and children are keen to share their writing with their peers and teachers.