St Margaret's at Troy Town CE Primary School

Writing

Subject on a Page

curriculum vision on a page writing.pdf

At SMATT, we believe that a strong foundation in English is essential for children to flourish creatively, develop confidence, and express themselves with clarity and purpose. English is central to our curriculum, enabling pupils to access learning across all subjects while discovering their unique voice and letting their light shine.

We are committed to nurturing vocabulary-rich, enthusiastic writers who understand the power and purpose of language. Our children are encouraged to write with imagination, accuracy, and intent—whether to inform, persuade, entertain, or inspire—developing confidence in their ability to communicate effectively.

In line with the National Curriculum for English (2014), our curriculum is designed to promote a genuine love of language and literature. While we follow the national framework, we have developed our own carefully tailored curriculum model and teaching methods, drawing on a  high-quality scheme (Grammarsaurus). This ensures a clear pathway of progression and equips every child with the skills, knowledge, and creativity they need to thrive as lifelong learners and effective communicators

Our New Writing Scheme!

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Intent

At SMATT, we believe that writing is a powerful tool for communication, creativity, and self-expression. Our intent is to equip every child with the skills, confidence and passion to become thoughtful, imaginative and effective writers. Writing is central to the curriculum, enabling children to access learning across all subjects and to express their ideas clearly and creatively.

We recognise that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in writing, which follows a clear, progressive pathway throughout their primary education. This structured progression enables pupils to build on prior learning, deepen their understanding, and apply their skills with increasing independence, accuracy, and flair.

Our writing curriculum is carefully designed to ensure that children can:

  • Write clearly, coherently, and with purpose for a range of audiences and genres.
  • Develop a rich vocabulary and control over grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
  • Plan, draft, revise, and evaluate their writing to improve content and accuracy.
  • Use writing as a tool for creativity, reflection, and communication.

A strong foundation in writing supports wider literacy and oracy skills and is crucial to a high-quality education. We strive to help children understand how their writing skills are not only valuable in school but are essential tools for life beyond the classroom. By connecting writing to real-world contexts, children appreciate the relevance and power of their voice—now and in the future.

Rooted in the National Curriculum for English (2014), our approach to writing is rich in high-quality texts, purposeful tasks, and opportunities for children to flourish creatively. We nurture confidence, resilience, and self-expression, enabling every child to find joy in writing and to let their light shine.

Progression in Writing Knowledge

The writing curriculum at SMATT is built around the progressive development of:
• Transcription – spelling accuracy and fluent handwriting
• Sentence construction – from simple sentences to increasingly complex structures
• Text structure – understanding how different genres are organised
• Authorial craft – vocabulary choices, cohesion and effect on the reader
Knowledge is carefully sequenced so that pupils revisit and build upon prior learning, enabling them to write with increasing accuracy, stamina and independence.

Implementation

At SMATT, we are committed to developing confident, enthusiastic writers who can express themselves clearly, creatively and accurately. Writing is a high-priority subject within our curriculum and is taught daily through dedicated sessions across all year groups. Our overarching writing scheme is Grammarsaurus, which coincides with the requirements from the Writing Framework 2025. This ensures a cohesive, progressive approach that builds key skills in grammar, composition and transcription throughout a child's time with us.

Curriculum Aims and Approach

Our writing curriculum aims to:

  • Develop fluent, confident writers who can write for a range of purposes and audiences.
  • Embed strong knowledge of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary.
  • Foster creativity through exposure to high-quality, diverse texts and engaging writing opportunities.
  • Encourage editing and improving work through modelling, discussion, and self-reflection.
  • Children are taught to write for different genres including narrative, recounts, poetry, instructions, persuasive texts, and more. Teaching sequences are driven by engaging class texts, ensuring pupils are motivated to write. Lessons include modelled, shared, guided, and independent writing opportunities, with ongoing teacher and peer feedback.

EYFS Writing Implementation

In EYFS, we follow the Birth to Five Matters guidance to support children’s early literacy development as they work towards the Literacy Early Learning Goals. From the very start of the year, children are introduced to phonics and letter formation through the Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme, laying strong foundations for reading and writing. Gross motor skills are developed through Write Dance and within provision, while daily fine motor activities help build the control needed for writing. In the summer term, we introduce the Letterjoin programme to support handwriting fluency.

Literacy is woven throughout our provision, with opportunities for mark-making and writing in areas such as role play and the art area. Our literacy lessons are based around a story of the week, helping to inspire imagination and discussion. We also introduce words of the week to build vocabulary in a fun and meaningful way. Children take part in Drawing Club sessions, which combine storytelling, drawing, and early writing to boost creativity, language, and confidence. These rich experiences ensure our children are well-prepared for the transition into Year 1.

Learning Environment and Working Walls

On our English working walls, we display a model text that reflects the current writing focus, providing pupils with a clear example of structure, language features, and stylistic choices. This model is carefully marked up to highlight key skills the children should be using in their own writing, such as sentence variety, punctuation, and vocabulary choices. Additionally, we showcase spelling words that are tailored to the year group, helping pupils to internalise age-appropriate vocabulary and spelling patterns. This visual and interactive display supports independent learning and reinforces key elements of the writing process. 

KS1 Working Walls Feature:

  • A model flipchart or WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) from the current unit, highlighting key features of the text type.
  • Statutory spellings for the year group displayed or accessible.
  • Sentence structure reminders (e.g. capital letters, finger spaces, full stops, and relevant punctuation linked to the genre).
  • Grammarsaurus PVPG elements, where applicable, to reinforce grammar and structure expectations.

KS2 Working Walls Feature:

A modelled example from the current genre of writing to demonstrate the specific writing techniques being focused on.

  • A text type example with reference to the associated class text where applicable.
  • Year group statutory spellings
  • Key grammar features
  • Interactive elements including post-it notes, word banks, children's writing examples, and prompts that pupils can refer to and use during lessons.

Supporting Writing Development

To support all learners in becoming successful writers, we make use of:

  • Vocabulary banks tailored to each genre and updated regularly.
  • Widgit visuals and pictorial aids
  • A rich, diverse selection of texts to ensure all pupils see themselves represented and are exposed to a variety of writing styles

By embedding these elements, we aim to ensure that all children develop the confidence, creativity, and technical accuracy to thrive as writers, both within school and beyond.

Resources

In Years 1-6 we use the Grammarsaurus PVPG units in Term 1 to aid the children with the ability to write using different sentence structures. We then use the Grammarsaurus writing units which allows the children a variety of opportunities to apply their writing skills to a variety of genres.

Writing across the Curriculum

Pupils apply their writing knowledge across the wider curriculum in subjects such as History, Geography and Science. These opportunities allow pupils to write for authentic purposes, strengthen subject-specific vocabulary and demonstrate increasing independence beyond English lessons.

Long Term Plan

At SMATT, writing skills are developed progressively from EYFS to Year 6 through a structured, coherent curriculum. Our approach is rooted in the National Curriculum and supported by the Grammarsaurus scheme, ensuring consistency, high expectations, and clear progression for all learners.

Progression of Skills and Knowledge

Writing Policy

Subject in Action

Adaptive Teaching

We are committed to ensuring all pupils, including the lowest 20%, pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, succeed as writers.
Teachers support pupils through:
• pre-teaching of key vocabulary and sentence structures
• use of sentence stems and scaffolded models where appropriate
• targeted support to secure transcription skills
• talk-to-text and oral rehearsal to reduce cognitive load
• careful live feedback to address misconceptions quickly
As pupils become more secure, scaffolds are deliberately reduced so that independence increases. Pupils working at greater depth are challenged to manipulate language, vary structure and write with increasing authorial control.

Adaptive Teaching Toolkit 

adaptive teaching strategies writing.pdf

 Adaptive Teaching in Practice

Take a look below at some some examples of adaptive teaching strategies you will see in our teaching of Writing to ensure all children get the best outcomes in their learning - 

Enrichment Opportunities

At SMATT, we believe in enriching children's writing experiences through engaging and inspiring opportunities.

Take a look at some of the 'Hook' activites that the children took part in to inspire them for writing - 

 

Workshops also play a vital role in enriching our writing curriculum. Most recently, children in Year 1 and 2 took part in a slam poetry workshop with a visiting poet. These memorable experiences not only enhance writing outcomes but help children see themselves as real writers with something valuable to say.

  

 

Impact

We assess the impact of the Grammarsaurus PVPG units through a combination of reviews, live marking and verbal feedback to ensure a comprehensive understanding of pupils’ progress. Reviews allow us to evaluate written outcomes against the unit’s objectives, identifying strengths and areas for development. Live marking is used during lessons to provide immediate, targeted feedback, helping pupils correct misconceptions and refine their writing in real time. Additionally, verbal feedback is a key tool for promoting dialogue around grammar and writing choices, encouraging pupils to reflect on their learning and make purposeful improvements. This multi-faceted approach ensures that assessment is ongoing, responsive, and supportive of pupil progress.

We assess the impact of writing using the Grammarsaurus Writing Assessment Grids by systematically evaluating pupils’ work against clear, age-appropriate criteria. These grids break down key writing skills - such as grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and composition - allowing us to pinpoint specific areas of strength and development. By using the grids consistently across units, we can track progress over time and ensure that pupils are meeting the expected standards. The grids also support targeted feedback, helping teachers to plan next steps and tailor instruction to individual needs. This structured approach ensures that assessment is both formative and summative, providing a clear picture of writing attainment and progress.

Progress is tracked through pupil progress meetings, book scrutinies and learning walks. Internal moderation takes place, where teachers work collaboratively to ensure consistency in judgement. We also take part in external moderation to validate our assessments against national standards, ensuring accuracy and rigour.

The impact of these strategies is evident in the quality and confidence of children's writing. Pupils are becoming more independent, using a wider range of sentence structures, vocabulary, and grammar with increasing accuracy. Most importantly, children are proud of their writing and are developing a strong identity as writers.

End of KS2 Outcomes

By the end of Year 6, pupils at SMATT will:
• write fluently and at length for a range of purposes and audiences
• use a wide range of sentence structures accurately
• select ambitious vocabulary independently
• organise writing effectively across a range of genres
• edit and improve their work with increasing precision
Most pupils will meet age-related expectations, with some demonstrating greater depth through sustained, well-controlled and stylistically effective writing.

Pupil Voice

"I loved making my own book on World Book Day. It was fun choosing my own characters and ideas—I felt like a real author and proud of my story." - Year 4 Pupil

"Writing helps me tell people my ideas and stories!" - Reception Pupil

"I liked writing my biography about Mary Seacole because I found out lots about her. I got to choose what facts to use and made my writing better by editing it myself!" - Year 2 Pupil

"Writing my own Mayan myth helped me be more creative and use all the skills I’ve learned. It made me feel like a real writer because it was completely my own idea from start to finish." - Year 6 Pupil

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