Writing

Writing at St Matthew’s

Learning to write

In writing the children learn about transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing). Writing at St Matthew’s is delivered through an exciting and engaging curriculum which is taught from Reception to Year 6.

In the Early Years, play is the primary way for children to explore and develop writing skills. Children are encouraged to make independent decisions and mark-make/write as part of their play. To make this possible the environment is rich in print and writing areas are well resourced, easily accessible and attractive. Through role play, children are offered purposes for writing and are provided with lots of opportunities to experiment with writing themselves. Magnetic letters, tactile materials and computer software are also available for children to experiment with mark making/writing. When it is deemed appropriate children move into more structured writing opportunities.

In Key Stage 1 and 2 writing is taught through the use of high quality texts and a recognised teaching sequence. Quality texts provide a stimulus for all children to develop their writing across different text types. 'Talk for writing' is used to allow children to interact and engage with the text. Activities such as book talk, writer talk, story-telling, role play, drama and word and language games are an important part of the writing process. Once children have gathered ideas and planned their writing, teachers model writing to support the writing process. After writing, children are given an opportunity to edit and improve their work through targeted individual marking and they often go on to redraft and publish their finished pieces. Whenever possible writing with a clear purpose is the priority as we find this leads to better outcomes and engagement.