Writing
"A little magic can take you a long way." - Roald Dahl
At Meole Brace C of E Primary School and Nursery, we recognise the importance of writing, not just in Literacy lessons but throughout the curriculum and as a life skill. Children are given opportunity to develop technical writing skills and then to apply their knowledge of these for a range of styles, purposes and audiences. Units are planned so that children meet a range of fiction genres, non-fiction texts and poetry. They then continually evaluate and improve their own work and recognise their next steps for learning. Clear learning objectives with sequenced knowledge steps support them in making progress in their learning about writing.
Children are taught to use a joined script with joining encouraged as soon as letters are formed correctly. Children take pride in their books and work is well-presented as they are encouraged to show respect for their work.
We use the Bug Club Phonics programme from Nursery to Year 1 to teach phonics and as children's phonics knowledge grows, they are given daily opportunities to apply this, supporting knowledge retention. Children also have access to word mats, containing alternative spelling patterns and common exception words, which they use to aid them in their writing. Each year group has a personalised writing mat which reminds them of the expected standards for writing by the end of the year. Children from Year 2 upwards take part in weekly spelling tests on words they have practised throughout the week when they come into school. In Key Stage 2 there is a dedicated weekly spelling lesson also.
