Clever Writers at Ladypool Primary School
Intent
At Ladypool Primary School, writing is taught in whole class lessons so that all children have access to the age-related skills and knowledge contained in the National Curriculum. We believe good teaching of phonics, reading and handwriting go ‘hand in hand’ to produce confident writers. We want all of our children to be able to confidently communicate their knowledge and ideas through their writing. We will ensure:
- Each individual is guided and nurtured on their own personal journey to become a successful writer.
- All children are given exciting and purposeful writing opportunities that engage them
- All children will acquire a wide vocabulary and be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn throughout their time in primary school.
- All children have a clear understanding of grammar and apply it effectively to their writing.
- Children write clearly, accurately and coherently.
- Children have the necessary tools to adapt their language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
- All children are encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their writing, by developing a legible handwriting style by the time they move to secondary school.
Implementation
At Ladypool Primary School, we use ‘I am a Clever Writer’ as a basis for teaching writing skills. We ensure our children write every day, practising newly taught skills discreetly before layering them with previously taught skills.
I am a Clever Writer is a 'clearly structured approach to teaching writing' where each strand of writing is broken down into small steps to allow pupils to experience success with their writing. Teaching sequences are carefully planned to ensure opportunities for consolidation and the development of a skill relating to the Clever Writer Checklist. The Clever Writer Checklist remains visible and accessible within the learning environment and is added to as new skills are introduced.
Our teachers create their own WAGOLLs (What a Good One Looks Like) based on the stimulus text to model to the children how to include the identified features in their own writing. These are produced for both fiction and non-fiction sequences of learning.
At the end of each sequence of lessons, which usually lasts around a week, the children take part in an extended writing activity on a text type. This is our 'Star Write' and the different aspects of spelling, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary taught during the week should be evident in the children’s extended writing. These strands are taught to match the curriculum for each year group, becoming increasingly complex over the course of the year as the children become more highly skilled. This allows teachers to teach specific skills discretely and ensure they are layered to give our children the tools they need to become confident writers.
Impact
The writing journey that children take as they move through Ladypool Primary School ensures they can successfully develop their composition (ideas) and transcription (spelling and handwriting). Rigorous teacher assessments and responsive teaching allow us to identify next steps for the children and the school. Monitoring is regularly carried out by the subject leader and the senior leadership team. This monitoring and evaluation cycle is mainly done by book looks, learning walks, analysis of data and planning. The children at Ladypool Primary School thoroughly enjoy showing their work to classroom visitors and they show confidence and pride in their learning. Assessment is tracked via Insight where teachers update their judgements every term.
If you want to find out more about the Clever Writer approach, click on the link below: