The National Curriculum states that pupils should:

• Develop the stamina and skills to write at length
• Use accurate spelling and punctuation
• Be grammatically correct
• Write in a range of ways and purposes including narratives, explanations, descriptions, comparisons, summaries and evaluations
• Write to support their understanding and consolidation of what they have heard or read

The 2014 Curriculum divides writing skills into two dimensions:

· Transcription (spelling and handwriting)

· Composition (articulating ideas in speech and writing)

We recognise that both these elements are essential to success and we support the acquisition of both sets of skills through various methods. We recognise that these areas are clearly linked to the other aspects of English learning: speaking and listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary.

We encourage and promote writing to reflect a genre in a cross-curricular unit which will promote extended writing. We use the writing process which allows time for planning, drafting, editing and improving, then presenting longer pieces of work.

Every half term, each class carries out a ‘Big Write’, focusing on the children's ability to use a varied vocabulary, conjunctions, sentence openers and punctuation. Big Writes are fully independent pieces of writing which are linked to the current topic.

Handwriting Guidance