Intent

Through our writing curriculum, we want to help our children to develop skills and knowledge that will enable them to communicate effectively and creatively through spoken word and written language and equip them with the skills to become lifelong learners. 

We wish to encourage our children to: 

• be effective, competent communicators and good listeners
• foster an interest in words and their meanings, and to develop a growing vocabulary in both spoken and written form
• be able to write in a variety of styles and forms showing awareness of audience and purpose
• develop powers of imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness
• produce effective, well-presented written work 

Writing Roots – Our Approach to Teaching Writing

At our school, we use Writing Roots as our core writing scheme from Reception through to Year 6. Writing Roots is a carefully structured, creative approach to teaching writing that places high-quality children’s literature at the heart of every unit.

The scheme ensures that children develop confidence, creativity and technical accuracy in writing as they move through the school, with clear progression in skills, vocabulary and independence.

What Is Writing Roots?

Writing Roots is a text-based writing approach. Each unit is built around a carefully chosen book, poem or film clip that inspires children and gives them a meaningful reason to write.

Every unit:

• Immerses children in a high-quality text

• Teaches key writing skills in context

• Builds vocabulary and sentence structure

• Leads to a purposeful, extended piece of writing

Children learn that writing is not just a task, but a way to communicate ideas, emotions and information.

How Writing Roots Works Across the School

Reception (Early Years)

In Reception, Writing Roots supports children in developing the foundations of writing through:

• Storytelling, role play and talk

• Drawing and mark-making

• Learning to write simple words and sentences

• Exploring stories through actions, repetition and drama

Children are encouraged to express ideas verbally first, building confidence and enjoyment before writing independently.

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)

In Key Stage 1, Writing Roots helps children:

• Explore stories, poems and non-fiction texts in depth

• Develop sentence structure, punctuation and spelling

• Learn how to plan, write and improve short pieces of writing

• Build stamina and independence as writers

Writing is broken into manageable steps, with opportunities to talk, rehearse sentences aloud and edit work with support.

Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4)

As children move into Lower Key Stage 2, Writing Roots:

• Introduces more complex sentence structures and vocabulary

• Develops paragraphing and organisation

• Encourages children to write for a range of purposes and audiences

• Builds independence through guided and shared writing

Children begin to make thoughtful choices about language and style, using techniques inspired by the texts they study.

Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6)

In Upper Key Stage 2, Writing Roots supports children to:

• Write at length with confidence and accuracy

• Use ambitious vocabulary and varied sentence structures

• Adapt their writing style for different genres and audiences

• Edit and improve their work independently

Children are encouraged to develop a writer’s voice, preparing them for the expectations of secondary school and beyond.

Long Term Plans and Progression

Writing long term plans and progression documents can be found  on our Curriculum Overview page using the following link:

Policy:

School policies including those related to this subject can be found using the following link:

Spelling Shed 

At our school, we use Spelling Shed as our core spelling programme from Year 1 through to Year 6. Spelling Shed is a structured, engaging approach to teaching spelling that supports children in developing strong spelling knowledge, phonics understanding and word awareness.

The scheme ensures clear progression in spelling skills, helping children become confident, accurate writers as they move through the school.

What Is Spelling Shed?

Spelling Shed is a comprehensive spelling programme that combines:

• Explicit teaching of spelling rules and patterns

• Regular practice and retrieval

• Fun, interactive online games

It aligns with the National Curriculum and supports both phonics-based spelling in the early years and rule-based spelling as children progress.

https://www.spellingshed.com/en-gb

Spellings- Spelling Tests will take place every Friday. Spelling Shed is a valuable resource to support your child in: practicing weekly
spellings, increasing familiarity with  spelling words and revisiting key SPaG knowledge.