✍️ Writing at Petteril Bank Primary School
Welcome to our Writing curriculum page! At Petteril Bank Primary School, we believe that writing is a powerful tool for communication, creativity, and self-expression. Our curriculum is designed to build confident, articulate writers who understand the purpose and audience of their work.
📚 Our Curriculum Approach
We follow a structured and inclusive writing sequence that supports children from EYFS to Year 6. This approach ensures:
- A consistent and progressive development of writing skills.
- Opportunities to explore a wide range of genres and styles.
- Integration of grammar, punctuation, and spelling (P&G) within meaningful contexts.
🔄 The Writing Sequence
Our writing curriculum follows a five-phase cycle:
1. Pre-assessment Phase
- Identify a specific genre
- Dictation sentences
- “Prove it isn’t” task
- Add detail
2. Reading Phase
- Reading model texts
- Drama and role play
- Vocabulary development
- Comprehension activities
- Structure focus
- Dictation
- Identifying features, audience, and purpose
3. Gathering Content Phase
- Developing ideas
- Gathering information
- Innovating
- P&G and structure focus
4. Planning and Writing Phase
- Shared writing
- Modelled writing
- Guided editing
- Comparative judgement
- Box-up planning
- Focus on key features, P&G, structure, audience, and purpose
5. Drafting and Editing Phase
- Drafting
- Evaluating
- Editing
- Improving
- Publishing
This cyclical model ensures that children revisit and refine their skills regularly, building confidence and competence over time.
🧒 Early Writing Development
In EYFS and KS1, we use the Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme to support early writing. This phonics-based approach helps children:
- Develop strong foundations in letter formation and spelling.
- Build confidence in constructing simple sentences.
- Apply phonics knowledge to independent writing tasks.
Alongside RWI, we place a strong emphasis on handwriting development. Children are taught correct pencil grip, posture, and letter formation from the earliest stages. As they progress, they learn to join letters fluently and write with increasing speed and accuracy. Handwriting is embedded across the curriculum to ensure consistency and pride in presentation.
🏡 Supporting Writing at Home
Parents can support writing development in everyday ways:
- Encourage storytelling and journaling.
- Read widely and discuss books together.
- Play word games and explore new vocabulary.
- Support homework tasks and celebrate writing achievements.
📚 Useful Links
- https://www.kapowprimary.com/subjects/english/
- BBC Bitesize English
- https://www.pobble.com/
