Writing Intent

Our intent is for all children at Concord Junior Academy to develop creativity, understanding and enjoyment of the English language through engaging, creative and carefully crafted lessons.

Seven Steps to Writing

Each year group follows our Seven Steps to Writing sequence, where children are introduced to an array of genres and taught the necessary skills explicitly to be successful. The sequence incorporates key elements of SPaG, Planning, Drafting and Edit and Improving to enable children to complete independent, extended pieces of writing. This ensures children can transfer their writing skills to the wider curriculum in a range of different contexts, for a range of different purposes and audiences.

To begin each sequence, children are provided with a high-quality model text (WAGOLL), and an ‘end goal’ for the end of each unit of writing. This ensures the children are aware of the expectations for the genre as well as the end points. Alongside our model text, we refer to a variety of examples from literature and other published works to ensure children see, and can draw upon, a breadth of high-quality examples across the unit of writing. Where possible, we link model texts to termly topics to reinforce children’s learning in the wider curriculum. Our writing curriculum is designed to ensure children work sequentially on a range of specific features and objectives that are essential for each writing genre. Therefore, within each unit of writing, we teach the features of each text type and provide opportunities to apply their learning in a range of contexts. We then ensure the children have an opportunity to plan and apply their learning through extended pieces of writing. When children have created an extended piece of writing, we provide them with opportunities and scaffolds to edit and improve their work, drawing upon their learning from the unit and wider writing curriculum.

Across each writing unit, we encourage the children to continually expand their vocabulary, focussing on aspirational and ambitious language. Each class has a magpie wall, which is used to enhance vocabulary, alongside a working wall which provides visual stimulus and resources for the pupils.

At the start of each unit of writing, children complete a 'cold write' task. Teachers use this as a diagnostic assessment tool to inform planning. 'Hot Write' tasks are used at the end of a unit to assess children’s progress within each genre. Across each lesson, teachers use formative assessment to assess progress against the individual objectives and success criteria.

Seven Steps to Writing Overview

Writing: Overview of Genres

In each year group, the children are taught the necessary skills, from the national curriculum, to develop into confident, creative, and independent writers, who have the knowledge and skills to write an array of genres. These skills are developed and advanced each year as the children move through school.

Learners with English as an additional language or those with additional needs are given a range of visual supports to aid their writing, including communicate-in-print word mats, to ensure they can achieve within all lessons.

Teachers consistently ensure that pupils have access to good models of spoken language using mixed ability groups where possible and correct adult use of standard English. 

Oracy

At Concord Junior Academy, we understand the importance that speaking and listening plays in developing our pupils’ communication skills and in turn their ability to communicate with the written word.  Teachers plan opportunities for Oracy at regular intervals across the writing sequence; children are encouraged to share thoughts, articulately, presenting and sharing their work to the class and to a wide range of audiences.

 Voice Brigantia

We are currently working collaboratively with Brigantia Learning Trust on the Voice Brigantia project, where we are developing the use of Oracy across all areas of the curriculum.

Our school’s vision for Oracy is to develop student’s confidence, their ability to communicate effectively and to equip each student with the ability to achieve, succeed and thrive in life beyond school.