Writing

Writing at Staplegrove School

At Staplegrove School, we empower our children to see themselves as writers, authors and creators. Our aim is to foster a genuine love of writing by equipping pupils with the skills, confidence and processes they need to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively through pen to paper.

We believe that all children should feel confident to take risks, develop their own voice and write with purpose and enjoyment. Through high-quality modelling, shared writing and meaningful opportunities to write, pupils are encouraged to communicate creatively across a range of contexts.

By the end of Year 6, our children will have experienced writing across a full range of genres, enabling them to showcase their creativity, technical accuracy and understanding in both fiction and non-fiction writing.

Writing Journey

We have a clear and consistent writing journey that all children follow, enabling them to develop a strong understanding of the writing process. This structured approach provides familiarity and consistency across year groups, reducing cognitive load and allowing pupils to focus more confidently on the content and quality of their writing. As a result, children build confidence, deepen their understanding of how writing works and develop independence as writers.

Writing for a Purpose

Writing across the school is rooted in high-quality texts and is predominantly linked to our reading curriculum. Through carefully chosen model texts, children are taught the specific skills associated with each genre before planning, drafting and writing with the intention of publishing their work.

Each piece of writing is designed with a clear purpose, audience and outcome, giving children a meaningful reason to write. Opportunities to publish and celebrate writing—both within the classroom and through displays around the school—help to inspire others and promote a culture of excellence.

This purposeful approach ensures that children understand why they are writing, develop pride in their work and see themselves as confident, capable writers.

Lesson Structures

Key Stage 1 – Foundational Skills

Writing in Key Stage 1 focuses on developing the foundational skills that underpin successful writing. By prioritising these essential skills early, we ensure that children develop a secure understanding of the mechanics of writing, enabling them to enter Key Stage 2 as confident and technically strong writers.

Each writing lesson is structured around three key aspects: handwriting and letter formation, spelling, and composition. This ensures that children build fluency alongside creativity, with skills taught explicitly and revisited regularly.

Research shows that consistency and repetition are vital in developing secure handwriting and accurate letter formation; therefore, daily practice is an essential part of our approach. This systematic focus supports children in developing automaticity, freeing up cognitive capacity so they can concentrate on spelling, sentence construction and expressing their ideas effectively.

Key Stage 2

Lessons in Key Stage 2 follow a similar structured approach to those in Key Stage 1, ensuring continuity and familiarity, but with spelling and handwriting replaced with a focused grammar starter. This supports children in revisiting and activating prior learning at the start of each lesson, strengthening retention and application of key knowledge.

Following this, lessons are carefully designed to focus on different stages of the writing process, including the development of specific skills, composition, editing, revising and publishing. This structured progression enables children to understand writing as a process and supports them in producing high-quality outcomes.

Spelling and handwriting are reinforced within writing lessons and taught discretely outside of these sessions, allowing focused practice and ensuring children continue to develop fluency, accuracy and presentation alongside composition.

Spelling

We aspire for all children at Staplegrove School to become confident and competent spellers. In Key Stage 1, spelling is rooted in high-quality phonics teaching, delivered with fidelity to the Read Write Inc. programme. Children are taught to apply their phonics knowledge accurately in their writing, alongside learning common exception words (red words) and exploring spelling patterns within meaningful writing contexts.

As children progress into Key Stage 2, spelling is taught systematically through Spelling Shed, ensuring full coverage of the spelling rules and statutory word lists outlined in the National Curriculum. Through explicit teaching, regular practice and opportunities for application within writing, children develop a secure understanding of spelling patterns and conventions, enabling them to spell accurately and confidently across the curriculum.

Handwriting

Our handwriting approach begins with the development of circular movements. In EYFS, children focus on forming confident anti-clockwise circles, establishing the foundations of effective letter formation. This early emphasis ensures that good handwriting habits are embedded from the very start.

As children progress through the school, the use of boxes supports the accurate development of letter size, proportion and roundness. This structured progression continues until children demonstrate secure and fluent letter formation.

Once children are ready, handwriting practice transitions to Seyes paper, which supports the development of joined handwriting while continuing to reinforce correct size and shape. Our aim is for these skills to transfer seamlessly into children’s everyday writing books, resulting in fluent, legible and confident handwriting across the curriculum.