Writing
Writing & GPS: Mrs Price
'The true alchemists do not turn lead into gold; they turn the world into words'
William H Gass
'You can make anything by writing'
CS Lewis
Intent
At our school, we believe that writing is a powerful tool for communication, creativity, and change. Our aim is to equip every child with the skills they need to become capable, confident, and inspired writers who can use their words to make a positive difference in the world.
We nurture a love of writing by exposing children to rich, varied, and high-quality texts that are engaging, enjoyable, and full of imagination. Through this, children develop enthusiasm, curiosity, and pride in their writing.
Our approach reflects our family values:
· Feed the mind through a love of language and learning.
· Achieve your best by developing strong writing skills and confidence.
· Make a difference by using writing to express ideas that inspire and influence others.
· Imagine the impossible through creativity and storytelling.
· Live our values by writing with integrity, empathy, and respect.
· Know that you are loved in an environment that supports and celebrates every child’s voice
Implementation
At the heart of our English curriculum is the belief that children must be able to speak it before they can read it, and only once they can do both can they successfully write it.
In the Early Years and Year 1, our focus is on ensuring every child is securely equipped with strong foundational skills in speaking, listening, and early literacy. We prioritise automaticity, the development of working memory, and a love of literature through oral storytelling, re-telling, and performing sentences and texts.
As children move up through the school, we build upon this foundation by strengthening transcriptional skills—spelling and handwriting—and developing sentence structure so that all pupils can write clearly and fluently. Once these fundamentals are secure, children progress to more complex writing tasks that have a clear audience and purpose.
All writing across the school is underpinned by Oracy. We believe that purpose is key to engagement—children write for a reason and to someone. They practise and refine their skills through speaking, performance, and real-world contexts. Final pieces of writing are shared with an audience, whether that be parents, peers, or other year groups, giving writing authentic meaning and value.
Through immersion and enrichment opportunities, we expose our children to a wide range of experiences that inspire creativity, deepen understanding, and bring learning to life. These opportunities also expose children to new vocabulary and knowledge they may never have encountered before, ensuring they are equipped with the language, confidence, and curiosity to express themselves and make a positive difference in the world.
Lenses: Action & Consequence, Change & Continuity, Significance, Similarities & Differences, Environmental & Sustainable Citizenships, Spirituality
Threads: Oracy, reading, writing, GPS
Concepts: transcription, composition, vocabulary, GPS
Impact
Curriculum for L.I.F.E
Love of Learning
The organisation of the English curriculum at St Andrew’s Benn is developing a community of enthusiastic, motivated readers and writers. Children are taught the skills they need to read fluently, comprehend deeply, and enjoy a wide range of texts. They show a genuine love of reading, recommending books to their peers, engaging in thoughtful discussions, and exploring different genres with curiosity and confidence. This love of learning extends beyond reading into writing, where pupils take pride in their work and are eager to express themselves creatively and purposefully.
Inspired
Children at St Andrew’s Benn are inspired by the rich and varied texts they encounter and the meaningful opportunities to write for real audiences and purposes. They learn to appreciate the power of language—both spoken and written—and how words can inform, persuade, entertain, and make a difference. Our pupils evaluate authors’ choices, experiment with style and structure, and develop their own unique voices as writers. They see themselves as authors, poets, and communicators, inspired by literature and empowered to share their ideas with the world.
Flourished
Through high-quality teaching and a carefully sequenced curriculum, pupils flourish as confident, capable communicators. They make at least good progress from their individual starting points, with outcomes in Theme books evidencing the impact of their growing knowledge, vocabulary, and skill. Children write across a range of forms and adapt their language and tone effectively for different audiences and purposes. By the end of Year Six, they can write clearly, accurately, and creatively, demonstrating a strong command of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, as well as a deep understanding of how to engage the reader
Enriched
Children’s learning is enriched through a wealth of immersive experiences that bring language and literature to life. These opportunities expose pupils to vocabulary and knowledge they may never have encountered before, broadening their horizons and deepening their understanding of the world. Reading is used across the curriculum to enhance knowledge and understanding in all subjects, enabling children to communicate their ideas and research to a wider audience. As a result, pupils leave St Andrew’s Benn as articulate, reflective individuals who are well-equipped for the next stage of their education and inspired to continue their journey as lifelong readers and writers.
Organisation & sequencing
