Writing

Writing at Our Federation

At our Federation, writing is a fundamental part of the curriculum and a powerful means of communication that builds on spoken language. Our writing curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children, enabling them to function, engage, and contribute confidently within society.

We follow the award-winning Ready Steady Write programme from Literacy Counts, which is both research-informed and impact-proven. This approach helps us develop confident, independent, and successful writers with high aspirations. Our bespoke mastery writing process is built around text-led units that enrich vocabulary, reading, and writing skills. It includes formative assessment to identify and teach key writing skills, ensuring every child can write for a clear audience and purpose.

Our writing curriculum is closely linked with our reading curriculum, creating a cohesive and enriching literacy experience. High-quality, vocabulary-rich texts are carefully selected to inspire writing and deepen comprehension. These texts serve as models for structure, style, and language, allowing children to analyse and emulate effective writing techniques. As children read widely and often, they build the vocabulary, ideas, and grammatical understanding that underpin successful writing. This integrated approach ensures that reading and writing reinforce one another, helping pupils become confident communicators across all areas of the curriculum.

Children are immersed in high-quality texts that provide exciting and meaningful reasons to write. Through structured talk, drama, and vocabulary exploration, pupils learn to organise and express their ideas clearly before committing them to paper. We use a range of pedagogical approaches—including sentence accuracy, modelled and shared writing, and regular opportunities for editing—to help children craft their writing with precision.

We place a strong emphasis on transcription skills such as spelling and handwriting, dedicating time to their development to support writing fluency. Cursive handwriting is taught explicitly and frequently from Year 2 onwards. Our high expectations around vocabulary are supported by rigorous reading instruction, helping children collect and define words for use in independent writing.

Recognising the rich diversity of our community—where 80% of children have English as an additional language—we prioritise vocabulary development to build strong foundations for writing. Children are taught the key features of a wide range of genres and given regular opportunities to write independently. Assessment for learning strategies are woven throughout the curriculum to ensure progress and engagement.

Writing is celebrated across the curriculum. We strive to engage children’s interests and broaden their understanding of the wider world beyond their immediate environment. Our aim is for every child, regardless of need, to write fluently, take pride in their work, and leave primary school as enthusiastic, capable writers ready for the next stage of their education.

Spelling at Our Federation

Our spelling curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. We follow the award-recognised Ready Steady Spell by Literacy Counts to ensure that all pupils become fluent, accurate spellers. This research-informed and impact-proven programme helps children secure the essential skills and strategies they need to spell confidently across the curriculum. Through engaging activities, consistent teaching routines, and regular opportunities to revisit prior learning, we support children in transferring spelling knowledge into their long-term memory.

Spelling is taught in a clear and systematic way, with regular reviews and assessments to monitor progress. Additional support is provided through Ready Steady Spell: Go sessions, which offer targeted intervention for pupils who need further consolidation. Our aim is to build confident writers who are equipped with the tools they need to communicate clearly and effectively.