Heatherley's Writing Curriculum Framework

At Heatherley Primary School, we strive to help our children develop into articulate and imaginative communicators, who are well-equipped with the skills they need to become life-long learners. We aim to ensure all of our children develop a genuine love of language and the written word, through a text-based approach. We aim to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum which develops the composition and transcription skills of all pupils by continually supporting children in developing and improving their writing. 

"You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write."

-Annie Proulx

Handwriting 

At Heatherley Primary School we are very proud of our pupil’s handwriting and take particular care in our handwriting style. We use Letter-Join’s on-line handwriting resource and Lesson Planners as the basis of our handwriting policy as it covers all the requirements of the National Curriculum. All children, from the moment they join Heatherley Primary School, are taught cursive handwriting. 

Handwriting is a basic skill that influences the quality of work throughout the curriculum. By the end of Key Stage 2 all pupils should have the ability to produce fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy joined-up handwriting, and to understand the different forms of handwriting used for different purposes.

Our intention is to make handwriting an automatic process that does not interfere with creative and mental thinking.

Link to Letter-Join: https://www.letter-join.co.uk

To find out more about 'Letter-Join', please see below:

Phonics

We provide daily phonics sessions for pupils using the Little Wandle programme in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 as well as in Key Stage 2 for children who still require further phonetical intervention.

Click here for more information and resources for parents

Rainbow Grammar

A whole school curriculum plan is in place for the teaching of Rainbow Grammar which is a systematic method to teaching grammar and punctuation. Grammar lessons are taught weekly across school, and children are provided with weekly extended writing opportunities, from Foundation Stage to Year 6, allowing for opportunities to apply what they have learnt in the teaching sequence.

Click here to find out more about Rainbow Grammar

Spelling

We explicitly teach spelling rules and patterns in accordance with the requirements of The National Curriculum for England 2014 (Y1 to Y6). In KS1, we follow the Little Wandle programme to set appropriate spellings which link to children’s learning in school and support the requirements of the National Curriculum. In KS2, we use the Twinkl spelling scheme to plan and deliver weekly spelling lessons. The children are then set weekly spellings which support their learning in school.

Click here to be directed to the National Curriculum: Spelling

The Literacy Shed

As a school, we use The Literacy Shed, a website for teachers filled with engaging and visual resources such as film, animation, photographs and picture books, which has proven very successful in inspiring children to write with pleasure and purpose.

Click here to explore The Literacy Shed

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.” -John Jakes