Vision

At Scientia Academy we believe that achieving competence in English language is a vital part of the education of our children. We aim to equip children with the skills necessary to write clearly for a range of audiences and purposes and provide a wide experience of high-quality literature, starting in the Foundation Stage right through to Key Stage 2.

Our curriculum- Intent

We want the children at Scientia Academy to write with confidence, fluency and understanding, enabling them to become independent and creative learners. Children will be provided with the opportunity to experience a wide range of texts as part of our belief that all children should learn, apply and refine the essential skill of writing in a widening range of contexts. Wherever possible we encourage children to use and apply their learning in other areas of the curriculum also.

Aims

To enable children to:

• Enjoy using language in different contexts and have the confidence and ability to do so
• Develop understanding and skills to become independent, enthusiastic writers
• Study language usage and use models of good writing to develop their own skills
• Have an interest in words, their meaning and a growing vocabulary
• Know a range of language features and use these within their writing
• Write for a variety of purposes and audiences, using a range of genres and standard formats on fiction, non-fiction and poetry
• Value their own work and that of others and discuss their writing with peers and adults

Teaching and Learning- Implementation

We use the Talk for Writing approach. Talk for Writing, developed by Pie Corbett, is powerful because it is based on the principles of how people learn. The movement from imitation to innovation to independent application can be adapted to suit the needs of learners of any stage. The Talk for Writing approach enables children to read and write independently for a variety of audiences and purposes within different subjects. A key feature is that children internalise the language structures needed to write through ‘talking the text’, as well as close reading. The approach moves from dependence towards independence, with the teacher using shared and guided teaching to develop the ability in children to write creatively and powerfully.

Imitation

The teacher establishes a creative context for each unit with a ‘hook’ to draw the children in and engage them in their writing. Teachers then introduce children to a model text, supported visually by a text map in KS1. Actions are developed to help children recall the text and reinforce the specific language patterns used. In this way, children hear the text, say it for themselves and enjoy it before seeing it written down.

Children interact with the text through drama activities and internalise the language patterns through sentence and word games based on the text. Once they have internalised the language, they are introduced to the written text and encouraged to read as both readers and writers. ‘Reading as a reader’ involves deepening the children’s understanding of the model text through comprehension activities and by comparing it to extracts from other high-quality texts. ‘Reading as a writer’ encourages the children to identify the key writing ingredients and ‘magpie’ words and phrases. Children will develop their understanding of the structure of the text with the use of the boxing-up technique and by analysing the key features which form part of the ‘toolkit’.

Innovation

Once the children have internalised the text, they are then ready to start innovating and creating their own versions by adapting the model text and using new stimulus for writing.

During innovation, spelling, sentence games and drama activities continue to be incorporated so that children have a wealth of oral and written practice in the language features required to write.

The key activity in this stage is shared writing- which helps the children to create their own version by doing one together first. Each stage of the writing process is modelled by the teacher.

Throughout this process, key words and phrases and any shared writing are displayed so when children begin to write they have models and examples to support them.

Independent Application

In this stage, children move towards becoming independent writers. They write the same text type but choose the content. This stage still requires games to help children internalise the language patterns and understand the text, boxing up and shared writing. Teachers guide children through the process which ends with rereading, editing and improving.

Adaptations

English lessons, tasks and materials are adapted by the class teacher to meet the needs of individual children. Children with specific learning needs are supported in line with the school’s SEND policy and any children identified as gifted in English will be provided with appropriately challenging learning opportunities.

Assessment- Impact

We use Teacher Assessment Frameworks (TAFs) to make judgements about a child’s writing. Each year group has their own specific TAF and teachers use these to ascertain which areas children are performing well in, and to identify areas for development. From this, teachers are able to set individual targets so that children know what they need to work on to improve their writing.

Throughout the writing process, teachers use formative assessment to plan the next step in their teaching, based on what the children need to know in order to improve. Feedback given to the children will ensure that they are clearly involved in thinking about what has worked well in their writing and points them towards what needs to be done to move forward in their learning.

Upon completion of a unit, children are asked to ‘show what they know’ through their independent writing. This piece of writing allows teacher to measure progress from children’s starting points and identify next steps for learning. 

Monitoring

Monitoring is an important way of improving/maintaining quality and standards. Scrutiny of work in children’s books is an effective means of monitoring and will be carried out regularly by members of the Senior Leadership Team and by teachers themselves. The English Lead will carry out focused observations of English lessons to ensure continuity, progression and maintenance of standards across the school. Good practice will be identified and shared as part of ongoing professional development.