At our small primary school, we recognise that writing is a vital life skill and a powerful form of communication. Our writing curriculum is designed to develop confident, capable and motivated writers who can express their ideas clearly, creatively and with purpose. We place high value on nurturing children’s imagination, language development and technical accuracy, ensuring that all pupils, regardless of starting point, are supported and challenged appropriately within our mixed-age classes.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), early writing is developed through Drawing Club, which provides an engaging and imaginative approach to storytelling, mark making and early composition. Through high-quality texts, drawing, oral storytelling and purposeful talk, children develop the foundations of writing, including vocabulary, sentence structure, fine motor skills and a love of stories. Drawing Club supports children in building confidence and creativity while preparing them for the transition into more formal writing.

In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, writing is taught through high-quality literature using The Literacy Tree approach. Carefully chosen texts provide meaningful contexts for writing, allowing pupils to engage deeply with language, structure and authorial techniques. Writing is taught through well-sequenced learning journeys that support pupils to plan, draft, edit and refine their work for a range of purposes and audiences. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are taught explicitly and in context, enabling pupils to apply technical skills confidently within their writing.

In our mixed-age classes, teaching is carefully scaffolded to ensure progression while meeting the diverse needs of pupils. Prior learning is revisited and built upon, and expectations are adapted appropriately to ensure challenge and success for all learners. Strong links are made between reading, writing and spoken language, allowing pupils to develop their ideas through talk before translating them into written form.

Our writing curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop confidence and enjoyment in writing from an early age

• build strong foundations in transcription and composition

• write clearly, accurately and coherently for a range of purposes and audiences

• use ambitious vocabulary and increasingly complex sentence structures

• develop the skills to plan, draft, edit and improve their writing

• express ideas creatively while meeting the expectations of the national curriculum

Through high expectations, carefully structured teaching and a supportive environment, we aim to ensure that every child leaves our school as a confident and effective writer, ready for the next stage of their learning.