At Staple Hill, we believe that writing is a powerful tool for communication, creativity and self-expression. Through our writing curriculum, pupils learn the fundamental skills of sentence structure, punctuation, spelling (including phonics) and vocabulary, equipping them to write effectively across the curriculum.
They grow as writers by mastering the features and styles of various genres, refining their ability to adapt their writing for different purposes and audiences. By engaging in the full writing process -planning, drafting, editing, and redrafting- students develop resilience, independence and a unique authorial voice. Ultimately, they achieve as confident, competent and passionate lifelong writers.
Writing is taught in carefully sequenced phases, using high-quality picture books as stimuli. These texts are thoughtfully selected to deepen in thematic complexity, structural sophistication, language richness and vocabulary as children progress through Staple Hill. Grammar objectives are introduced in small, manageable steps and taught in a logical sequence to ensure deep understanding.
By fostering a love for writing, we empower children to become articulate, thoughtful, and creative individuals who can express themselves with confidence. For more details on our approach to writing, please refer to our ‘Unit Structure’ and ‘Text Progression’ documents.
We encourage excellence in our writers by using a consistent language of success, not putting a ceiling on the pupils learning. We celebrate examples of excellence on our Writing display and regularly publish work.
We celebrate diversity through our choice of text, ensuring that we represent our communities through the authors we promote and the stories we tell.
We advocate global citizenship through writing for a variety of purposes and where possible, using our writing to enact change in our community or beyond.
We foster a culture of talk by employing a myriad of oracy techniques into lessons, ensuring that pupils can speak confidently about their learning. Performance of compositions is encouraged and celebrated.
We promote play, passion and joy by including plentiful opportunity for text immersion and unique experiences within our Writing units. This includes opportunities to use drama and engage in fresh, unique texts that inspire our students.