Writing
“There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they'll take you.” Beatrix Potter
Our Vision for Writing at Headcorn Primary School...
At Headcorn Primary, we wish to create confident and courageous writers, and embolden pupils to share their ideas with the world. We strive to help our children develop into articulate and imaginative communicators, who are well-equipped with the basic 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. Quality texts by critically acclaimed authors are carefully chosen, whilst careful links are made across the curriculum to ensure that children’s English learning is relevant and meaningful: where possible linking our reading, writing and the topic that we are covering in History and Geography.
We ensure that children develop an understanding of how widely writing is used in everyday life and, therefore, how important and useful the skills are that they are learning. We believe that all pupils should be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing. We want pupils to acquire a wide vocabulary, a solid understanding of grammar and be able to spell new words by effectively applying the spelling patterns and rules they learn throughout their time in primary school. We want them to write clearly, accurately, coherently, and creatively, adapting their language and style for a range of meaningful contexts, purposes and audiences.
A love for writing begins in the Early Years, where children are introduced to the joy of expressing their thoughts and ideas through mark-making and emergent writing. Threaded through a rich and engaging curriculum, opportunities for writing are woven into meaningful, playful contexts, encouraging children to explore and create with purpose. They learn to form recognisable letters, identify and represent sounds with corresponding letters, and begin to spell words phonetically. This foundation allows children to compose simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others, fostering a sense of achievement and communication. Child-initiated learning further supports this journey, as children choose to write during this time, integrating their personal interests and experiences into their writing explorations.
As children progress through school, they develop a comprehensive toolkit for writing, mastering essential secretarial skills such as handwriting, spelling, and punctuation. They build their understanding of grammatical features, learning to craft clear and effective sentences. Through exposure to high-quality texts, children are inspired to write in a variety of genres, supported by our carefully designed genre progression documents. Following our structured writing cycle, they plan, draft, edit, and refine their work, creating engaging and purposeful pieces. This process instils pride and confidence in their writing, enabling them to express their ideas creatively and effectively across diverse contexts.
