Writing at St Richard’s Catholic Primary School

At St Richard’s Catholic Primary School, we believe that every child is a writer. Our ambition is to develop confident, articulate and skilled writers who can communicate effectively for a range of purposes and audiences. Rooted in our Catholic values and driven by high expectations, our writing curriculum is designed to ensure that all pupils acquire the knowledge, vocabulary and skills needed to achieve highly across the curriculum and beyond.

Writing is inspired by high-quality, carefully chosen texts that engage, challenge and excite our pupils. Through rich literature, children are exposed to ambitious vocabulary, diverse authors and powerful language models that develop both their understanding of the world and their love of writing. We believe that the best writing begins with meaningful experiences, quality discussion and a deep understanding of the text, topic or purpose for writing.

Our writing curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure pupils build knowledge and skills progressively over time. Children are explicitly taught the key components of effective writing, including composition, grammar, punctuation, spelling, vocabulary choice and authorial craft. They learn to plan, draft, revise, edit and publish their work, developing independence, resilience and pride in their writing. Teachers regularly model the writing process, enabling pupils to understand how successful writers make decisions, refine ideas and improve their work.

Strong transcription skills underpin our writing curriculum. We recognise that pupils must develop automaticity in handwriting and spelling so that they can focus fully on communicating their ideas. In Reception and Year 1, children follow the Little Wandle Handwriting programme alongside their phonics teaching, ensuring correct letter formation, pencil grip and posture are explicitly taught from the very beginning. From Year 2 to Year 6, pupils follow the Letter-join handwriting programme and take part in daily handwriting practice to develop fluency, legibility and stamina. We place a strong emphasis on presentation and take pride in helping all pupils produce work of a high standard.

Writing is taught in a way that best meets the needs of our pupils. In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, children are taught in their individual year groups to ensure learning is precisely matched to the expectations of the Early Years Framework and Key Stage 1 curriculum. This enables teachers to provide targeted instruction and intervention during the crucial early stages of writing development. In Years 3/4 and Years 5/6, writing is taught within mixed-age classes, with carefully structured learning sequences that ensure full curriculum coverage and clear progression for pupils in each year group.

We are committed to ensuring that every child can succeed as a writer. Through adaptive teaching, targeted intervention and high expectations for all, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, we provide the support and challenge necessary for every child to make strong progress and achieve their full potential.

By the time pupils leave St Richard’s, they will be able to write accurately, fluently and creatively across a wide range of genres and contexts. Most importantly, they will leave as confident writers with a secure understanding of the writing process, a rich vocabulary and the ability to communicate their ideas effectively in preparation for the next stage of their education and beyond.