"If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write!" - Sir Winston Churchill

Writing Lead - Mrs Rachael Nash 

Writing

At St Dennis Primary Academy, we believe writing is a vital form of communication, creativity and self-expression. It’s central to our curriculum because writing with clarity, purpose and imagination unlocks wider learning, builds confidence and ensures every child has a voice.

From Early Years through Year 6, we are committed to nurturing skilled, motivated writers who adapt their writing for varied audiences and purposes. High‑quality texts remain at the heart of our curriculum, inspiring pupils to recognise and replicate effective writing.

Our approach is rooted in evidence, including the EEF’s guidance 'Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1 and 2' and the new DfE Writing Framework (July 2025), which emphasise:

• Automatic transcriptional fluency: secure handwriting and phonics‑based spelling from Reception, enabling cognitive load to shift toward composition

• Sentence‑level instruction embedded in context: teaching grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and sentence structure within real writing, rather than in isolation

• Oral composition preceding written work: encouraging pupil talk‑for‑writing and sentence rehearsal to scaffold planning and refine ideas

• Focus on quality, not quantity: resisting early pressure for long pieces in Reception and prioritising precise, fluent, meaningful writing

• Early identification and support: providing timely interventions for pupils struggling with transcription or composition skills 

It is our intention, that by the end of their primary school journey at St Dennis, our pupils will:

• Write fluently and confidently for diverse audiences and purposes;

• Organise and structure ideas effectively, using accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation;

• View themselves as authors with valuable contributions;

• Possess the resilience, motivation and metacognitive tools to continue as independent writers, beyond the classroom

We also embrace The Not‑So‑Simple View of Writing (Berninger), recognising how working memory supports transcription, text generation, and executive functions - reinforcing the importance of automaticity in handwriting and spelling.

At St Dennis, we celebrate every child’s voice. We value the writing process as much as the final product, and we champion creativity, challenge and communication. Our goal is for every child to leave us not only as a capable writer, but as someone who sees writing as a way to share, persuade, explore and inspire.

Implementation

Overview

At St Dennis Primary Academy, our writing curriculum is designed to develop confident, fluent and creative writers from the earliest stages of education through to Year 6. Our implementation is underpinned by evidence-based strategies, including the EEF’s guidance on 'Improving Literacy' and the DfE Writing Framework (2025). It is structured, progressive and inclusive, ensuring pupils build secure foundations in transcription and composition while developing metacognitive awareness and independence.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

The EYFS is a critical foundation stage for writing. Our focus is on:

• Gross and fine motor development to support handwriting fluency.

• Automatic transcriptional skills through:

  • Structured handwriting activities.

  • Read Write Inc. (RWI) phonics and writing.

  • Continuous provision writing opportunities.

• Oral composition and sentence rehearsal before writing.

• Drawing Club to integrate storytelling, vocabulary, and mark-making in an engaging, creative context.

Children progress from mark-making to forming letters and constructing simple sentences, prioritising quality and accuracy over quantity.

Key Stage 1

Writing instruction in KS1 builds on EYFS foundations through:

• Daily RWI Get Writing lessons for transcription and sentence-level work.

• Drawing Club for creativity and oral rehearsal.

• Talk for Writing introduced in Year 2 Summer term.

SPaG is taught in context and reinforced through:

• Quick Writes – focused application of sentence-level grammar and punctuation.

• Talk for Writing – structured genre-based writing.

Key Stage 2

KS2 consolidates and extends writing skills through:

• Talk for Writing units linked to curriculum topics for purposeful writing.

• Quick Writes – targeted SPaG practice.

• Whole-class and 1:1 conferencing – accelerating progress and supporting pupils to reach greater depth.

Pupils learn to write for a range of purposes and audiences, using increasingly sophisticated grammar, vocabulary, and cohesive structures. Editing and redrafting are integral to the writing process.