Our Writing Culture

Our phonics teaching helps pupils connect the sounds they hear (phonemes) to the letters they write (graphemes). We provide engaging mark making and writing opportunities so pupils can practise these skills in meaningful ways. We celebrate writing and mark making across our school, giving every pupil opportunities to express themselves through marks, symbols and words. We proudly display pupils’ own writing and mark making around the school, showing that every mark matters.

How Writing Develops

Gross motor skills for writing

Pupils are supported to develop the gross motor skills needed for writing, such as having a stable core and being able to pivot at the shoulder. Pupils have opportunities to do this through:

• Climbing and crawling

• Balancing, using balance beams, obstacle courses, therapy balls, and wobble boards

• Squeezing and manipulating playdough, sand, and other sensory media

• Sweeping, wiping, and cleaning

• Ribbons, pom poms, and dancing

Easy Mark Making

Pupils begin by exploring mark making, using a range of sensory media and tools, which helps them:

• Develop left-to-right movement

• Connect their movements to the marks they create

• Explore lines, shapes, and patterns

• Understand that marks can have meaning

Building Control and Purpose

As pupils progress, they:

• Write for a purpose

• Develop control using different tools

• Create patterns, shapes and letter forms

• Create letter shapes following our handwriting patter

• Begin to form words using their phonics knowledge

• Build sentences orally, and using tools like Mighty Writer, Colourful Semantics, and word cubes

Developing as Writers

Our more experienced writers:

• Engage with different genres (newspapers, information pages, letters, stories, diaries)

• Investigate how different types of writing are organised

• Follow the writing process: planning, writing, and editing

• Build simple and complex sentences, using adjectives and verbs to make sentences more exciting

• Develop poetry and descriptive writing techniques

• Combine sentences to create longer pieces ofwriting

• Write for different purposes and audiences

• Deepen their understanding of spelling, punctuation, and grammar to support their writing

Handwriting

We have developed our handwriting patter to be clear and simple in supporting children learning how to form letter shapes. Pupils develop their skills through phonics, Picture First, and handwriting sessions.