Intent
At Beech Green Primary School, we believe that every child is a writer. We aim to develop confident, enthusiastic and purposeful writers who can communicate effectively for a range of audiences and purposes. Our writing curriculum inspires creativity while equipping children with the knowledge, skills and vocabulary they need to become successful communicators throughout their lives.
We recognise that strong writing begins with secure transcription skills. Therefore, we place a significant emphasis on the development of handwriting, spelling and sentence construction from the very beginning of a child's writing journey. By ensuring these foundational skills become increasingly automatic, children are able to devote more of their cognitive effort to composition, vocabulary choices and crafting meaningful texts.
Throughout the school, writing is purposeful. Using Michael Tidd's Purpose for Writing approach, children are given authentic reasons to write and are encouraged to consider who they are writing for and why. This develops engagement, motivation and a genuine understanding that writing has a real purpose beyond the classroom.
Our curriculum exposes children to a rich diet of high-quality literature, picture books, film clips and carefully selected stimuli, alongside meaningful links to the wider curriculum. These experiences broaden children's vocabulary, stimulate their imagination and provide meaningful contexts for writing.
We strive to develop writers who:
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write confidently for a range of audiences and purposes;
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select ambitious vocabulary and grammatical structures appropriate to the task;
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develop stamina and independence as writers;
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edit and improve their work thoughtfully;
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take pride in presenting published pieces of writing;
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enjoy writing and see themselves as successful authors.
Implementation
Writing begins in the Early Years, where children develop the foundations of communication, language and transcription through carefully planned provision. Alongside the explicit teaching of early writing skills, Drawing Club provides rich opportunities for children to develop vocabulary, imagination, storytelling and oral language before transferring these ideas into mark making and writing. Continuous Provision offers purposeful opportunities for children to explore writing independently, allowing them to apply taught skills within meaningful play experiences. This approach continues into Year 1, where carefully planned Continuous Provision further develops children's confidence, independence and enjoyment of writing.
Across the school, teachers explicitly teach sentence construction using Colourful Semantics. This structured approach supports pupils in understanding sentence structure, enabling them to build increasingly sophisticated sentences with confidence. As children progress through school, this secure understanding underpins the development of more complex grammatical structures and composition.
Writing units are carefully sequenced to build towards a meaningful final outcome. Teachers draw upon high-quality resources from The Literacy Shed, alongside their own carefully planned sequences, to ensure learning is engaging, ambitious and responsive to the needs of each class. Units are inspired by high-quality picture books, novels, film clips and wider curriculum topics, providing children with exciting contexts and a genuine purpose for writing.
Each writing journey includes opportunities for children to:
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immerse themselves in high-quality texts and vocabulary;
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identify the purpose and intended audience for their writing;
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explore the language and structural features of each text type;
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explicitly learn and practise grammar, punctuation and spelling within meaningful contexts;
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develop ambitious vocabulary through discussion, reading and vocabulary instruction;
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orally rehearse ideas before writing;
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plan, draft, write, edit and publish their final piece.
Vocabulary development is central to every writing unit. Children are explicitly taught ambitious vocabulary and encouraged to select language that enhances meaning and engages the reader. Grammar is taught within the context of writing so that pupils understand not only how grammatical features work, but why authors choose them.
Dictation forms a key component of writing across every year group. Carefully planned dictation activities provide pupils with regular opportunities to apply previously taught spelling, punctuation and grammar in context. Dictation reduces cognitive load by allowing children to concentrate on transcription, enabling teachers to identify misconceptions quickly and provide immediate feedback. It strengthens spelling retrieval, reinforces grammatical accuracy, develops listening skills, improves sentence fluency and increases automaticity, allowing pupils to transfer these skills more confidently into their independent writing.
Editing is embedded throughout the writing process. Children are taught to reflect critically on their own writing, making purposeful improvements to vocabulary, grammar, organisation and punctuation before producing a final published piece which celebrates their achievements.
Impact
The impact of our writing curriculum is evident in the confidence, independence and enthusiasm with which children approach writing.
Children leave Beech Green as writers who can communicate effectively for a range of audiences and purposes, selecting language and grammatical structures appropriate to each context. They demonstrate increasing independence throughout the writing process, drawing upon ambitious vocabulary and applying the knowledge and skills they have been taught.
Pupils produce writing of a high standard across the curriculum and understand that writing is an important tool for learning, communication and self-expression. They take pride in their published work and develop resilience through planning, editing and refining their ideas.
Through regular opportunities to write for meaningful purposes, children develop a genuine enjoyment of writing and see themselves as successful authors. Strong foundations in transcription, sentence construction and vocabulary enable pupils to write fluently and confidently, while carefully sequenced writing journeys ensure sustained progress from the Early Years through to Year 6.
As a result, pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to communicate effectively throughout their lives.
Please see our approach to reading here.