STM Writing
Please click here for information about our Writing curriculum
Writing Progressions
Please click on the links below to access the English writing and reading progressions of your child/children's' years group. Thankyou.
St Thomas More follows the National Curriculum for English.
Click here to view a copy of the programme of study for KS1 and KS2.
Please click here to view our English Policy 2021 - 2022.
Please click here to view our Handwriting and Presentation Policy 2021 - 2022.
Please click here to view a loom video explaining our handwriting policy.
Mastery English
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The principle of a mastery curriculum is that all pupils keep up with the pace of the learning and that gaps are addressed immediately so that no pupil falls behind.
Teaching for mastery means that all pupils are taught together as a whole class through a highly tuned teaching approach.
For each year group, the Mastery English curriculum is built around three high quality, whole class texts which the class spend a whole term exploring and enjoying.
The texts are carefully chosen and are typically a classic, a novel linked to their topic and a contemporary children's author, perhaps to appeal to that particular class.
Every single pupil experiences reading and engaging with high quality literature by holding a copy of the book and sharing the teacher's passion for reading. The children read the whole text through individual and shared reading, which means that everyone can enjoy the reading experience and they can all keep up with the book.
The interesting thing about this approach is that the reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation and technical writing skills are completely embedded into the whole class teaching approach and taught in the context of the whole class text.
Through careful modelling and links to high class texts, each child becomes a prolific, effective writer and reader.
A key principle of the programme is the teaching of reading, writing, grammar and punctuation in context; this way, children see how important it is to be the 'whole package' as a writer, and they see how a writer's toolkit must be filled with a variety of skills and strategies.
Through our English curriculum, we consider purposeful writing outcomes that all pupils participate in.
Writing skills are at the heart of the children’s learning and we want the pupils in our school to develop a love for writing. We believe that writing gives our children the skill to communicate effectively across the curriculum, it increases their independence and it develops creativity and imagination. At the core of our teaching is the belief that every child can become a confident and competent user of the English language, enabling them to live, work and thrive in society beyond their years in primary school
Our English curriculum is implemented through the use of rich texts and engaging pupils with a cross-curricular approach. Texts are chosen to link with the topics pupils are learning about and these are used as a springboard to inspire pupils to read and write. We believe that choosing the right context and starting point to engage our children in their learning is vital in fostering a love for writing.
Our English lessons develop pupils’ spoken language, writing, grammar and vocabulary, teaching them how to write within specific genres and which structural and language features to include to be successful. Example texts are used to start this process to enable pupils to use other similar writing as models for their own. Lessons also focus on teaching specific spelling, grammar and punctuation skills to enable our pupils to apply the skills they have been taught to their extended writing and writing across the curriculum.
All children from Reception to Year 6 are provided with many opportunities to develop and apply their writing skills across the curriculum. Initially, pupils need to be able to form the letters needed and then be able to express one’s ideas using these letters, through independent writing activities or through dictation activities. Through shared and guided writing opportunities, we equip children to develop the skills of writing clearly and legibly. When the child is confident with these basic skills, they work towards being able to write with a greater sense of purpose and learn to organise their writing according to this purpose. Children are equipped with the necessary tools to do this, being given daily opportunities to focus on spelling and/or grammatical structures.
We develop our pupils writing skills so that they have the stamina and ability to write at length, applying the skills set out in the English National Curriculum. We provide varied and exciting opportunities for writing for purpose and we encourage pupils to see themselves as authors and poets. We promote the importance of written work by providing a writing purpose and opportunities for children’s writing to be read aloud and listened to by an audience. We have a range of extra activities which are used to promote English within the school including: whole school writing challenges and competitions, weekly celebration awards to celebrate writing in each class and writing celebrated on our ‘Writing Wall of Fame’ display.
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Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation:
At St Thomas More Primary School, we aim for our pupils to become fluent and effective writers. Accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar is essential to this. We use the National Curriculum 2014 as a basis for teaching Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar by introducing patterns or conventions and continually practising those already introduced.
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar strategies are taught explicitly in short interactive and investigative sessions in English. Pupils are taught key rules and strategies with opportunities to analyse how other writers have applied these skills to model texts and extracts in order for our pupils to apply these skills independently and effectively to their own writing. Pupils are taught to recognise which strategies they can use to improve their own spelling. They are encouraged to apply learnt strategies to their independent writing.
In KS1, children learn spelling largely through their daily phonic sessions. In KS2, children are taught spelling through discrete sessions each week. The teaching and learning of grammar and punctuation is embedded within the English teaching sequence. This means, grammar and punctuation skills and knowledge are built into a sequence of preparatory work which is then applied within longer pieces of writing during the teaching sequence. As they become more confident, children are encouraged to check spellings using a dictionary and to expand their vocabulary using a thesaurus.
Teachers and teaching assistants show pupils how to understand the relationships between words, nuances in meaning, and how to develop their understanding of, and ability to use, figurative language. They will also teach pupils how to work out and clarify the meanings of unknown words and words with more than one meaning.
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Handwriting:
Handwriting is taught with a sequential and progressive approach with teachers and teaching assistants modelling the handwriting style. We believe that children’s self-esteem and pride in their work can be raised by good quality presentation. Handwriting sessions are taught daily in KS1 through isolated lessons, dictation activities or through RWI. In KS2, pupils are taught handwriting through isolated sessions within which they practise the formation of letters and presentation. Where pupils are off-track, extra handwriting practice opportunities will be given. Resources such as handwriting slopes and pencil grips are provided when needed. We strive for our children to correctly form their letters with pupils having good handwriting habits so that they can write fluently and legibly by the end of KS2.
During lessons, we ensure that our pupils sit, position their paper/book and hold their pen/pencil correctly using their other hand to hold their work firmly. It is important that in the Early Years and at Key Stage 1, children are observed closely during the lesson to ensure that letter formation is correct and corrected if needed. In addition to specific handwriting lessons, children are expected to apply their learning in their exercise books and to show care for the presentation of their work.
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Writing Collaboration!
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World Book Day 2024!
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Writing in F2
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Writing in Y1
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Writing in Y2
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Writing in Y3
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Writing in Y4
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Writing in Y5
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Writing in Y6
