Writing

"Let your light shine before others."

Matthew 5:16

At Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School, we believe that writing is a powerful tool for communication, creativity and self-expression. We are committed to developing confident, articulate writers who can communicate their ideas with clarity, purpose and imagination across a wide range of audiences and genres.

We maintain the highest expectations for every child, regardless of their starting point, and are committed to removing barriers so that all pupils can succeed. Through carefully sequenced teaching, high-quality texts and meaningful writing opportunities, we ensure every child develops the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to become an independent writer.

Our writing curriculum has been carefully designed to reflect the rich, diverse community that we serve. The texts and themes chosen represent a wide range of cultures, experiences and perspectives, helping every child to see themselves within the curriculum while broadening their understanding of the world around them.

The majority of our writing units have been developed through the Tower Hamlets Education Partnership (THEP). These units provide a carefully structured approach to teaching writing, ensuring progression from Nursery through to Year 6. Additional units have been designed using the same principles and sequence to provide consistency across the school. Our curriculum is reviewed annually to ensure it remains ambitious, engaging and closely linked to learning across the wider curriculum.

Our Vision for Writing

At OLSJ, we aim for all pupils to:

• Write clearly, accurately and coherently for a range of purposes and audiences.

• Develop a rich and ambitious vocabulary.

• Use grammar and punctuation accurately and effectively.

• Appreciate and engage with high-quality literature.

• Write with increasing fluency, stamina and independence.

• Understand how authors make deliberate choices to create meaning and effect.

• Develop resilience through planning, drafting, revising and editing.

• Take pride in the presentation of their work.

• Become reflective and critical readers and writers.

• Leave primary school fully prepared for the next stage of their education.

We believe that writing is a process rather than a product. Children are taught to generate ideas, rehearse language orally, plan, draft, revise, edit and publish their work. Through this process, pupils develop both technical accuracy and authorial confidence.

What Does Writing Look Like at OLSJ?

At OLSJ, writing begins with high-quality literature, rich language experiences and meaningful opportunities to communicate.

Our writing curriculum is rooted in the Tower Hamlets Education Partnership (THEP) English approach. Pupils are immersed in carefully chosen texts, taught ambitious vocabulary, supported through discussion and oral rehearsal, and guided to understand how authors craft their writing.

Through explicit teaching, modelling, drafting, revising and editing, children develop the confidence, fluency and independence needed to write for a range of audiences and purposes.

We want every child to see themselves as a writer: someone who can express ideas clearly, use language creatively and share their voice with the world.

The OLSJ Writing Journey

Writing at OLSJ is taught through the Tower Hamlets Education Partnership (THEP) English approach.

Each writing unit follows a carefully structured sequence that supports pupils to build knowledge, develop language and write with increasing confidence and independence.

Children begin by exploring high-quality texts and rich vocabulary before analysing how authors create meaning through language and structure. Through discussion, oral rehearsal and explicit teaching, pupils develop the knowledge and skills needed to become successful writers.

Teachers model the writing process through shared and guided writing before pupils apply their learning independently. Children are then encouraged to revise, edit and improve their work before celebrating their achievements through publishing and sharing their writing with others.

This carefully sequenced journey helps pupils develop as confident, reflective and independent writers who can write effectively for a range of audiences and purposes.

Developing Skilled Writers

At OLSJ, children are explicitly taught the tools and techniques needed to become successful writers.

Alongside our text-based writing journey, pupils learn a range of sentence structures, grammar features and vocabulary choices that help them write effectively for different audiences and purposes.

We use the Alan Peat Sentence Types programme across the school to develop sentence variety, creativity and authorial style. These memorable sentence structures support pupils in creating engaging and sophisticated writing across both fiction and non-fiction genres.

Children are also taught to review, edit and improve their work using our whole-school editing systems. Through COPES and VCAP, pupils learn to check the accuracy of their writing, improve vocabulary choices, refine sentence construction and develop independence as writers.

This consistent approach helps children to become reflective, resilient and confident writers who take pride in their work and continually strive to improve.

Vocabulary, Communication and Oracy

Language development sits at the heart of our writing curriculum.

Research shows that vocabulary knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of future academic success. Therefore, explicit vocabulary instruction is embedded throughout all writing units.

Children are encouraged to:

• Acquire ambitious vocabulary.

• Explore multiple meanings of words.

• Discuss and justify language choices.

• Use vocabulary accurately and effectively.

• Apply new vocabulary in both speech and writing.

We believe that spoken language is fundamental to successful writing. Pupils regularly engage in discussion, debate, drama, role play, oral rehearsal and collaborative learning activities.

These opportunities enable children to develop ideas, refine language and build confidence before writing independently.

To support language development and communication, we also use Colourful Semantics and Widgit symbols to ensure all pupils can access ambitious language and participate fully in learning.

Inclusion

Our writing curriculum is ambitious, inclusive and accessible to every learner.

All pupils, including those with SEND and those learning English as an Additional Language (EAL), receive high-quality teaching alongside carefully planned adaptations that enable them to achieve success.

These may include:

• scaffolded writing tasks and teacher modelling;
• visual prompts and sentence starters;
• vocabulary banks and dual coding;
• Widgit symbols and pictorial supports;
• Colourful Semantics;
• targeted intervention and small-group support; and
• collaborative work with our SEND and Speech and Language teams.

By providing the right level of challenge and support, we ensure every child develops as a confident, successful writer who is proud of their achievements.

Assistance with this is given by the writing lead, SEND team and S&L, who provided frequent training and support.