Writing

Intent

We have designed our Writing curriculum to ensure that learners develop a lifelong love of writing and are able to write fluently and confidently to communicate their ideas, thoughts and emotions clearly to others. Through rich language experiences, pupils broaden their vocabulary and learn to use it accurately and effectively within context. They are taught to write with purpose across a wide range of genres, including both fiction and non-fiction, and to understand and use spoken language effectively. As a result, learners express themselves clearly and confidently, participating articulately as active members of society. 

Implementation

The Write Stuff is underpinned by two guiding principles: teaching sequences that move fluidly between experience days and sentence stacking lessons. Within each teaching sequence, teachers plan a combination of experience days, sentence stacking lessons and independent writing opportunities. Experience days are designed to immerse children in rich, engaging experiences linked to their writing, while exposing them to ambitious vocabulary connected to the lenses of The Writing Rainbow. These experiences provide the foundation for sentence stacking lessons, during which pupils focus on crafting three carefully structured sentences using the different writing lenses. 

The Write Stuff follows a method known as Sentence Stacking, where sentences are deliberately built and organised into short, focused chunks of learning. This approach engages pupils through intensive moments of instruction that they can immediately apply to their own writing. Each sentence stacking lesson is based on a single plot point from the text and is divided into three learning sections: Initiate, Model and Enable. The Initiate section provides a stimulus to capture pupils’ imagination and set up the sentence. In the Model section, the teacher demonstrates a high-quality sentence, clearly showcasing key writing features, grammar and techniques. During the Enable section, pupils write their own sentence, closely following the teacher’s model. This part of the unit is heavily scaffolded, with significant teacher input and explicit modelling of vocabulary choices, sentence construction and grammar, all linked to the three writing lenses. 

During the Initiate section, children take part in ‘chotting’ (chat and jot), where they record ideas inspired by a range of stimulating resources. Pupils are encouraged to use ‘kind calling out’ to share ambitious vocabulary and other language features. In the Model section, the teacher prepares pupils for writing by explicitly modelling ideas, grammar and techniques drawn from The Writing Rainbow. In the Enable section, pupils write independently, with opportunities to ‘deepen the moment’ by drawing on previously learned skills and applying them purposefully to their writing. 

Following the sentence stacking lessons, pupils are given the opportunity to demonstrate their learning by planning an independent piece of writing. Once completed, this work is marked by the class teacher, and forms part of their writing assessments. 

Impact

As the Writing curriculum has been newly implemented, its full impact will become increasingly evident over time. Early indications include pupils’ growing enjoyment of writing and improving engagement in writing tasks across the curriculum. As the curriculum becomes embedded, we expect to see consistently high-quality writing in pupils’ books, with children confidently writing for a range of purposes and audiences across both fiction and non-fiction genres. Over time, pupils will increasingly select and use ambitious vocabulary to excite, inform or entertain the reader, demonstrate a secure understanding of punctuation and sentence types, and apply phonetic knowledge and spelling rules accurately. The curriculum also aims to develop confident speakers who communicate fluently, listen attentively with understanding and empathy, and contribute effectively to group discussions. The longer-term impact will be measured through internal assessment systems, and by outcomes at the end of Year 6 when compared with local and national data. 

Progression of Skills