English is one of the core subjects in our curriculum. At Sacred Heart, we aim to develop in our children a love of language both written and spoken that will go with them into adulthood. We believe a high standard of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills will place our children at an advantage in their wider curriculum studies.

We base our writing approach on The Write Stuff Programme. The Write Stuff is based on two guiding principles; teaching sequences that slide between experience days and sentence stacking lessons. With modelling at the heart of them, the sentence stacking lessons are broken into bite-sized chunks and taught in a structural framework.  Teachers prepare children for writing by modelling the ideas, grammar or techniques of writing.

From the Foundation Stage, all children’s attempts at writing, including emergent writing, are valued and built upon, so that children appreciate the importance of their writing in conveying meaning to the reader. Immersion within a genre of writing, be it fiction or non-fiction, is at the centre of our approach to teaching writing. We endeavour to provide diverse and quality experiences of texts to give children the appropriate tools to produce their own quality writing. Through our teaching, we try to ensure that children have ample opportunities to write creatively and for pleasure whilst building on the technical features of writing composition, grammar, spelling and handwriting through discrete instruction and dedicated lessons. We also strive to include cross-curricular writing wherever possible. This builds well-rounded writers, who can write in an appropriate and engaging manner for a range of purposes and audiences.

In KS1 and KS2 SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) is taught both discretely and as an embedded part of English lessons. With support and guidance children are encouraged to edit their work and identify areas of development in their own writing. This enables them to be more reflective learners and develops lifelong skills in writing.

Spelling is an integral part of the writing process. Pupils who spell with ease can concentrate on the content of their writing and the making of meaning. Spelling is taught as part of a planned programme following the requirements of the National Curriculum.