We use a range of strategies to develop children’s early mark making and writing skills. In Foundation Stage we use ‘Wiggle While You Squiggle’ and ‘Dough Disco’ to develop children’s pincer grip and letter formation in a fun and exciting way. In Year 1 and 2 we teach ‘Physical Literacy’ which develops the children’s core strength and fine motor skills. In Year 1 we develop children’s letter formation by introducing pre-cursive script. Once the children are confident with this we encourage them to join their letters. We celebrate this by awarding our ‘Licence to Join’ certificate in assembly.

 

We encourage all children to be confident writers, whatever stage they are at with their writing. Our aim is for all classes have an exciting and relevant role-play area with an attached writing area. These allow adults to model extended vocabulary and encourage writing through purposeful, meaningful contexts. We are implementing ‘Talk for Writing’ strategies to develop children’s writing skills and style.

 In the Foundation Stage, emphasis is on teaching English through role play, objective led planning, stories, storytelling, big books, guided reading, phonics and home reading.

 Over the year in KS1 each year group will cover a balance of narrative, non-fiction and poetry text types. A clear set of end of year expectations are followed by each year group and incorporated into planning and assessment.