Welcome to writing at Newham Bridge Primary School
Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write – John Jakes.
At Newham Bridge, our writing curriculum aims to teach our children to become confident writers, who have the opportunity to write for a range of purposes and audiences.
Throughout their time at Newham Bridge, children are supported on a clear writing journey. They are taught the essential skills of spelling, handwriting, grammar, and sentence construction, while also being encouraged to write creatively and independently. By building on strong foundations and nurturing a love of writing, we ensure that every child develops the confidence and skills they need to succeed as a writer, both in school and beyond.
Our approach:
From starting their journey in Nursery to Year 6, children develop a love of language and the ability to communicate effectively, with oracy underpinning our curriculum. Our writing lessons encourage curiosity, imagination, and reflection, ensuring that every child leaves Newham Bridge equipped to write with skill and purpose.
To ensure the best start to our writing journey and ensure strong foundations in writing, our Early Years provide daily activities to develop fine and gross motor skills. Within the Early Years, we use ‘Pencil Party’ to develop the children’s pencil grip along side their gross motor. This gives the children opportunities to secure the foundational skills, before moving onto ‘Dancing Dough’, to strengthen hand muscles, improve finger dexterity, and developing the children’s fine motor skills.
Mark-making, forming letters and writing simple sentences, gradually progresses into more detailed pieces in Key Stage One.
At the start of Autumn term, Year 1 to Year 6 focus on developing and securing their understanding of place value of punctuation and grammar. This approach is then woven into the following writing units throughout the year, ensuring this knowledge is further embedded and confidently used in their writing.
An example of the units overview, linking to the Place Value of Punctuation and Grammar.
Within our writing sequence, we follow a systematic writing process which involves links to Place Value of Punctuation of Grammar, sharing a model text, discussing and learning more about features, planning, drafting , editing and finally publishing.
Supporting at home:
Children make the greatest progress in writing when school and home work together.
Sharing ideas, encouraging writing for a purpose, and reading together helps develop vocabulary, grammar, and confidence.
English policy:
