Curriculum Aims
At our school, English sits at the heart of the curriculum. We believe that a secure foundation in speaking, listening, reading and writing opens the door to success in every subject and helps children to thrive in life beyond the classroom. Our aim is not only to teach children the skills of language and literacy, but also to nurture a love of books, stories and writing that will last a lifetime.
Through our English curriculum, we aim for all pupils to:
- Speak and listen with confidence – developing rich vocabulary, strong oracy skills and the ability to share ideas, explain clearly, and listen with understanding.
- Read fluently and with enjoyment – beginning with high-quality, systematic phonics teaching, so that every child can decode words accurately, then moving quickly to develop comprehension, inference and critical thinking skills.
- Read widely and often – developing the habit of reading for pleasure as well as for information, drawing on a wide range of authors, genres and cultures, and appreciating our rich literary heritage.
- Write clearly and effectively – learning to plan, draft, edit and publish their writing, and to adapt style and tone for different audiences and purposes. We place equal importance on transcriptional skills (spelling and handwriting) and on creative composition.
- Build a wide vocabulary and secure grammar – giving children the tools they need to communicate precisely and powerfully, both in speech and in writing.
- Enjoy early success in writing – starting in the Early Years with storytelling, mark-making and early composition, supported by the EEF’s evidence-based guidance on early literacy and writing.
- Use talk to deepen learning – engaging in purposeful discussion, debate and presentation to clarify thinking, extend understanding and develop confidence.
We are committed to inclusive practice. Children who need additional support receive high-quality, timely interventions in both reading and writing, so that every child has the chance to become a confident reader and writer.
By the time they leave us, pupils are equipped with the skills, knowledge and passion for language that will enable them to succeed at secondary school and beyond, and to experience the joy and power of reading and writing throughout their lives.
Intent, Implementation and Impact
Intent
At East Dene Primary School, we are committed to ensuring every child becomes a fluent, confident and purposeful writer. We believe that literacy is not only a skill but a gateway to opportunity, enabling children to think critically, express themselves creatively and communicate with clarity.
Our curriculum intent is shaped by the most recent national guidance and research:
- EEF Guidance: Writing develops most effectively when children are explicitly taught transcription and composition skills, have opportunities for practice, and apply them in purposeful contexts.
- Ofsted English Subject Review: Effective writing depends on secure foundations in transcription, sentence-level fluency and extended composition. We carefully sequence our curriculum to enable children to practise, embed and apply these skills.
- EYFS Statutory Framework 2025: Early writing success rests on secure foundations in oral language, handwriting and spelling. By the end of Reception, children are expected to form recognisable letters, spell words by representing sounds with letters, and write simple phrases and sentences.
- DfE Writing Framework (2025): Highlights the importance of automatic transcription skills, managing cognitive load, teaching sentence-level grammar in context, and ensuring children write for authentic purposes and audiences.
Our transcription and dictation programme:
We are proud to be innovators in this field. Our whole-school transcription and dictation programme ensures children secure fluency and accuracy in spelling and punctuation, freeing cognitive load for composition. In Year 2, we have refined the curriculum to prioritise dictation, allowing pupils to develop fluency at a steady pace before building complexity. This approach has been recognised beyond our school, with other schools visiting to observe and learn from our practice.
By the end of Key Stage 2, our pupils will:
- Write fluently, adapting style for a wide range of audiences and purposes.
- Apply accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation with automaticity.
- Edit, proofread and redraft their work with growing independence.
- Draw on ambitious vocabulary developed through reading and talk.
- See themselves as writers, confident in their ability to express ideas powerfully.
Implementation
Our writing curriculum is structured across three strands: transcription, composition and talk for writing.
EYFS and Reception
- Transcription: From the start of Reception, children are taught to form recognisable letters correctly and spell words by segmenting sounds and representing them with letters. Handwriting instruction is explicit and systematic, supported by fine and gross motor activities.
- Composition: Children rehearse sentences orally before writing them. Opportunities for meaningful mark-making and emergent writing are embedded in play and across the curriculum.
- Early Learning Goal for Writing: By the end of Reception, children write recognisable letters (most correctly formed), spell words using sounds and graphemes, and write simple phrases and sentences that others can read.
- Environment: Classrooms provide opportunities for writing across areas of provision, supported by purposeful contexts such as role play, storytelling and early transcription tasks.
Key Stage 1 and 2
Transcription
- Dictation programme: Daily dictation across school; Year 2 curriculum prioritises transcription fluency through this approach.
- Handwriting: Taught explicitly using the Martin Harvey ISHA scheme, moving from print to cursive. Posture, pencil grip and fluency are consistently reinforced.
- Spelling: Taught systematically, in line with National Curriculum expectations. Pupils practise statutory word lists and rules, with errors addressed through editing and feedback.
Composition
- Text-led curriculum: High-quality texts are used to model rich vocabulary, grammar and authorial choices.
- Unit sequence: Lessons follow immersion, modelling, guided practice and independent writing.
- Grammar and sentence construction: Taught contextually, building pupils’ ability to manipulate grammar for effect. Authentic examples are used to strengthen understanding.
- Purpose and audience: Every unit includes meaningful writing outcomes, ensuring children understand why they are writing and for whom.
Talk and Oral Composition
- Talk underpins all writing. Pupils rehearse ideas orally, engage in structured discussion, drama and debate, supporting sentence fluency and vocabulary development.
- Voice 21 is implemented across school.
Supporting Pupils Needing More Help
- Gaps are identified quickly through formative assessment.
- Additional transcription practice, scaffolded writing tasks and small group support ensure pupils can keep up.
- Exemplification from the 2025 Writing Framework and EYFS materials guide teacher judgements and ensure ambitious expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND.
Assessment and Moderation
- Ongoing formative assessment informs teaching.
- Independent writing outcomes at the end of units are assessed against year group KPIs and the DfE Writing Framework.
- Moderation takes place internally, across our trust, and externally with the local authority.
- Diagnostic assessments supplement teacher assessment in Y2–Y6.
Impact
The impact of our writing curriculum will be evident in:
- Pupils who write fluently, accurately and with stamina, meeting or exceeding national expectations.
- Clear progression in transcription, sentence fluency and extended composition across year groups.
- Children in Reception meeting the Early Learning Goal for Writing, ready for Year 1.
- Pupils who can plan, draft, edit and publish high-quality writing across genres.
- Consistent teacher judgements, moderated against national exemplification.
- Children who identify as writers and take pride in their writing achievements.
Ultimately, pupils leave East Dene fully prepared for the demands of secondary school and beyond, equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence to communicate effectively in all areas of life.
Cultural Capital
Cultural capital refers to the knowledge, skills, experiences, and cultural awareness that individuals acquire throughout their lives, which can significantly impact their social and educational opportunities. Evidence suggests that the cultural capital passed on through families helps children do better in school. Research within our locality suggests that for many of our children, this is a gap we must bridge. We value this in English, as the National Curriculum defines it to be, ‘It is the essential knowledge that pupils need to be educated citizens, introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.’
Our writing curriculum aims to promote cultural understanding and as a result of exposing children to diverse texts from various cultures and backgrounds children foster cultural awareness and empathy. We strive to ensure that our pupils are confident writers, able to make informed decisions about what culture they consume and participate in, having opened them up to a breadth of experience through our rich diet of texts and opportunities to write.
Concepts
There are several key concepts and skills we focus on when teaching writing. These key concepts are introduced and reinforced throughout the English curriculum from Foundation to Year 6, with complexity and expectations increasing as the children progress. Effective instruction in these areas helps students develop strong writing skills that are essential for success.
