Writing, Spelling and Handwriting
At Prospect Vale, we want children to become confident writers who have something to say and the skills to say it well. We teach children to communicate ideas clearly, write for different purposes and audiences, and take increasing ownership of their work.
Our writing curriculum brings together spoken language, reading, spelling, handwriting and composition. Children learn how effective writing works, practise the knowledge and techniques they need, and apply their learning in meaningful pieces of writing. As foundational skills become more secure, children can give more attention to their ideas and the effect they want to create for a reader.
Strong foundations from the beginning
The journey begins before children can write a sentence independently. In Nursery and Reception, conversation, stories, songs, rhymes and imaginative play help children build vocabulary, organise ideas and enjoy communicating. Adults listen carefully, extend children’s language and model how to express an idea in a complete sentence.
Physical development matters too. Mark-making, drawing, movement and carefully chosen activities develop the control children need for writing. Alongside these experiences, children receive explicit teaching of letter formation and learn through phonics how to represent sounds with letters.
Children rehearse ideas aloud before recording them. Adults model how to say a sentence, write it and read it back. Early writing has a purpose: a message, a label, a list or a story gives children a reason to use their developing skills.
Building knowledge through primary school
In Key Stage 1, children develop secure sentence construction, spelling, punctuation and handwriting while learning to sequence and communicate their ideas. In Key Stage 2, they build on these foundations through increasingly sustained writing, a wider vocabulary and more deliberate choices about organisation, language and effect.
Previously taught knowledge is revisited so that children can use it with growing confidence. Reading and writing remain closely connected: children explore how authors use words and sentences, then draw on that understanding in their own work.
Our writing journey
Our shared approach is organised around the three Es: Exploration, Experimentation and Exemplification. These stages help children understand how a piece of writing develops. Teachers adapt the pace and return to earlier learning when children need further explanation, practice or challenge.
Explore
Children encounter high-quality texts and examples of effective writing. Through reading, discussion, drama and oral rehearsal, they explore ideas, vocabulary and the choices a writer makes. Teachers explain and model the grammar, punctuation, sentence structures and techniques that will help children achieve the intended purpose. Short writing opportunities allow children to begin trying these out.
Experiment
Children practise and develop their writing through focused tasks, short writes and supported drafting. They try different words, sentences and ways of organising ideas, then consider what works. Teacher feedback helps children identify strengths, address misconceptions and improve a particular aspect before bringing their learning together.
Exemplify
Children apply their learning in a purposeful piece of writing. They plan, draft, revise and proofread, with support matched to their stage. They have opportunities to share or publish their work and reflect on how their choices communicate meaning to a reader.
Learning from an expert writer
Teachers make the thinking behind writing visible. During “I do”, the teacher models and explains choices. In “We do”, children rehearse and compose together. In “You do”, they apply their learning with increasing independence. Guided teaching provides additional support or challenge for children who share a particular need.
Texts purpose and audience
Children learn to ask: Why am I writing? Who will read this? What do I want my reader to understand, imagine or feel? These questions help them choose an appropriate form, vocabulary and tone. A letter, for example, might inform, persuade or recount an experience depending on its purpose.
Learning through rich texts
Books, poems, images, films and experiences can provide a starting point for writing. Teachers use model texts to make effective choices visible and plan opportunities for children to apply them. Grammar and punctuation are taught explicitly and connected to the meaning children want to convey. Links with other subjects provide further opportunities to use writing knowledge.
Examples from our planning
In Year 2, Paddington texts provide a context for descriptions and a persuasive letter to Aunt Lucy. Meerkat Mail supports informative postcard writing. These activities connect discussion and short writing practice with a longer piece for a particular reader.
In Year 5, The Explorer by Katherine Rundell provides opportunities to describe the Amazon setting and characters, create a survival guide and write an alternative ending. Children explore how descriptive language, clear instructions and narrative choices serve different purposes.
These examples illustrate how a text can support several kinds of writing. The length of a sequence depends on the intended learning and the children’s needs; teachers allow time for explicit teaching, practice and improvement.
Writing curriculum overviews
We are updating our year-group writing overviews to show the texts, purposes and intended learning across the year. Further overviews will be added to this page as they are completed. The examples above offer an introduction to the approach.
Spelling
We teach spelling explicitly so that children become increasingly accurate and confident when they write. Children learn to use sounds, spelling patterns, word structure and meaning to make informed choices. Frequent practice and retrieval help them remember learning and apply it beyond a spelling lesson.
Reception and Year 1
Spelling is taught through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. Children learn to hear and segment the sounds in a spoken word and represent them with taught letters or letter groups. They practise words and sentences and learn which part of a tricky word needs particular attention. Teaching and assessment take place within phonics; children do not have formal weekly spelling tests.
Year 2
Children move from phonics into explicit spelling through the Little Wandle pathway. The usual sequence includes a Phase 5 review, Bridge to spelling and the Little Wandle Spelling programme. Assessment determines when children are ready to move on and identifies any gaps requiring further teaching. There are no formal weekly spelling tests in Year 2.
Years 3 to 6
Children follow Twinkl PlanIt, covering national curriculum spelling patterns and statutory words. They learn about roots, prefixes, suffixes, word families and, where helpful, word origins. Four focused sessions of approximately ten minutes each week provide explicit teaching, guided practice, retrieval and application.
The usual routine includes ten taught spellings, shared for home practice after the previous Friday’s assessment, with adjustments for individual need. Friday assessment informs feedback and further teaching. Children may also apply a pattern to an unfamiliar word so that we can check understanding as well as recall.
Using spelling in real writing
Teachers check spelling in dictated sentences and independent writing as well as in assessments. Children revisit patterns, learn to notice errors and practise correcting them. Older children who need further phonics or foundational spelling support receive teaching matched to the gap identified.
Handwriting
We want handwriting to become comfortable, fluent and easy to read. When children can form letters accurately and with less conscious effort, they can concentrate more fully on spelling, sentence construction and their ideas. Handwriting is taught explicitly and practised regularly throughout school.
From formation to joining
Little Wandle provides the core handwriting sequence in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Children learn a “Ready to write” routine, including posture, pencil grip and paper position. They practise patterns and letter families, then develop accurate lower-case letters, capitals and digits, with attention to size, spacing and placement on the line.
From Year 2, children learn diagonal and horizontal joins when their unjoined letter formation is secure. We teach a cursive style with selective joins. Children do not have to begin every letter with a stroke from the baseline or keep their pencil on the paper throughout a word. Capitals remain unjoined.
Developing fluency in Key Stage 2
Our school progression, supported by Twinkl resources, develops consistent letter size, spacing and joins before increasing speed and stamina. Teachers revisit particular movements in response to assessment. Older children learn to maintain legibility during longer pieces and make sensible choices about joined or unjoined writing for different tasks.
Handwriting is practised daily in the early years of school through taught sessions and brief review or application. Years 3 and 4 have at least four taught sessions each week, and Years 5 and 6 have at least three. Additional short practice is provided where needed.
Teaching and support
Adults demonstrate movements carefully, explain where letters start and finish, guide practice and give immediate feedback. Children apply the same principles in English and other subjects. Teachers observe the process as well as the finished page, responding to difficulties with grip, pressure, movement, comfort or fluency.
Support may include different line sizes, adapted equipment, additional modelling, adjustments for left-handed writers or targeted practice. Children develop an increasingly personal style while retaining accurate, comfortable and legible handwriting.
Helping every child improve
All children are entitled to ambitious writing teaching. Teachers check understanding throughout lessons and adapt explanation, practice and support in response. A child might benefit from oral rehearsal, a visual prompt, a word bank, a sentence frame or additional guided practice. Support is reduced as confidence and independence grow.
Children who are ready for further challenge refine their choices, explore different effects and write with greater precision. Where difficulties persist, staff identify the specific barrier and review whether additional teaching or adaptations are helping. Children continue to develop and communicate ideas while receiving support with transcription skills.
Feedback and assessment
Teachers use discussion, short writes, longer pieces and work across subjects to understand what children can do independently and what they need next. Feedback gives children a manageable focus for improvement. Staff discuss and moderate writing together to support consistent judgements.
Children learn that revising and proofreading have different jobs. Revising improves meaning and effect: they might clarify an idea, reorganise a paragraph or choose a more effective word. Proofreading checks accuracy, including spelling, punctuation and grammar. Both are taught and modelled before children are expected to use them independently.
Supporting writing at home
Talk about experiences, retell stories and encourage your child to explain an idea in a complete sentence. Conversation in your family’s home language is valuable too.
Read together and notice a word, phrase or description that makes you picture something or feel a particular way.
Give writing a real purpose: a card, shopping list, message, set of instructions, short review or letter provides a reason to write.
Ask your child to say a sentence aloud before writing, then read it back to check that it makes sense. Celebrate ideas and progress, and focus on one manageable improvement.
In Reception to Year 2, reinforce the phonics and reading shared by school. From Year 3, practise the spellings sent home in short, regular sessions and discuss the pattern or meaning.
Use the letter formation and joins taught in school. Encourage a comfortable position and brief, careful practice; let the teacher know if writing causes pain or persistent fatigue.
Find out more
Our spelling and handwriting policies and progression appendices provide more detail about the sequence taught from Reception to Year 6. Year-group writing overviews will be added as they are completed. For information about your child’s learning or support, please contact their class teacher through the school office.