Writing

At Pinfold Street, we teach writing skills through daily English lessons. We plan lessons based around a range of texts and visual literacy (often from Literacy Shed).
Each year, we have a half term where the whole school studies a Shakespeare play within English lessons. So far, we have studied Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, The Tempest and Hamlet.
During English lessons, skills are taught explicitly in the build up to a piece of writing. Lessons enable children to learn and practise a skill linked to grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and composition.
We teach a structured writing process: teaching a skill, practising a skill, planning, writing, checking, editing and redrafting. There are planned opportunities for children to do a range of pieces of writing – fiction and non-fiction.
During the writing process, children have specific editing lessons. Our editing lessons are structured in a way that enable children to follow a step-by-step guide to edit their work. Teachers model how to edit to the whole class and work with children 1 to 1 to give personalised feedback.
English toolkits are available in classrooms for children to use as necessary during the writing process. The toolkits are personalised to the children’s needs and may include speed sound charts, red words, handwriting posters, high frequency words and word banks.

In EYFS and KS1, all children are taught through the RWI scheme. Children who have not passed the phonics screening also receive RWI lessons.
Children in Y3-Y6 are the taught the RWI Spelling Scheme. The scheme builds on children’s prior knowledge taught through RWI lessons.
We have also recently introduced Spellingframe. Children can practise their spellings through a range of activities and games. Every word is read aloud and broken into syllables. Every word is also provided in a sentence, so that children also learn the meanings of the words. (If you need your child’s individual log in details for Spellingframe, please email info@pinfold-st.walsall.sch.uk.)