Writing
At Shaw Wood Academy, we are committed to developing confident, articulate and creative writers who understand the power of their words. Through a structured and engaging approach, we equip children with the skills to craft meaningful and purposeful writing. Our curriculum is designed to immerse pupils in the writing process, helping them develop a strong authorial voice and a clear sense of intent and purpose. By exploring the impact of language choices, structure and style, children learn how to shape their writing to engage, inform and influence their audience, preparing them for success in both academic and real-world contexts.
Transcription in EYFS & KS1
At Shaw Wood, we recognise the importance of transcription fluency in early writing development. Transcription fluency—the ability to spell and write accurately and automatically—is a key focus in Early Years and Key Stage 1, as it allows pupils to free up their working memory and concentrate on composing their writing effectively. To develop this crucial skill, we provide ample opportunities for children to practise writing, including dictation exercises, and explicitly teach spelling, focusing on words relevant to their learning. We also give effective feedback to support handwriting and spelling improvements, model oral language to demonstrate sentence structure, and encourage children to apply their learning in their independent writing. Strong transcription fluency reduces cognitive overload, enables children to write what they can articulate verbally, and supports overall composition skills. Alongside transcription, we also nurture composition skills, helping pupils to structure their ideas in speech and confidently transfer them to writing. Through this balanced approach, we ensure that our pupils develop into confident and capable writers.
Year 1 - Year 6
We follow a consistent writing sequence across the school, from Year 1 to Year 6, ensuring that children build on their skills progressively each year. Each writing unit typically lasts between three to five weeks, providing pupils with the time to deeply engage with a high-quality stimulus, explore language and structure, and refine their own writing skills. A key focus of our approach is vocabulary development, enabling children to expand their word choices, understand the nuances of language, and use ambitious vocabulary with confidence and precision in their writing.
Immersion
During this first stage of the writing sequence, teachers carefully select broad, rich, and engaging stimuli (a mixture of texts and visuals) that will challenge and inspire children, providing a strong foundation for their writing. A key focus is on vocabulary development, ensuring that pupils encounter ambitious and varied language that they can experiment with in their own writing. Through planned drama and structured speaking and listening opportunities, children actively engage with texts, deepening their understanding and expanding their ability to express ideas with precision and confidence. A clear purpose and audience are established from the outset, helping pupils understand why they are writing and how to make deliberate language choices for impact. Teachers model key reading strategies, using visual media to enhance comprehension and expose pupils to new and sophisticated vocabulary. As children explore these texts, they begin to unpick the writer’s craft, analysing language, structure, and techniques while gathering rich vocabulary and stylistic ideas to inform and elevate their own writing.
Analyse
In this stage of the writing sequence, children explore the key features and characteristics of a specific text type or genre. Teachers guide pupils in identifying the most essential features they need to learn, ensuring a clear and focused approach to skill development. Together, we establish and agree on success criteria, providing a clear framework for what makes an effective piece of writing. A key part of this phase is the use of WAGOLLs (What A Good One Looks Like). By analysing high-quality examples, children gain a concrete understanding of what they can achieve in their own writing. Our primary focus as a school is purpose—helping children understand authorial intent. Through guided discussions, pupils are encouraged to ask critical questions such as:
- Why has the writer included this feature here?
- How does this sentence impact the reader?
- What emotions does this phrase evoke?
- What is the underlying message of this piece?
By deconstructing texts in this way, children learn how to craft writing that engages, informs, or influences the reader, mirroring the techniques used by skilled authors.
Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar
At this stage, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary are explicitly taught in context, ensuring that children understand how these elements enhance and shape their writing. Pupils explore how specific features are used effectively within real texts, making their learning meaningful and transferable.
Children are explicitly taught the statutory SPaG requirements for their year group, with a focus on the key skills needed to meet the agreed success criteria for the writing outcome. All SPaG elements essential for the focus text type are either introduced or revisited in an engaging and purposeful way. For example, when writing a character description, pupils may focus on expanded noun phrases and metaphors to create vivid imagery. If they are preparing to write a non-fiction text, areas such as tense consistency and formal language may be explored.
Interactive and investigative activities allow children to apply their learning in meaningful contexts, analysing high-quality texts to see grammar in action. Key learning from these sessions is displayed on the learning wall, providing a valuable reference point during the ‘Write’ stage of the sequence. By embedding SPaG instruction within the writing process, children develop a strong foundation of grammatical knowledge. As they progress through school and revisit different text types, they build confidence in applying the appropriate features with precision and intent.
Plan, Write, Review
Plan
During this stage, pupils actively plan their writing by applying the skills they have learned and using the agreed success criteria as a guide. They are provided with a rich stimulus to generate ideas, ensuring their writing is purposeful and engaging.
Children begin with structured planning methods, such as oral planning strategies or simple planning grids, to help organise their thoughts. As they become more confident writers, they are encouraged to experiment with different planning techniques that suit their individual styles.
A collaborative class plan is created and displayed on the learning wall, serving as a reference throughout the writing process. Individual planning formats include key content, ideas, ambitious vocabulary, and relevant grammar elements to support independent writing. By mapping out their work effectively, pupils develop confidence in structuring their writing, ensuring clarity, coherence, and creativity as they move into the next stage of the sequence.
Write
During the writing stage, teacher modelling plays a vital role in guiding pupils through the writing process. Through demonstrations, teacher scribing, and supported composition, children see how to effectively transform their plans into well-structured, purposeful writing. Teachers explicitly model how to integrate word and sentence-level skills within a whole text, ensuring that pupils understand how their language choices contribute to meaning and impact. Spelling strategies are also reinforced during this stage to support accuracy and fluency.
Pupils write their individual paragraphs using their plans as a scaffold, developing their writing over an extended period. They are fully aware of the purpose and audience of their writing, making deliberate choices in vocabulary, sentence structure, and tone. Throughout the process, children are encouraged to engage in ongoing self and peer assessment, refining their work to enhance clarity, coherence, and effectiveness.
A range of supporting aids, including the learning wall, word banks, dictionaries, thesauruses, and peer collaboration, are always available to support pupils in crafting high-quality writing. This stage of the sequence ensures that children develop independence, confidence, and a deeper understanding of how to shape their writing for impact.
Review
The review stage is a crucial part of the writing process, allowing children to independently assess and refine their work. Clear feedback is provided, directly linked to the success criteria, helping pupils understand their next steps in developing their writing.
This stage is carefully structured to ensure all aspects of writing—spelling, grammar, content, and structure—are reviewed systematically. Teachers support this process by modelling common errors using an example text that reflects typical mistakes found in children’s writing. By asking questions such as “Can you spot any mistakes?”, pupils develop their editing skills and take ownership of their improvements. When teachers discuss these purposeful errors, children are encouraged to reflect on their own writing, recognise similar areas for development, and make corrections independently.
Beyond technical accuracy, pupils also evaluate their work against the intended audience and purpose, considering whether their language choices, structure, and tone effectively achieve their writing goals. Once all necessary edits and refinements have been made, children produce a final, polished version of their writing, ensuring that all improvements are incorporated. This process reinforces the importance of drafting, revising, and taking pride in their written work.