Writing

At Ellenborough we recognise that teaching approaches need to build fluency in foundational knowledge to allow children to succeed and grow in confidence. We consider the writing stages of development as the foundations to ensure that children are taught based on their stage of development, beginning with drawing and scribbling, finally leading to spelling. 

These stages are as follows;

• Pre-literate - Children are not yet able to write letters or words. Instead, they make random marks and scribbles on paper. This is crucial to their growth and sets the foundation for future writing skills.
• Emergent -  Children start to draw shapes that resemble letters and create letter-like forms. They begin to understand that writing represents language and carries meaning
• Transitional -  Children begin to form letters into words, moving beyond simple letter recognition to creating meaningful text
• Fluent  Children begin to write more confidently, and their spelling and sentence structure start to make sense

In the Early Years writing is introduced through Story Dough. Using the medium of playdough, this immerses children in rhyme, language, vocabulary, mark making, make-believe, mathematics and story. 

Drawing Club is introduced in Reception where writing is promoted via story books and animations.  Children are introduced to enriching vocabulary, and develop their fine motor skills through drawing and age-appropriate practice of letters and numbers.

In Year 1 Drawing Club is continued until children are secure in foundational skills by which they then move onto Talk for Writing with narratives as the key text focus.

Year 2 focuses on fluent writing continuing with the Talk for Writing approach, through the introduction of different text types, such as instructions, recounts and stories.

As writing development is based on many factors, and children do not necessarily pass through the stages at the same age, we adapt our approaches to meet each child's needs.

All approaches are based on rich language and vocabulary acquisition which is vital to support the development of early literacy skills as well as wider knowledge, understanding and attainment in all areas of the curriculum.