Writing

The teaching writing 

At Eastfield Primary School, the purpose of writing is to foster a lifelong love of the written word and English language. We aspire for all children to be authors; eager to craft writing for a variety of purposes. We nurture a culture for writing where children know writing is a means to input their voice into the world.  

The English skills of reading and oracy are intertwined into the writing curriculum. High-quality, engaging books and texts are chosen to introduce children to cultural diversities, develop empathy and promote curiosity, whilst providing writing opportunities for the children to explore the texts read and to further experiment with a variety of styles using the written word. 

Spellings

At Eastfield, in Year Two, Little Wandle is used for spelling lessons and lists. In KS2, EdShed is used for spelling lessons, lists and for children to engage with spellings in a fun way at home. All children in Years Two – Six have a weekly spelling test and receive a list of 10 spellings to practise at home each week.

We recognise that good spelling is crucial to being a great writer and thank you for supporting your child to develop their reading and writing skills by supporting them to learn their spellings each week.

In Year Six,  pupils will sit a statutory 20 word spelling test as part of their end of Key Stage assessments. An example copy of these tests can be found below:

End of Key Stage 2 (Year 6 ) Statutory spelling test example

Handwriting

At Eastfield, we recognise the importance of handwriting as a basic skill that goes beyond primary education. Handwriting is taught regularly at the beginning of English lessons so that correct letter formation becomes automatic, efficient and fluent over time.

In order to establish strong foundations, handwriting is taught outside of phonics lessons in Foundation Stage and Year One using the Little Wandle formation phrases. As children progress into Year Two, they begin their pre-cursive journey by starting to include ‘lead outs’ in their letters.

As pupils enter Year Three, pupils will be taught to use a pre-cursive and then cursive style depending on their pencil control and writing fluency. As pupils transition into Year 4, 5 and 6, they will practise and refine their cursive handwriting style until it becomes an automatic process that does not interfere with their creative thinking. By the end of their time at Eastfield, pupils will understand the importance of neat presentation and the need for different letterforms (cursive, printed or capital letters) to help communicate meaning clearly.

For children in KS2,  online handwriting practise is available via the Letter-join online platform. Letter -Join home log-in information

Little Wandle formation phrases- Handwriting R Lower Case Formation Phrases Oct 25

Little Wandle practise sheets-

Letter Formation Practice Sheets Autumn 1 June 2025

Letter Formation Practice Sheets Autumn 2 June 2025

Letter Formation Practice Sheets Spring 1 June 2023

Writing for pleasure

Throughout the year, whole-school competitions are launched to encourage writing for pleasure for all of the children to share their writing. Competitions are launched termly or half-termly and may be centered around a theme such as Christmas, Harvest Festival or Halloween, or the competitions may be to submit a mini joke-book or to write about a short video clip. These are non-prescriptive and for the sole-purpose of spreading a love of writing. Every child who submits a piece of writing is entered into a random prize draw where they win a notebook and pen to continue their super writing.

Subject Leader:

Miss S Myring