English Curriculum: Writing at Mount Stewart

At Mount Stewart Federation, we prioritise writing as a fundamental life skill, integrated across all subjects to build transferable skills for each educational phase. Our dynamic, diverse curriculum, rich in imaginative hooks and a strong focus on oracy, engages students and enhances their writing for various purposes and audiences. Daily literacy lessons link writing and reading, fostering genre understanding and vocabulary expansion. We ensure inclusivity through tailored support, especially for those with unique learning needs. Our comprehensive approach, underpinned by continuous assessments and the Talk for Writing approach, equips students with robust writing skills, preparing them for secondary education and beyond.

Approach and Planning

Mount Stewart Federation focuses on integrating writing as a fundamental life skill across all subjects, with a year-on-year build-up of transferable writing skills. Through the Talk for Writing approach, pupils internalise language patterns, develop strong oracy foundations, and learn to internalise, imitate, innovate and invent with confidence.

• Emphasis on writing as a vital skill both in and out of education.
• Progressive development of transferable writing skills through Talk for Writing’s imitation, innovation and invention stages.
• Preparation for secondary education through a comprehensive writing curriculum.

Teaching Strategies

The federation employs dynamic teaching strategies, including engaging hooks, structured modelling, and a strong focus on oracy, to enhance writing skills. The Talk for Writing process underpins teaching practice, ensuring pupils build a deep understanding of text types and writing techniques through imitation, innovation and independent application.

• Use varied and engaging hooks to stimulate the imagination.
• Incorporation of oracy and story mapping to build vocabulary and text comprehension.
• Guided and shared writing modelled through Talk for Writing to develop writer’s craft.
• Encouraging writing for diverse purposes and audiences to improve quality and application.

Curriculum Intent

The writing curriculum aims to make every child proficient in writing, with the ability to apply these skills across different contexts. By embedding the Talk for Writing approach, pupils develop a clear understanding of structure, style and authorial voice, enabling them to become confident, independent writers.

• Development of writing as a key skill for life.
• Intent to make writing a transferable skill across all curriculum subjects.
• Focus on achieving full potential in writing for all learners.

Implementation

Implementation involves daily literacy lessons, integration of writing and reading, and the use of a robust writing process supported by Talk for Writing.

• Daily one-hour literacy lessons focusing on age-appropriate writing skills.
• Close linking of writing with reading to enhance genre knowledge and understanding.
• High-quality teacher modelling and shared writing following the Talk for Writing cycle (Imitation → Innovation → Independent Application).
• Structured planning and progression across all year groups to ensure consistency and depth of learning.

Inclusivity and Support

The federation provides tailored support for all learners, especially those not meeting age-related outcomes or on the SEN register. The Talk for Writing approach, with its emphasis on oral rehearsal and visual scaffolding, supports all pupils—particularly those with additional learning needs—by reducing cognitive load and enhancing confidence.

• Tailored interventions and support for children with varying needs.
• Continuous assessment, adaptive planning and personalised next steps for all learners.
• Specific strategies within Talk for Writing to scaffold language and structure for SEN students and those below age-related outcomes.

Impact

The impact of the curriculum is assessed through ongoing evaluations, termly tests, and a focus on age-related outcomes. The Talk for Writing approach enables measurable progress as pupils demonstrate growing independence, creativity and technical accuracy in their writing.

• In-depth assessment of writing skills at the end of each unit.
• Termly testing on spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Data from assessments used to inform teaching strategies and next steps.

When students leave Mount Stewart, they will:

Be equipped with strong, transferable writing skills, ready for the challenges of secondary education and beyond.

• Have a solid foundation in writing for various contexts and audiences.
• Be proficient in applying their writing skills across different subjects.
• Possess a strong vocabulary and understanding of different writing genres.
• Have developed independence and creativity through the Talk for Writing process.

Trisha Dayal is our Writing Lead, dedicated to nurturing and enhancing the writing skills of our students at Mount Stewart Federation.