St John The Evangelist RCP School
WRITING/SPELLING,
PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR
POLICY
Review dates: December 2016
Review date: December 2017
Rationale
At St. John’s we are passionate about giving the children the very best
opportunities to develop their basic skills in reading, writing, speaking and
listening. We understand how through writing and talking they are able to further
their learning, strengthen their relationships and make better sense of the World
around them.
We recognise that children arrive at school with broad and diverse language
experiences (including children with English as a second language). Through a
rich and creative curriculum we aim to provide our learners with the best
opportunities to become fluent, confident and skilled communicators in both
written and spoken English.
Writing- Aims and Objectives
Through our English curriculum we aim to:
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Develop a genuine love of writing, promoting positive attitudes
Develop confidence and fluency when writing
Encourage the children to value their own writing and that of others
Equip our learners with a range of strategies which will support their
development and ability to spell correctly
Promote the correct use of Standard Written and Spoken English
Encourage creativity and the use of more ambitious vocabulary in their
writing
Enable children to write independently for a range of purposes and
audiences
Enhance planning, drafting, editing and redrafting skills
Appreciate the writing of others, including their peers and published
authors and writers
Help children recognise that writing is a powerful communication tool
Continue to demonstrate high standards of written English across the
curriculum and demonstrate a commitment to the development of Basic
Skills.
Provide equal opportunities for all pupils to achieve success when writing
Approaches to Teaching and learning
Our teachers are incredibly skilled and demonstrate their own love of writing
through high quality modelling and outstanding teaching of English. To maintain
excellent standards (in teaching and learning) the teachers and Teaching
Assistants are kept well informed and up-to date with current Curriculum
requirements and teaching pedagogy. We follow a creative and stimulating
writing curriculum which makes links with EYFS curriculum (Appendix 1 includes
the Early Learning Goals) and the 2014 National Curriculum. (Appendix 2 outlines
National Curriculum programmes of study for writing). At all times our teachers
strive to make writing meaningful and with a purpose. We enhance writing
opportunities by providing stimulating starting points, real life experiences and
out of school excursions. We make links to topics and other subject areas as
much as possible in order to allow children to develop and value their writing
across the Curriculum. We model and share our own writing in order to support
children with their learning.
Strategies for Writing
Through purposeful activities we aim for the children to become confident and
critical writers of different genres. They will be taught the conventions of nonfiction writing as well as being helped to develop their creative skills in poetry
and story writing. Through regular and exciting starting points they will build up
stamina, confidence and enthusiasm for writing.
Writing activities will be appropriately matched to individual abilities in the
classroom with realistic targets identified and planned for. Throughout the school
the children will be encouraged to develop as critical writers, in order to identify
particular strengths in their own writing and that of others, whilst becoming
aware of how it may be improved. All writing should be the child’s best writing.
The children will be encouraged to develop and use a range of writing skills,
including ICT skills, drafting, application of effective spelling strategies, editing
and re-drafting skills. They will be encouraged to present final, neat copies of
their work which they have edited and up levelled. We will provide the
opportunity for children to apply their written skills to all areas of the curriculum,
and expect children to write at a sustained high level, matched to their potential
and current writing level.
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
Our aim is to encourage our learners to fully understand the wonderful rich
nature of our English language and begin to use it to its full effect through writing
and speaking. We hope that through games, interactive activities and high
quality teaching and learning, the children will command an exciting
vocabulary, a vivid imagination and appropriate skills to enhance their writing,
whatever the genre.
Part of the daily teaching of writing will focus on the development of Grammar,
Punctuation and Spelling skills as outlined in The 2014 National Curriculum and in
The Letters and Sounds progression (taught through the RWI phonics
programme). These basic writing skills are developed on a regular basis, through
a wide range of games and short written activities. In Years 2 and 6 the children
will undertake Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation assessments. However, it is an
expectation that from EYFS, all children are taught specific Grammar
terminology and application so that they develop competence and confidence
from an early age.
Indeed, from EYFS onwards, an emphasis has been placed on encouraging the
children to build up an understanding of sentence structure, the accurate use of
punctuation, the application of spelling rules and the identification of different
word classes. Appendix 1 and 2 outlines The 2014 Statutory Curriculum for
Grammar.
Handwriting and Spelling
Throughout all writing opportunities high quality handwriting and effective use of
spelling strategies are promoted. See additional Handwriting and Spelling
policies for further guidance.
Speaking and Listening
At St. John’s we firmly believe that the key to becoming a successful writer is in
being able to talk about your thoughts and ideas in a clear and confident
manner, before committing them to paper. Through the development of talk we
encourage children to listen to and respond thoughtfully to contributions of
others, as well as becoming clear and fluent speakers themselves. Questioning is
high on our agenda and we encourage our learners to question and challenge
in order to deepen their understanding of the World. We instil positive speaking
and listening behaviours and expect our children and adults to respond
thoughtfully and respectfully to others, whatever their role in school.
We always encourage the children to talk through their ideas in full and
extended sentences, using correct Standard English.
From Foundation Stage the importance of storytelling, songs and rhymes is
introduced and this continues throughout the school. We are confident that
good oracy and storytelling skills will enhance the children’s creative writing.
The 2014 NC for Speaking and Listening requires that:
Pupils should be taught to:
 listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
 ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge
 use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary
 articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions
 give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different
purposes, including for expressing feelings
 maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations,
staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments
 use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating,
hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas
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speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard
English
participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play,
improvisations and debates
gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener(s)
consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on
the contributions of others
At St. John’s School we will also provide children with the opportunity to:
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Explore language and word play, in order to develop a love for exciting,
amusing and imaginative words
Describe their observations and experiences to others
Provide opportunity for the telling and innovation of stories
Develop questioning skills and dialogic talk
Provide role play and drama opportunities to enliven and enrich children’s
understanding of character and relationships.
Work collaboratively with talk partners, talk triangles and in small or larger
groups
Give presentations in various groups to various audiences
Complete Talk Homework to promote the importance of oracy at home.
Allow Debates within classrooms relating to topical issues or a current class
focus.
To provide opportunities through The School Council to debate both in and
out of school.
Value their own thoughts and opinions and recognise that they have a
voice in our school community.
Share their understanding and talk about their experiences to others.
Through delivery of the 2014 National Curriculum the children will be exposed to
specific vocabularies, including Maths, Science, Geography and History, which
they will use in both spoken and written work. The children will opportunities in
their discussions to use technical language correctly in order to demonstrate
their understanding of these different subject areas.
Drama
Drama makes a unique and important contribution to our curriculum as it
provides us with a means to widen the children’s experiences and further their
understanding of themselves and their World. We believe that role play has a
significant impact on writing attainment and we encourage it in all Year groups.
In EYFS and Key Stage1 classrooms role play areas encourage the children to
explore their imagination and develop creativity. Our outdoor learning areas
provide opportunities for the children to explore and understand situations which
challenge social attitudes. We recognise Drama as a valuable tool for
developing creativity, empathy, talking and writing and as a way to bring alive
other areas of the curriculum.
The children will have opportunity to perform in a range of activities and
situations during their time at St.John’s and for a range of audiences.
Opportunities will include:
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Role Play
Hot seating
Paired and small group work
Class assemblies,
Christmas performances
Opportunities to appreciate Drama productions performed by others,
including visiting companies.
Home/ School links
We recognise the importance of home school links.
Half Termly/weekly homework focusing on a range of word level, sentence
level and text level work is sent home to support class learning. An emphasis
has also been placed on Talk homework to promote oracy skills.
SEND/EAL
Some children will continue to need additional support beyond
differentiated classroom activities.
TAs may lead additional multi-sensory writing activities involving small
groups or with individuals. Intervention programmes, such as Read,
Write Spell programme may also be put in place to support spelling.
Class teachers will liaise with the SENCO when considering the specific
needs of some children. The SENCO will perform any additional
assessments in order to identify specific weaknesses. When children
have English as an additional language support will be given from
EMAS and the SENCO. The Speech and Language team may also
offer support to individuals with specific communication needs.
Equal Opportunities
All children will have an equal opportunity to work within this policy area.
Account will be taken of specific needs, vulnerable or disadvantaged
groups of learners and where appropriate, support will be accessed.
Curriculum Links
This policy is supported by the range of whole school policies, including
assessment, SEN, Handwriting, Spelling and presentation policies.
Appendix 1
ELG for Writing, Listening and Attention, Understanding and Listening
Writing
Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their
spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple
sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt
correctly and others are phonetically plausible.
Listening and attention
Children listen attentively in a range of situations. They listen to stories, accurately
anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments,
questions or actions. They give their attention to what others say and respond
appropriately, while engaged in another activity
Understanding
Children follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’
and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.
Speaking
Children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs.
They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events
that have happened or are to happen in the future.
They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or
events.
Appendix 2 2014 National Curriculum Statutory Requirements
Year 1
Writing – Vocabulary, Grammar
and Punctuation
Writing - Composition
Pupils should be taught to:
Pupils should be taught to:
§ leaving spaces between
words
§ write sentences by:
§ joining words and joining
clauses using and
§ beginning to punctuate
sentences using a capital letter
and a full stop, question mark
or exclamation mark
§ using a capital letter for
names of people, places, the
days of the week, and the
personal pronoun ‘I’
§ learning the grammar for
year 1 in English Appendix 2
§ saying out loud what they are going to write
about
§ composing a sentence orally before writing
it
§ sequencing sentences to form short
narratives
§ re-reading what they have written to check
that it makes sense
§ discuss what they have written with the
teacher or other pupils
§ read aloud their writing clearly enough to
be heard by their peers and the teacher.
§ use the grammatical
terminology in English Appendix
2 in discussing their writing.
Word
Regular plural noun suffixes –s or –es [for
example, dog, dogs; wish, wishes], including
the effects of these suffixes on the meaning of
the noun
Suffixes that can be added to verbs where no
change is needed in the spelling of root words
(e.g. helping, helped, helper)
How the prefix un– changes the meaning of
verbs and adjectives [negation, for example,
unkind, or undoing: untie the boat]
Sentence
How words can combine to make sentences
Joining words and joining clauses using and
Text
Sequencing sentences to form short narratives
Punctuation
Separation of words with spaces
Introduction to capital letters, full stops,
question marks and exclamation marks to
demarcate sentences
Capital letters for names and for the personal
pronoun I
Terminology for pupils
letter, capital letter
word, singular, plural
sentence
punctuation, full stop, question mark,
exclamation mark
Year 2
Writing – Vocabulary,
Grammar and Punctuation
Writing - Composition
Pupils should be :
Pupils should be taught to:
§ learning how to use both
familiar and new punctuation
correctly (see English
Appendix 2), including full
stops, capital letters,
exclamation marks, question
marks, commas for lists and
apostrophes for contracted
forms and the possessive
(singular)
§ develop positive attitudes towards and
stamina for writing by:
§ learn how to use:
§ consider what they are going to write before
beginning by:
§ sentences with different
forms: statement, question,
exclamation, command
§ expanded noun phrases to
§ writing narratives about personal
experiences and those of others (real and
fictional)
§ writing about real events
§ writing poetry
§ writing for different purposes
§ planning or saying out loud what they are
going to write about
§ writing down ideas and/or key words,
describe and specify [for
example, the blue butterfly]
§ the present and past tenses
correctly and consistently
including the progressive form
§ subordination (using when, if,
that, or because) and coordination (using or, and, or
but)
§ the grammar for year 2 in
English Appendix 2
§ some features of written
Standard English
§ use and understand the
grammatical terminology in
English Appendix 2 in
discussing their writing.
including new vocabulary
§ encapsulating what they want to say,
sentence by sentence
§ make simple additions, revisions and
corrections to their own writing by:
§ evaluating their writing with the teacher and
other pupils
§ re-reading to check that their writing makes
sense and that verbs to indicate time are used
correctly and consistently, including verbs in
the continuous form
§ proof-reading to check for errors in spelling,
grammar and punctuation [for example, ends
of sentences punctuated correctly]
§ read aloud what they have written with
appropriate intonation to make the meaning
clear.
Word
Formation of nouns using suffixes such as –
ness,–er and by compounding [for
example, whiteboard, superman]
Formation of adjectives using suffixes such as –
ful,–less
(A fuller list of suffixes can be found on page 3
in the year 2 spelling section in English
Appendix 1)
Use of the suffixes –er, –est in adjectives and
the use of –ly in Standard English to turn
adjectives into adverbs
Sentence
Subordination (using when, if, that, because)
and co-ordination (using or, and, but)
Expanded noun phrases for description and
specification [for example, the blue butterfly,
plain flour, the man in the moon]
How the grammatical patterns in a sentence
indicate its function as a statement, question,
exclamation or command
Text
Correct choice and consistent use of present
tense and past tense throughout writing
Use of the progressive form of verbs in the
present and past tense to mark actions in
progress [for example, she is drumming, he
was shouting]
Punctuation
Use of capital letters, full stops, question marks
and exclamation marks to demarcate
sentences
Commas to separate items in a list
Apostrophes to mark where letters are missing
in spelling and to mark singular possession in
nouns [for example, the girl’s name]
Terminology for pupils
noun, noun phrase
statement, question, exclamation, command
compound, suffix
adjective, adverb, verb
tense (past, present)
apostrophe, comma
Year 3 and 4
Writing – Vocabulary, Grammar
and Punctuation
Writing - Composition
Pupils should be
Pupils should be taught to:
§ extending the range of
sentences with more than one
clause by using a wider range
of conjunctions, including
when, if, because, although
§ plan their writing by:
§ using the present perfect
form of verbs in contrast to the
past tense
§ discussing writing similar to that which they
are planning to write in order to understand
and learn from its structure, vocabulary and
grammar
§ discussing and recording ideas
§ draft and write by:
§ choosing nouns or pronouns
appropriately for clarity and
cohesion and to avoid
repetition
§ composing and rehearsing sentences orally
(including dialogue), progressively building a
varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing
range of sentence structures
§ using conjunctions, adverbs
and prepositions to express
time and cause
§ organising paragraphs around a theme
§ using fronted adverbials
§ learning the grammar for
years 3 and 4 in English
Appendix 2
§ indicate grammatical and
other features by:
§ using commas after fronted
adverbials
§ indicating possession by using
the possessive apostrophe with
plural nouns
§ using and punctuating direct
speech
§ use and understand the
grammatical terminology in
English Appendix 2 accurately
and appropriately when
discussing their writing and
reading.
§ in narratives, creating settings, characters
and plot
§ in non-narrative material, using simple
organisational devices [for example,
headings and sub-headings]
§ evaluate and edit by:
§ assessing the effectiveness of their own and
others’ writing and suggesting improvements
§ proposing changes to grammar and
vocabulary to improve consistency, including
the accurate use of pronouns in sentences
§ proof-read for spelling and punctuation
errors
§ read aloud their own writing, to a group or
the whole class, using appropriate intonation
and controlling the tone and volume so that
the meaning is clear.
Year 3 Grammar
Word
Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes
[for example super–,anti–,auto–]
Use of the forms a or an according to whether
the next word begins with a consonant or a
vowel [for example, a rock, an open box]
Word families based on common words,
showing how words are related in form and
meaning [for example, solve, solution, solver,
dissolve, insoluble]
Sentence
Expressing time, place and cause using
conjunctions [for example, when, before,
after, while, so, because], adverbs [for
example, then, next, soon, therefore], or
prepositions [for example, before, after,
during, in, because of]
Text
Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group
related material
Headings and sub-headings to aid
presentation
Use of the present perfect form of verbs
instead of the simple past [for example, He
has gone out to play contrasted with He went
out to play]
Punctuation
Introduction to inverted commas to
punctuate direct speech
Terminology for pupils
preposition conjunction
word family, prefix
clause, subordinate clause
direct speech
consonant, consonant letter vowel, vowel
letter
inverted commas (or ‘speech marks’)
Year 4 Grammar
Word
The grammatical difference between plural
and possessive –s
Standard English forms for verb inflections
instead of local spoken forms [for example,
we were instead of we was, or I did instead of
I done]
Sentence
Noun phrases expanded by the addition of
modifying adjectives, nouns and preposition
phrases (e.g. the teacher expanded to: the
strict maths teacher with curly hair)
Fronted adverbials [for example, Later that
day, I heard the bad news.]
Text
Use of paragraphs to organise ideas around a
theme
Appropriate choice of pronoun or noun within
and across sentences to aid cohesion and
avoid repetition
Punctuation
Use of inverted commas and other
punctuation to indicate direct speech [for
example, a comma after the reporting
clause; end punctuation within inverted
commas: The conductor shouted, “Sit down!”]
Apostrophes to mark plural possession [for
example, the girl’s name, the girls’ names]
Use of commas after fronted adverbials
Terminology for pupils
determiner
pronoun, possessive pronoun
adverbial
Year 5 and 6
Writing – Vocabulary,
Grammar and Punctuation
Writing - Composition
Pupils should be :
Pupils should be taught to:
§ recognising vocabulary and
structures that are
appropriate for formal speech
and writing, including
subjunctive forms
§ plan their writing by:
§ using passive verbs to affect
the presentation of
§ identifying the audience for and purpose of
the writing, selecting the appropriate form and
using other similar writing as models for their
own
§ noting and developing initial ideas, drawing
on reading and research where necessary
information in a sentence
§ using the perfect form of
verbs to mark relationships of
time and cause
§ using expanded noun
phrases to convey
complicated information
concisely
§ in writing narratives, considering how authors
have developed characters and settings in
what pupils have read, listened to or seen
performed
§ draft and write by:
§ selecting appropriate grammar and
vocabulary, understanding how such choices
can change and enhance meaning
§ using modal verbs or
adverbs to indicate degrees
of possibility
§ in narratives, describing settings, characters
and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to
convey character and advance the action
§ using relative clauses
beginning with who, which,
where, when, whose, that or
with an implied (i.e. omitted)
relative pronoun
§ précising longer passages
§ learning the grammar for
years 5 and 6 in English
Appendix 2
§ indicate grammatical and
other features by:
§ using commas to clarify
meaning or avoid ambiguity
in writing
§ using hyphens to avoid
ambiguity
§ using brackets, dashes or
commas to indicate
parenthesis
§ using semi-colons, colons or
dashes to mark boundaries
between independent
clauses
§ using a colon to introduce a
list
§ punctuating bullet points
consistently
§ using a wide range of devices to build
cohesion within and across paragraphs
§ using further organisational and
presentational devices to structure text and to
guide the reader [for example, headings, bullet
points, underlining]
§ evaluate and edit by:
§ assessing the effectiveness of their own and
others’ writing
§ proposing changes to vocabulary, grammar
and punctuation to enhance effects and
clarify meaning
§ ensuring the consistent and correct use of
tense throughout a piece of writing
§ ensuring correct subject and verb
agreement when using singular and plural,
distinguishing between the language of
speech and writing and choosing the
appropriate register
§ proof-read for spelling and punctuation
errors
§ perform their own compositions, using
appropriate intonation, volume, and
movement so that meaning is clear.
§ use and understand the
grammatical terminology in
English Appendix 2 accurately
and appropriately in
discussing their writing and
reading.
Year 5 Grammar
Word
Converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using
suffixes [for example, –ate; –ise; –ify]
Verb prefixes [for example, dis–,de–,mis–,over–
and re–]
Sentence
Relative clauses beginning with who, which,
where, when, whose, that, or an omitted
relative pronoun
Indicating degrees of possibility using adverbs
[for example, perhaps, surely] or modal verbs
[for example, might, should, will, must]
Text
Devices to build cohesion within a paragraph
[for example, then, after that, this, firstly]
Linking ideas across paragraphs using
adverbials of time [for example, later], place
[for example, nearby] and number [for
example, secondly] or tense choices [for
example, he had seen her before]
Punctuation
Brackets, dashes or commas to indicate
parenthesis
Use of commas to clarify meaning or avoid
ambiguity
Terminology for pupils
modal verb, relative pronoun
relative clause
parenthesis, bracket, dash
cohesion, ambiguity
Year 6 Grammar
Word
The difference between vocabulary typical of
informal speech and vocabulary appropriate
for formal speech and writing [for example, find
out – discover; ask for – request; go in – enter]
How words are related by meaning as
synonyms and antonyms [for example, big,
large, little].
Sentence
Use of the passive to affect the presentation of
information in a sentence [for example, I broke
the window in the greenhouse versus The
window in the greenhouse was broken (by
me)].
The difference between structures typical of
informal speech and structures appropriate for
formal speech and writing [for example, the
use of question tags: He’s your friend, isn’t he?,
or the use of subjunctive forms such as If I were
or Were they to come in some very formal
writing and speech]
Text
Linking ideas across paragraphs using a wider
range of cohesive devices: repetition of a word
or phrase, grammatical connections [for
example, the use of adverbials such as on the
other hand, in contrast, or as a consequence],
and ellipsis
Layout devices [for example, headings, subheadings, columns, bullets, or tables, to
structure text]
Punctuation
Use of the semi-colon, colon and dash to mark
the boundary between independent clauses
[for example, It’s raining; I’m fed up]
Use of the colon to introduce a list and use of
semi-colons within lists
Punctuation of bullet points to list information
How hyphens can be used to avoid ambiguity
[for example, man eating shark versus man-
eating shark, or recover versus re-cover]
Terminology for pupils
subject, object
active, passive
synonym, antonym
ellipsis, hyphen, colon, semi-colon, bullet points