Writing at Gawber

Gawber School provides a bespoke and carefully planned curriculum  where literature is at the heart of the subject of English. We know that exposing our children to a wealth of literature has profound effects on how they experience the world. The novels we have chosen provide scope for the exploration of worlds: real and imagined; far and near. The poetry we include works in many different ways and conveys a variety of emotions. The drama used provides our children with ways to discuss moral dilemmas or conflicts and discuss powerful moments in history. Texts (non-fiction and fiction) are chosen to compliment our wider curriculum so that children immerse themselves in how it feels to be a reader for different purposes and therefore are able to write for a variety of reasons. 

Spoken Language 

At Gawber School, children are taught to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others. Through their own reading and listening, others can communicate with them too! At Gawber, we understand that speaking, reading and writing are not only the objects of study, but the means in which a subject is learned. 

How it writing taught?

All elements of English (reading, writing and spoken language) are heavily intertwined at Gawber, and we  provide our children with rich opportunities to use the language and vocabulary skills that they have acquired in focused English sessions as well as across the curriculum. In EYFS and KS1, the Read Write Inc programme is used to provide our children with the key transcriptional and compositional knowledge they need to become confident and fluent writers. We firmly believe in ensuring that our children gain fluency in transcription as soon as possible so that their working memory can be freed up to focus on composition. 

In KS2, children use the Talk for Writing approach, enabling the children to orally imitate the language needed for a particular type of writing, before reading, analysing and eventually writing their own piece. Using the idea of 'talk' is an integral component in our writing curriculum that is woven into all areas of learning so that children are confident when articulating and structuring ideas. The progression of spoken language is prioritized throughout our whole curriculum and children are given ample opportunities to continually develop their competence and confidence in spoken and listening skills. For example, at Gawber, our children often use discussion in order to learn; they elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas. Adults model selecting the appropriate registers for effective and clear communication and use a 'my turn-your turn' structure to encourage children to speak audibly and fluently in all areas of learning. 

Extra curricular

Gawber children become competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate. Debate club is one of our most popular after school clubs!

Audience and Purpose

Through their writing, our children use the knowledge of the spoken and written word combined with their knowledge of other areas of the curriculum to produce writing for a specific audience and with a specific purpose. We are keen to give our children real purposes for writing.

We all love writing at Gawber

Language comprehension and composition is at the heart of our curriculum. Staff model a love of writing and we equip our children with a strong command of the spoken and written word across all areas of the curriculum, encouraging our children to understand how they can write effectively in all areas of learning.

We ensure that all children are provided with opportunities to widen their vocabulary and gain a secure knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language by integrating this across our curriculum. This then ensures that our children move onto the next stage of their education as competent writers, able to take on the challenges of secondary school subjects.

Eventually, we aim for Gawber children to become adults who are able to write effectively for the jobs they dream of acquiring.