We use the HFL ESSENTIALWRITING Scheme to teach our children how to write effectively.

ESSENTIALWRITING is a progressively sequenced writing curriculum for years 1 to 6, that is built upon the principles of writing for authentic purpose and audience. 

As much as possible, within every unit plan, children are encouraged to write for a chosen,  authentic audience and are provided with time to publish and share their writing with their intended reader(s). These authentic reasons to write, and seeing these experiences through to the very end, can drive motivation, engagement and pleasure – not to mention a real and genuine care for the writing process.  

ESSENTIALWRITING has been developed to ensure complete National Curriculum coverage from year 1 to 6. Objectives have been mapped out across the year with opportunities to review key objectives from the previous year group embedded. Objectives build sequentially over the year with deliberate emphasis and repetition of core skills that children will rely upon the most within their writing. This spiral curriculum is designed to introduce new concepts in manageable chunks and offer meaningful opportunities for application as children delve deeply into studying the craft of writing.

Our writing curriculum offers abundant opportunities for children to engage with texts through reading, discussion, drama and more; however, the focus is on writers having abundant opportunities to read the core texts as writers that notice the writerly craft.  

The texts serve as rich inspiration, and by immersing themselves in these texts, children learn to deploy the techniques employed by authors and understand their impact on real readers. Rather than simply repeating content our children have the chance to analyse the choices writers make and the reasons behind them. Our curriculum places a strong emphasis on the art of writing, leveraging our reading experiences to develop a deeper understanding of what constitutes effective writing. Through this approach, we aim to grow a generation of writers, who not only appreciate the craft of writing, but who also thrive in it!  The emphasis on oral rehearsal, reading aloud, and other opportunities to speak before, during and after writing, is woven throughout our approach.

Our teachers have all been trained to deliver the ESSENTIALWRITING curriculum. Our teachers are trained how to respond to pupils’ learning in real-time and make necessary adjustments as the learning progresses. 

At Kensworth CE Academy, we are all very enthusiastic about this approach as it brings out the best in the children and the teachers (who effectively model the craft of writing for the children to use as the basis of their own work) – we are all writers together.   Writing becomes a joint adventure and the results are exciting.