Intent

At The Mead, writing for pleasure is at the heart of our curriculum. From their very first experiences in school, we aim to nurture a love of writing and inspire children to become lifelong, independent, and motivated writers. We strive to build every child’s confidence and ensure that each one is recognised as a writer from the moment they join us.

We empower our children with the belief that they can write, giving them ownership over what and how they write, helping them understand the purpose behind their writing, and encouraging them to write with enthusiasm every day. We also ensure they are equipped with the skills, strategies, and resources they need to develop and flourish as writers.

Implementation

We follow the Writing for Pleasure approach, which is highly adaptable and has been thoughtfully tailored to meet the needs of our school community. In every classroom, we foster a community of writers where teachers write alongside children and share their own model books. Children are actively involved in shaping their writing projects and also work on personal writing alongside whole-class units.

We hold high expectations for all children, from Nursery to Year 2, and view every child as a writer. Reading and writing are closely connected, and we immerse children in high-quality texts, stories for enjoyment, and clear, effective models every day. As we read, we explore the craft of writing, discussing what makes each piece successful and how we can apply those techniques in our own work.

Our writing projects are purposeful and meaningful. At the start of each unit, we clearly identify the genre, audience, and purpose for writing. Wherever possible, we provide real-life opportunities for writing—for example, Year 1 children write and post curiosity letters to ask questions and receive real responses.

At the beginning of the year, each class takes part in a welcome project that sets the tone for our writing curriculum. This includes exploring the writing areas in the classroom and establishing a class ‘publishing house’—a dedicated space in the class library where children’s books are celebrated and shared.

We explicitly teach the writing process, guiding children through generating ideas, planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Clear and consistent writing goals help children understand what success looks like and how to achieve it.

We maintain a strong balance between composition and transcription to support fluency. Grammar is taught within English lessons and applied during writing time. Children have daily writing opportunities through English, phonics, handwriting, and spelling sessions, each with a clear focus on developing specific aspects of writing.

Impact

Children at The Mead are enthusiastic, confident, and capable writers. They see themselves as authors with something valuable to say and are proud to share their work with others. They write with purpose, independence, and joy, drawing on a rich bank of strategies and experiences developed through our carefully structured curriculum.

Our pupils demonstrate a secure understanding of the writing process and are able to make thoughtful choices about content, structure, and language. They are resilient, reflective, and motivated to improve their writing. By the end of Key Stage 1, children leave us with a strong foundation in both the technical and creative aspects of writing, ready to build on their skills in the next stage of their education.