Writing

Writing at St Joseph the Worker RC Primary School

EYFS

Drawing Club is a powerful part of writing in EYFS because it gives children a purpose, a shared story world, and the confidence to put their ideas onto paper. After exploring a rich text or animation, children create detailed drawings that become the foundation for oral storytelling and early mark‑making. Through repeated retelling, vocabulary rehearsal, and playful imagination, their drawings evolve into labels, captions, and simple sentences. This approach supports every child — especially reluctant writers — because the drawing reduces cognitive load, the shared narrative boosts motivation, and the routine builds stamina. Over time, children see themselves as authors and illustrators, using Drawing Club to develop narrative structure, adventurous vocabulary, and a genuine love of writing.


KS1 and 2

St Joseph the Worker is proud to be a Literacy Tree school, where high‑quality children’s literature sits at the heart of our English curriculum. Being a Literacy Tree school across Years 1-6 means we choose rich, diverse and meaningful texts that are carefully matched to our pupils’ interests, backgrounds and lived experiences, ensuring every child sees themselves in the stories they read while also being introduced to new worlds, ideas and voices. Through this approach, reading and writing are taught in context, with each unit built around a core text that inspires purposeful writing, deep discussion and a love of language. Our teachers select books that resonate with our community and challenge pupils to think critically, creatively and compassionately, making literacy a powerful driver of both academic progress and personal growth.

We also use the Spelling Shed scheme to ensure that every child develops strong, confident and accurate spelling skills. Spelling Shed provides a clear, progressive structure that supports pupils from early phonics through to more complex spelling patterns, with engaging games and activities that help children practise and retain new learning. Teachers use Spelling Shed to tailor teaching to the needs of our pupils, offering targeted support and challenge so that all learners can succeed. This consistent, research‑informed approach helps children build secure spelling knowledge that strengthens their writing across the curriculum.