At Comberton, pupils are taught to draw upon vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills taught to compose sentences to form a whole text. Teachers make use of a number of methods when doing this. Modelled, shared and guided writing allows teachers to ‘think out loud’ to model thought processes for writing. WAGOLLs (‘what a good one looks like’) are used to evaluate and exemplify the different skills taught.

Pupils are also taught to make use of resources at the point of writing to independently select skills and use them effectively in their work. Each classroom has a working wall which is adapted for each unit of work, exemplifying selected spelling, vocabulary, punctuation and grammar skills taught and serving as a visual reminder of the writing process. Table top resources such as word lists and ALF checklists are also used at teachers’ discretion. These are differentiated for groups or individuals to alow pupils to select the skills most pertinent to them.

Drafting, editing and proof reading are also taught as key skills in pupils’ composition of writing. This begins as children develop their word and sentence writing in the EYFS and are taught to ‘hold a sentence’. The Read, Write Inc technique of self-marking each letter/grapheme after spelling a word, and self-marking basic punctuation when writing a sentence, lays the foundation for proof reading. Throughout KS1 children are taught to read sentences back when writing at length to check for ALF skills such as key spellings and basic punctuation, and to make use of resources around them to ensure accuracy. ALF checklists also encourage children to apply grammar skills they have been taught. As pupils move through key stage 2, editing and corrections are made with blue pen. Pupils are also encouraged to make revisions to their work to improve it for the reader, as well as check for accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar.