Over the past 2 years we have been working hard on ensuring our English curriculum is engaging, inspiring and fun, as well as teaching all of the skills a child needs to learn to be a great writer. Broadly, this has meant redesigning our blocks of teaching around a single text each half term and teaching children the process a writer goes through to craft a text. Families may have noticed an increase in published work coming home this year and our hope is that children perceive themselves as writers; this is done by providing them with authentic writing opportunities; bringing home REAL PUBLISHED work from school once per half term so that children and their families get to celebrate and share their incredible imaginations and writing skills at home and in their wider communities.

We want children to leave Lyndhurst identifying as writers and inspired and motivated to continue to develop these skills, not just to help them in daily life, but to employ them creatively and give them a voice, whether that is to communicate with a real external audience, or to express themselves as tool for improving their wellbeing.

As CLPE, The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education put is: Through purposeful opportunities and reasons to write, children are able to develop authentic personal voice, style, stamina and range as a writer. They enjoy writing expressively, imaginatively and informatively for purpose – they will become authors. https://clpe.org.uk/research/writing-primary-schools-what-we-know-works

When children bring home published writing, be sure to take the time to sit down and read it with them(as an authentic audience, rather than as a parent/teacher). Discuss how it makes you feel as a reader, enjoy the rich language, the careful structure and don’t forget the illustrations. Your children will be inspired to write more for pleasure and this in turn further empowers them to express themselves and grow as a writer.

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