Writing at Maryport CE Primary School
At Maryport CE Primary School, we enrich our writing curriculum with the Literacy Tree scheme—high-quality, book-based lessons to foster a love of literature and ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum for English.
High-Quality Texts at the Heart of Writing
Literacy Tree places high-quality, diverse children's books at the centre of learning. These texts —novels, picture books, narrative poems, non-fiction, play scripts—engage children deeply and build their literary understanding. Our planning sequences immerse pupils fully in these texts, sparking curiosity and empathy, and creating meaningful, literary-rich contexts for writing.
Embedded SPAG, Oracy & Sentence Composition
Through Literacy Tree’s “Teach Through a Text” pedagogy, SPAG—Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling—is explicitly embedded within writing lessons. Grammar is introduced in context and applied purposefully in children’s writing. Oracy is nurtured through discussion, process drama, and role-play, helping children speak as writers and lay a strong foundation for confident written expression.
A Variety of Writing Outcomes
Each Literacy Tree sequence offers short, medium, and long writing tasks tailored to audience and purpose providing a wide range of outcomes rooted in the selected book.
How It All Comes Together at Maryport CE Primary School
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Daily one-hour writing sessions immerse pupils in high-quality texts that serve as meaningful stimuli for writing.
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SPAG is taught in context, so children see how grammar and punctuation enhance writing.
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Oracy-rich activities (debate, drama, talk) develop spoken fluency and thoughtfulness as writers.
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Sentence and text-level composition is strengthened through a range of purposeful writing tasks, tied directly to the literary texts.
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Consistent progression across year groups ensures curriculum coverage and supports growing independence and confidence in writing.
The Importance of SPAG at Maryport CE Primary School
At Maryport CE Primary School, we recognise the importance of Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG) as an essential part of every child’s development as a confident and effective communicator. SPAG is not taught in isolation but is embedded within our daily English lessons across all year groups. Children are given the opportunity to explore how different authors use SPAG features to enhance meaning, create effect, and engage the reader.
Through carefully planned teaching, children learn why SPAG matters in their own writing. They are supported to rehearse, refine and craft sentences that demonstrate accuracy and creativity. Our approach ensures that pupils understand how grammar, punctuation and spelling choices can clarify meaning, improve coherence and add richness to their writing.
Spelling is also taught discretely each day. In Early Years and Key Stage 1, children follow the Read Write Inc. programme to build strong foundations in phonics and spelling. From Year 2 onwards, pupils move on to Spelling Shed, which provides a systematic and engaging approach to learning spelling rules and patterns, helping them to become increasingly accurate and confident spellers.
In line with the National Curriculum for English, our teaching of SPAG enables pupils to:
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Develop a strong command of spoken and written language.
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Understand the relationships between words, the structure of sentences, and the meaning they convey.
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Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
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Take pride in accurate spelling and understand how to apply spelling rules and patterns across their work.
By making SPAG a natural and integral part of our English lessons, alongside discrete daily spelling teaching, we ensure that children not only gain the technical skills they need but also learn how to use them purposefully in their own writing to become thoughtful, skilled and imaginative authors.
Spelling Progression
The Importance of Handwriting at Maryport CE Primary School
At Maryport CE Primary School, we believe that developing clear, fluent and confident handwriting is an important life skill. Good handwriting allows children to express their ideas effectively, take pride in the presentation of their work, and write with speed and accuracy as they progress through school.
Our handwriting journey begins in the Early Years, where we focus on building gross motor skills through large movements that strengthen children’s core muscles, shoulders and arms. This physical development is vital in preparing children for the finer control needed in writing.
As children move through Nursery and into Reception, we develop fine motor skills using activities such as Dough Disco, threading, pegging, and other playful yet purposeful tasks that build finger strength, dexterity and coordination.
When children are ready, we introduce LetterJoin, a structured handwriting programme that supports children step by step. This provides a consistent and progressive approach across year groups. Children begin by learning correct letter formation and orientation, before moving on to joining letters and developing a cursive style.
Our ultimate aim is for all pupils to achieve a fluent, joined and legible handwriting style that they can sustain comfortably and efficiently. This enables them to focus more on the content of their writing, rather than the physical act of forming letters, helping them to become confident, independent writers.