Writing & SPaG

Handwriting

At Fairfield, we believe that clear, fluent and legible handwriting is an essential life skill that supports effective communication across the curriculum. We are committed to developing strong handwriting habits from the earliest stages of learning, helping children to write with confidence, accuracy and pride.

EYFS & Key Stage 1

In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, we follow the Little Wandle Handwriting Scheme, which is closely linked to our Systematic Synthetic Phonics Programme (SSP). This ensures a consistent approach to the teaching of letter formation, enabling children to develop correct habits from the very beginning of their writing journey. Through carefully sequenced lessons, pupils are taught how to form letters accurately, position them correctly on the line and develop the fine motor skills needed for successful handwriting. The close link between phonics and handwriting supports children in becoming confident readers and writers, while reinforcing the formation of the graphemes they are learning.

In-line with the Writing Framework, Handwriting is taught explicitly and practised regularly, allowing pupils to build fluency and automaticity over time. Teachers provide clear modelling and opportunities for guided and independent practice to ensure that high expectations are maintained throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.

Key Stage 2

As pupils move into Key Stage 2, they continue to develop their handwriting skills through Letter-join, an online handwriting programme that supports the teaching of cursive handwriting. Children have three lessons per week in Lower Key Stage 2. Children begin to learn and apply a joined style of writing when they are ready, ensuring that progression is appropriate to their individual stage of development. Through Letter-join, pupils are taught how to join letters efficiently, improve writing fluency and present their work neatly across all curriculum areas. As confidence grows, children are encouraged to write in a consistent, legible cursive style that supports both speed and stamina for extended writing tasks.

We are committed to ensuring consistency in the teaching of Handwriting across the school. Therefore, once Little Wandle develops and releases its Key Stage 2 Handwriting Programme, we intend to adopt this scheme to provide a fully aligned and seamless approach from Reception through to Year 6. 

Through our structured handwriting curriculum, children develop the skills needed to present their work with pride and to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. By combining high-quality teaching, regular practice and a consistent whole-school approach, we ensure that every child is supported in becoming a fluent and accomplished writer.

A key element of our Handwriting culture is our Ready to Write Mantra. This shared approach encourages children to think carefully about their 'position, posture, pencil/pen grip and paper' before they begin to write. By consistently using this mantra across the school, pupils develop positive writing habits. 

Our Handwriting Policy is listed below. It includes further information on how we teach children to form letters and advice for parents on supporting their child.

Punctuation and Grammar

At Fairfield, we believe that strong punctuation and grammar skills are fundamental to becoming a confident and effective writer. We teach punctuation and grammar through our Pathways to Write Scheme, ensuring that learning is always meaningful, purposeful and rooted within high-quality texts. By teaching these skills in context, children develop a deeper understanding of how grammar and punctuation choices can improve clarity, create effect and enhance communication. These form part of their Mastery Keys. 

The Pathways to Write programme provides a carefully structured and progressive framework that ensures pupils build their knowledge and understanding year on year. Grammar and punctuation objectives are mapped throughout each unit and are taught within the context of reading, discussing and producing high-quality writing. This approach enables children to see how the features they learn are used by real authors before applying them in their own work. As a result, pupils understand not only how punctuation and grammar work, but also why they are important.

Our curriculum follows a clear progression from Reception to Year 6, allowing children to revisit and build upon prior learning as they move through the school. Pupils are taught the age-related punctuation and grammatical concepts outlined in the National Curriculum, developing increasing accuracy, sophistication and confidence in their writing. Teachers carefully model the application of these skills through shared writing and provide opportunities for children to practise and apply them independently across a range of writing outcomes.

While punctuation and grammar are primarily taught through our Writing Curriculum, pupils in Years 5 and 6 also take part in additional, discrete SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) lessons. These sessions are designed to revisit, consolidate and strengthen previously taught concepts, ensuring that key knowledge is retained and applied accurately. This additional practice helps pupils become more fluent in their understanding while preparing them for the increasing demands of upper Key Stage 2 and secondary education.

We maintain high expectations for the use of punctuation and grammar across all subjects and areas of learning. Children are encouraged to apply their knowledge whenever they write, whether in English, Science, History or any other Curriculum area. Teachers provide regular feedback and opportunities for editing and improving work so that pupils continually develop their accuracy and understanding.

As a school, we recognise the importance of modelling excellent language skills. Staff lead by example through the consistent use of Standard English in both spoken and written communication. By hearing and using high-quality language every day, pupils develop confidence in expressing themselves clearly, accurately and appropriately for different audiences and purposes.

Through our contextualised approach, progressive Curriculum and consistently high expectations, we ensure that all pupils develop the punctuation and grammar skills needed to become articulate, successful and confident writers. By embedding these skills within meaningful reading and writing experiences, children are able to transfer their learning across the curriculum and into their wider lives.

To aid children’s progression in this important Literacy area, pupils receive regular, relevant homework tasks relating to their learning of SPAG.

Therefore, in order support this process, please find (below) a guide to SPAG. We hope that this will assist with your child’s learning at home and help to make sense of some of the terminology they may be using.

Spelling

At Fairfield, we believe that accurate spelling is a vital component of effective written communication. Developing strong spelling skills enables children to communicate their ideas clearly and confidently, while also supporting their reading, writing and vocabulary development. We are committed to providing a structured and progressive approach to spelling that helps all pupils become increasingly accurate and independent spellers.

To support this, we follow the Pathways to Spell programme across the school. This carefully sequenced scheme provides clear progression in spelling knowledge and skills, ensuring that pupils build upon prior learning as they move through each year group. Through engaging and interactive lessons, children learn spelling patterns, rules and conventions alongside strategies that help them become confident and reflective spellers.

Spelling lessons are taught regularly and are closely linked to the expectations of the National Curriculum. Pupils are given opportunities to investigate word patterns, explore morphology and etymology, and develop a deeper understanding of how words are constructed. By learning the meaning and structure of words, children are better equipped to apply their spelling knowledge independently across a range of writing contexts.

To reinforce learning at home, children are also given weekly spelling homework (Key Stage 2). This provides valuable opportunities for retrieval, practice and consolidation of the spelling patterns and rules that have been taught in school. Working in partnership with families helps to strengthen pupils' confidence and fluency, supporting long-term retention of spelling knowledge.

We maintain high expectations for spelling across the Curriculum. Children are expected to apply their spelling knowledge in all areas of learning, not just during English lessons. Pupils are encouraged to spell accurately wherever possible, while younger children and those still developing their spelling skills are expected to make appropriate use of their growing phonic knowledge to produce plausible, phonetically accurate spellings. This ensures that children can confidently communicate their ideas while continuing to develop their spelling proficiency.

An important part of our approach is encouraging children to reflect upon and improve their own work. We use "Purple Polishing" as a key editing strategy throughout the school. During this process, pupils review their writing, identify spelling errors and make corrections using purple pen. This approach promotes independence, self-assessment and a growth mindset, helping children to recognise that writing is a process that can always be refined and improved.

Teachers model accurate spelling and provide support through working walls, classroom displays, word banks and high-quality teaching. Children are encouraged to use a range of strategies and resources to check and improve their spellings, developing the habits needed to become confident, independent writers.

Through our structured Pathways to Spell Curriculum, regular opportunities for practice, weekly homework and high expectations across all subjects, we ensure that pupils develop the spelling knowledge and skills they need to communicate effectively. By fostering accuracy, independence and resilience, we equip children with the tools needed to succeed both within school and beyond.

Moreover, in Key Stage 2, children are expected to spell the words outlined in the documents below. They will become familiar with these words over the course of their time in Years 3 to 6 and may bring them home to rehearse and learn, using the ‘look, say, cover, write, check’ approach. Other spelling tasks relate to learning rules, sounds and/or common exception words. Children may be asked to complete specific activities relating to learning a certain rule or perhaps writing words in a context, to aid their understanding of meaning.