Aims as Writers

• The ability to write fluently and with interesting detail on a number of topics throughout the curriculum.
• A vivid imagination which makes readers engage with and enjoy their writing.
• A highly developed vocabulary and an excellent knowledge of writing techniques to extend details or description.
• Well-organised and structured writing, which includes a variety of sentence structures.
• Excellent transcription skills that ensure their writing is well presented and punctuated, spelled correctly and neat.
• A love of writing and an appreciation of its educational, cultural and entertainment values.

End of Year Expectations

Foundation Stage

• Write simple sentences which can be read by themselves & others.
• Write own names correctly.
• Use capital letters and full stops to demarcate sentences.
• Write clearly demarcated sentences.
• Correct pencil grip.
• Write name (correct upper & lower case).
• Correct letter formation for familiar words

Year 1

• Write clearly demarcated sentences.
• Use ‘and’ to join ideas.
• Use conjunctions to join sentences (e.g. so, but).
• Use standard forms of verbs, e.g. go/went.
• Evidence of:
  • Capital letters
  • Full stops.
  • Question marks.
  • Exclamation marks.
• Use capital letters for names & personal pronoun ‘I’.
• Write clearly sequenced sentences.
• Correct formation of lower case – finishing in right place.
• Correct formation of capital letters.
• Correct formation of digits

Year 2

• Write different kinds of sentence: statement, question, exclamation, command.
• Use expanded noun phrases to add description & specification.
• Write using subordination (when, if, that, because).
• Correct & consistent use of present tense & past tense.
• Correct use of verb tenses.
• Correct & consistent use of:
  • Capital letters
  • Full stops
  • Question marks
  • Exclamation marks
  • Commas in a list
  • Apostrophe (omission)
• Introduction of speech marks.
• Write under headings.
• Evidence of diagonal & horizontal strokes to join handwriting.

Year 3

• Use conjunctions (when, so, before, after, while, because).
• Use adverbs (e.g. then, next, soon).
• Use prepositions (e.g. before, after, during, in, because of).
• Experiment with adjectives to create impact.
• Correctly use verbs in 1st, 2nd & 3rd person.
• Use perfect form of verbs to mark relationships of time & cause.
• Correct use of speech marks for direct speech.
  • Group ideas into paragraphs around a theme.
  • Write under headings & sub-headings.
• Legible, joined handwriting.

Year 4

• Give a personal point of view on a text.
• Can re-explain a text with confidence.
• Justify inferences with evidence, predicting what might happen from details stated or implied.
• Use appropriate voices for characters within a story.
• Identify how sentence type can be changed by altering word order, tenses, adding/deleting words or amending punctuation.
• Skims & scans to locate information and/or answer a question.

Year 5

• Add phrases to make sentences more precise & detailed.
• Use range of sentence openers – judging the impact or effect needed.
• Begin to adapt sentence structure to text type.
• Use pronouns to avoid repetition.
• Use: Brackets, dashes and commas.
• Use commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity.
• Link clauses in sentences using a range of subordinating & coordinating conjunctions.
• Use verb phrases to create subtle differences (e.g. she began to run).
• Consistently organise into paragraphs.
• Link ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time (e.g. later), place (e.g. nearby) and number (e.g. secondly).
• Legible and fluent handwriting style.

Year 6

• Use subordinate clauses to write complex sentences.
• Use passive voice where appropriate.
• Use expanded noun phrases to convey complicated information concisely (e.g. The fact that it was raining meant the end of sports day).
• Evidence of sentence structure and layout matched to requirements of text type.
• Use:
  • Semi-colon, colon, and dash to mark the boundary between independent clauses
  • Correct punctuation of bullet points
  • Hyphens to avoid ambiguity
  • Full range of punctuation matched to requirements of text type.
• Use a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs.
• Use paragraphs to signal a change in time, scene, action, mood or person.
• Legible, fluent and personal handwriting style.