Writing is a complex and challenging skill with many different processes involved. At Cotham School, we recognise that strong writing is fundamental to success across the curriculum and beyond school. We take a whole-school approach to developing students as confident, accurate and purposeful writers.

Writing in the curriculum

The English curriculum provides students with a secure foundation in the essential skills of writing. Through carefully sequenced teaching, students develop their understanding of sentence construction, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and grammar, alongside the ability to organise and develop ideas effectively. Students write for a range of purposes and audiences, with regular opportunities to practise, receive feedback and improve. Reading is central to this work, exposing students to ambitious vocabulary, sophisticated structures and high-quality models of writing.

Disciplinary writing

Writing also looks different across subjects. A historian needs to construct an evidence-based argument, while a scientist must explain processes precisely; a geographer needs to interpret and communicate data, whereas an artist needs to reflect and evaluate critically. Our faculties therefore work closely with school leadership to identify and explicitly teach the disciplinary writing skills students need in each subject. Teachers model successful writing, develop subject-specific vocabulary and structures, and provide opportunities for students to practise and refine these skills.

Additional support

Where students need additional support, targeted intervention is provided to address specific literacy and writing needs. This complements classroom teaching and ensures that students have the foundations they need to access the full curriculum and communicate effectively. To find out more about our intervention provision, please click here.

How you can support your child with writing:

• Encourage regular writing: Help your child build confidence by writing regularly at home, whether it’s stories, diary entries, reviews or emails.

• Read widely together: Encourage reading a wide range of books, articles and other texts to develop vocabulary, spelling and an understanding of how writing works in different text types.

• Talk through ideas: Discuss topics before your child starts writing to help them organise their thoughts and develop their ideas.

• Proofread and improve: Encourage your child to check their work for spelling, punctuation and grammar, and to reread their writing to see how it could be improved.

• Praise effort and progress: Celebrate their achievements, offer positive feedback and encourage them to see mistakes as opportunities to learn.