Writing
Being a Writer at Herne View
"Writing is the painting of the voice." — Voltaire
An Author reads a lot and uses what they have read to help them write what is inside their heads. This means other people can read what they have written to help them understand something, entertain them or make life better.
At Herne View CofE Primary School, we use Jane Considine’s ‘The Write Stuff’ as the foundation for our writing curriculum across EYFS to Year Six. This was introduced in September 2025, and we are already seeing how it supports our pupils in developing their writing skills, while strengthening their understanding of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and exploring the features of a wide range of genres.
Each unit is centred around a high-quality model text and includes a combination of Experience Lessons and Sentence Stacking Lessons. Experience Lessons immerse children in the context of the text, using engaging hooks and rich vocabulary to spark curiosity and deepen understanding. Sentence Stacking Lessons then guide pupils in crafting varied and impactful sentences, helping them to understand how word choices influence the reader.
At the heart of this approach are the Three Zones of Writing: The FANTASTICs (Ideas), The GRAMMARISTICs (Tools), and The BOOMTASTICs (Techniques).
"I use my new words that I might not have come across before to make my sentence better for the reader."
"Chotting and kind calling out help me to plan out my ideas for writing."
"Kind calling out is where you don’t shout but you just talk about different words that we can use. We share our ideas and then we can write new words down."
"If you want to write a story you can keep trying until it gets better and better."
The FANTASTICs system allows children to identify the nine elements that all text types are comprised of. When pupils are familiar with these nine elements, they are able to ensure that they are incorporated into their writing. The FANTASTICs help children to sharpen their understanding of their own and others’ writing by encouraging them to be observant and reflective.
The 9 GRAMMARISTICs cover national curriculum requirements, capturing the broad spectrum of key grammar knowledge. Discrete gammar lessons are also taught to ensure specific grammar knowledge is taught and revisited when needed.
The BOOMTASTICs capture the ten powerful ways to add drama and poetic devices to writing. They help children structure their work, teaching them to showcase their writing voice, demonstrate originality and to take risks in a bid to capture the truth of a situation.
Following these lessons, children move on to plan, draft, and edit their own independent writing. By embedding this new methodology, responding to the unique needs of our learners, and extending writing into other areas of the national curriculum, we aim to ensure that our Writing provision is purposeful, progressive, and engaging for all pupils at Herne View.
Spelling Shed
Children in Key Stage 2 use Spelling Shed as part of their daily spelling lessons. This interactive program supports the teaching of spelling patterns, rules, and tricky words in line with the National Curriculum. Lessons are taught every day in class, helping pupils to build strong spelling foundations through structured teaching and engaging activities. Spelling Shed also offers fun online games that children can access at home, making practice enjoyable and reinforcing what they learn in school. Our aim is to develop confident spellers who can apply their skills to improve writing and overall literacy.
Handwriting is explicitly taught across the school through a clear, structured progression. In Reception, children begin handwriting through the Little Wandle handwriting programme, which explicitly supports pupils in developing correct letter formation, fine‑motor control and early writing fluency. Daily teaching continues into Key Stage One, where pupils build on accurate formation and begin to develop greater stamina and fluency.
In Key Stage Two, pupils move onto the Write Well programme, which teaches handwriting explicitly to support pupils as they move towards consistent, legible, joined handwriting, ensuring continuity and progression across the primary phase. Handwriting is taught at least three times a week. Children with additional needs receive targeted support to aid fluency and confidence in writing.
