At Camelford Primary School, we have built our English curriculum around the single focus of encouraging children to love writing.

Writing is embedded in our curriculum across the school which not only allows children to explore and extend their understanding of topics but also allows them to practise the 'Nuts and Bolts' of writing (basic punctuation that holds our writing together), making them stronger writers who are able to communciate their ideas effectively.

From the very beginning of their writing journey, children at Camelford Primary School are introduced to writing through the Read, Write, Inc programme. We spend time preparing the children to become writers by developing their fine and gross motor skills, using the Pinch and Flip pencil grip and encouarging correct posture. The children have great fun practising their letter formation and exploring the sounds that will form the bedrock of their writing journey. 

At Camelford, we are proud to use BookWrites, an innovative and well-established writing programme designed to inspire and support young writers from Year 1 to Year 6. Developed by the Devon English Team, BookWrites combines a love of high-quality children's literature with expert teaching sequences that develop children’s writing skills in a structured yet flexible way. The programme ensures complete coverage of the National Curriculum while allowing teachers to adapt learning to suit their class needs. With a proven track record of improving writing standards, BookWrites provides engaging, high-quality core texts, embedded grammar activities focused on purpose and audience, and opportunities for children to develop their own authorial voice. Its adaptable approach also enables meaningful cross-curricular links, making writing purposeful and relevant. Through BookWrites, we empower our students to become confident, creative, and skilled writers.

We encourage all children to develop high standards in presentation and handwriting. Letter formation is taught from EYFS and we aim for all children to write in a cursive style by the end of Key Stage 1.  In Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar sessions, the children learn key objectives and skills which are consolidated with further opportunities to apply these skills during lessons within the wider curriculum.