Each week, children should be given opportunities to practice, develop and embed their gross and fine motor skills for handwriting.

This is through either:
• Write Dance; a programme which supports and develops the gross motor movements essential for handwriting or
• Handwriting Time; a programme which is part of the Read Write Inc scheme to support the development of handwriting skills leading to joined writing.

Ongoing assessment and the mapping document should be used to support at which stage the children are working within these programmes as the children’s skills in handwriting may differ to where they are in the Read Write Inc scheme.

Big Talk and Big Write:
We have incorporated Big Writing into our English curriculum to allow our children to develop their confidence and stamina for writing.

For Team 1 children, teachers should assess when and at what stage children are ready to use the principles of Big Talk and Write using a ‘mini talk and write’ session.

Each week, children should be given the opportunity to practice their ‘talking to write’ skills through a three week cycle alongside the read Write Inc scheme.

Talk to write skills are specifically taught through ‘Big Talk’ using a chosen stimulus to engage children. This should usually be a chosen book and linked book from the Read Write Inc scheme. This session should be at the end of the week where reading has been the focus to enable them to immerse themselves in the language from the book.
‘Big Write’ sessions should be at the end of writing and comprehension focus weeks when they have continued to immerse themselves in the language of the chosen book and linked book as part of the read Write Inc scheme. Children rehearse what they would like to write and then given a relaxed and comfortable environment to allow them to write as independently as possible.

At times chosen by the teacher or if felt more appropriate for the learning stage of the child, they may be given a stimulus form their learning in other areas from their week. For example a trip or an experiment they have taken part in.

Their piece of writing is completed in the child’s own ‘special’ Big Write book, fostering a pride in their writing and allowing the children to see their own progress in writing over the years.

As well as building children’s writing skills, Big Writing gives mores opportunities for identifying any gaps to accurately inform the next steps in teaching and learning.