Report to the BOT Written Language Support

Who made up the group? The writing support groups were made up of two small groups of seniors (Year 5/6, Year 7/8), grouped according to similar needs. These students were selected by their writing levels after the Term 1 writing sample. All students in the groups were judged to be either below, or well below expectation for their year level. Junior students were taking out of class for writing support in the first two weeks of the term when the seniors were unavailable. These students were put forward by class teachers and mainly needed support with planning, phonics and writing behaviours. How long did the group run for? Senior writing support ran on four afternoons a week from Week 3 to Week 10 of Term 1. Sessions were between 45 minutes and an hour long. What were the needs of the students? The needs of these students generally lay with: Phonics and spelling awareness (vowel sounds, initial and final blends), Grammar, Basic punctuation (capital letters, full stops and commas), Planning for writing, Editing and self-monitoring.

The students were asked three broad questions in the initial session; What do you like about writing? What dont you like about writing? What do you like to write about?

Their responses informed the planning and delivery of the support given. Writing sessions were studentdriven and project based to ensure that the sessions were motivating for them. Impact As a result of their writing support, I believe that the majority of the students in this group are now more positive and conscious writers. More concrete evidence of their progress should be seen when their next inclass writing sample is assessed. Questions Raised

The observations made throughout the written language support programme have raised some questions for Linton Camp Schools staff to reflect upon; Do we encourage students to independently problem solve spellings? Can we implement a phonics programme in the senior school that continues, and complements, the programme run in the junior school? Do our students know the why of writing features, as well as the how? Do our students know how to edit and plan for writing? Are we clear, as teachers, why are our students writing? Are all teachers thoughtfully planning purposeful, motivating writing lessons to meet the needs of our students? Next Steps for Writing Support Project based and purposeful writing to ensure a valid audience is provided for the writing. Follow up and communicate with the classroom teacher to ensure that there is some alignment between what is taught in writing support and in class. Use classroom work to inform next steps within the group.

My Reflection Leading these groups was an interesting teaching experience. The needs of the students were not dissimilar to the needs of early writers, but the delivery of lessons needed to reflect their age. It was rewarding to see the students rushing to begin writing in the afternoons, given their initially reluctant attitude toward writing. It reinforced for me the impact that small-group and, in some cases, one-on-one teaching can have on struggling students. The groups raised many questions for me to raise with the wider-staff, many of which have been offered to them already in a staff meeting.