We are passionate about developing both children and teachers’ knowledge, motivation and confidence in the craft of writing.

The ESSENTIALWRITING curriculum is an ambitious and progressive writing scheme, hooked in with high-quality literature, designed to give teachers subject knowledge, pedagogical tools and strategies to teach children how to write for specific purposes and authentic audiences. As a result, children feel inspired and ready to write high-quality outcomes.  

When planning a curriculum, teachers and leaders should prioritise progression in knowledge of language and of its forms, usage, grammar and vocabulary. This knowledge, of the structures of language, can then be used by pupils across their spoken language, reading and writing.

 Research series: English, Ofsted July 2022 

Through our ESSENTIALWRITING curriculum, designed for years 1-6, we provide teachers with the subject knowledge, tools and resources to effectively teach  children how to write. Children are motivated and empowered to write purposefully and to self-identify as volitional writers. 

Available from June 2024, schools will be able to subscribe to the ESSENTIALWRITING online resource and give all their staff access to the complete suite of resources 24/7. There will be a wide range of subscription packages to suit each school’s needs. 

What is included in the subscription?

Along with long-term planning for each year group, each writing unit uses high-quality, diverse and inclusive literature, expertly pitched for children to study the craft of writing and utilise similar techniques within their own compositions. 

Each learning step builds progressively within and across the writing units, gradually introducing and revisiting grammar, spelling and compositional knowledge and skills fully matched to the National Curriculum English writing programme of study.     

Teachers can help pupils to build discourse knowledge by making sure that they understand the characteristics of texts written for specific purposes and audiences, and by providing models of effective writing. This gives pupils a repertoire of features to draw on for their own writing.

Research review series: English, Ofsted July 2022
 

In each unit, written models of outcomes are provided to support teachers’ understanding and expectations of writing at age-related expectations for their year group. Teacher models are annotated to highlight worked examples of the compositional elements and grammatical features taught through the learning sequence.  

Each planning sequence includes a variety of effective visual, verbal and written scaffolds and resources to support children’s peer collaboration and independence when writing. In each learning step, teachers are guided to utilise evidence-based practices, including oral rehearsal as part of teaching routines, to support children when structuring their ideas and sentences.

*ESSENTIALWRITING unit plans are currently only available for single-aged classrooms but are adaptable for mixed-age year groups.  Guidance for mixed-age adaptations will be included in the subscription for 24-25; mixed-age planning will be available from September 2025. 

Why choose ESSENTIALWRITING for your school?

Further information on our English support

If you would like to receive our primary English subject leader emails, please sign up.

Further information about our primary English support for all schools