Woodfield Primary
School
SPaG Policy
Spelling and Grammar
Reviewed November 2015
Next Review Due November 2016
Rationale
Why is grammar important?
"For a lot of people - not just young people - their daily use of English is in new media, where non-standard
grammatical constructions are more acceptable. That's inevitably going to lead to an increased lack of
awareness of more standard constructions.”
Ian McNeilly, from the National Association for the Teaching of English
According to research, over recent years understanding of grammar and punctuation has not been helped
by the texting language and abbreviations used in social media with half of the UK’s teenagers failing to
spot the difference between standard English grammar and colloquial language. We have to consider what
children are seeing and learning from this.
In a bid to address this decline in accurately spoken and written English, specific grammar, punctuation and
spelling objectives have been set out in the National Curriculum and have been fully embraced by
Woodfield Primary School.
Aims
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To ensure all pupils have the knowledge to spell words efficiently and accurately, drawing on
knowledge of phonics and spelling skills gained in Read Write Inc and directed teaching sessions.
To develop accurate oracy for all children in the form of being effective and confident public
speakers who practise precise grammar and diction.
To ensure that all children are aware of correct English grammar terminology.
To ensure children have a secure grasp of ALL these linguistic skills to apply to their written work.
Classroom Provision
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Required spelling patterns in Years 1-6 will be taught discreetly in timetabled sessions throughout
the week. (By following the No Nonsense Spelling scheme, children of all abilities will be exposed
to the requirements and expectations for their age group as set out in the National Curriculum.)
In Key Stage 1, the emphasis will be on phonics alongside the Nation Curriculum requirements.
Pupils in Foundation Stage will be prepared for Key Stage 1 by being taught phonics daily in
Foundation Stage 2.
Learning of spellings is to become part of weekly homework tasks, comprising of the common
exception words for KS1 and the statutory word lists for KS2. (LSA support is timetabled for those
children requiring extra provision.) These spellings are to be sent home and individualised to each
child’s needs.
Talk For Writing (Pie Corbett scheme) has already been adopted by the school and this will also
encourage pupils to practise correct grammar in the form of constructing sentences based on useful
phrases and vocabulary taken from the stimulus materials. This in turn will hopefully impact on
children’s ability to write using correct punctuation and grammar and is intended to develop the
‘writing voice’ of all children throughout school.
Punctuation and grammar will be taught discreetly during timetabled SPaG sessions and as part of
Literacy lessons (where applicable) in accordance with the Key Stage 2 SPAG National Curriculum
guidance appropriate to each year group. This will cover correct and incorrect usage as well as
offering pupils the opportunity to apply this learning at text level in cross curricular topics. Pupils will
also link this knowledge to reading aloud and will adapt their pace or intonation accordingly when
they encounter punctuation devices within a text.
Grammar will be a key focus in conversational English, with adults picking up on those general
conversational errors (not necessarily stated in National curriculum coverage: may / can, I/ me etc)
and politely correcting pupils when needed.
All children will be fully included in all aspects of SPAG teaching and will be appropriately supported
and challenged by teachers and support staff.
Learning Outcomes
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Children to be able to consistently speak and write clearly in terms of speaking with correct English
grammar.
Children to be able to use spelling patterns taught to them to make accurate attempts at spelling.
Children to be able to write clearly, using correct spelling, punctuation and grammar consistently in
any piece of written work they produce, irrespective of the subject they are covering at the time.
Children to leave Woodfield Primary School being able to speak, read and write clearly with
confidence and credibility and that these skills stay with the children for life and positively impact on
their future achievements and opportunities for life.
Assessment
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Teachers will assess their pupils informally and will make any necessary corrections to spoken or
written SPAG knowledge.
Year 6 will undertake the Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar test as part of their SAT assessments.
Assertive Mentoring weekly Grammar Hammer
Weekly spelling tests (Word lists in accordance with National Curriculum)
Year 2 SAT tests will include a spelling test.