Intent:

The intent of CUSP Writing is to equip teachers with the tools and knowledge necessary to teach children the essential skills required for effective writing. This includes both the conceptual understanding of writing and the practical competencies involved in the writing process, such as drafting, proofreading, and editing. The curriculum aims to break down the complexities of writing into manageable, sequential knowledge that is explicitly taught, building long-term retention and mastery. By focusing on a smaller set of key text types, the curriculum ensures that children have ample opportunities to revisit and master essential writing skills, preparing them for success in the wider curriculum and beyond. Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on vocabulary development, ensuring that children are exposed to and can apply high-level language effectively.

Implementation:

CUSP Writing is implemented through a carefully structured and sequenced curriculum that supports children. Key features of implementation include:

• Explicit teaching of writing competencies: Teachers focus on conceptual knowledge and practical writing skills, ensuring that children are taught to understand and apply key concepts, such as word classes, sentence structure, and punctuation, across the primary years.
• Block A and Block B structure: In Block A, children are introduced to a text type and its associated concepts, with a strong focus on sentence-level skills before applying these concepts to longer texts. In Block B, children consolidate their learning from Block A, gaining more independence and creativity in their writing, building on prior knowledge.
• Integration with the wider curriculum: Each writing unit is harmonised with the broader curriculum, allowing children to write about concepts they have already encountered elsewhere. This reduces cognitive overload and helps children focus on the writing process.
• Vocabulary instruction: High-demand vocabulary is introduced and explicitly taught throughout the curriculum, with a particular focus on key technical and Tier 2/3 vocabulary. Teachers are encouraged to select additional vocabulary relevant to their specific cohort to support children’ success.
• Teacher support: Detailed planning resources, including vocabulary and content knowledge, templates for vocabulary instruction, and task suggestions, are provided to ensure consistency in pedagogy and to guide teachers in delivering high-quality writing instruction.

Impact:

The impact of CUSP Writing is seen in children’ progression towards becoming confident, competent, and independent writers. By the end of their primary education, children will:

• Master key writing skills: Children will develop the conceptual knowledge and competencies necessary for effective writing, such as understanding grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation, and will be able to apply these skills across various text types.
• Show deep understanding and mastery of text types: Through repeated exposure to key text types, children will be able to produce high-quality written work with increasing independence and creativity, particularly in formal writing forms necessary for Key Stage 3 and beyond.
• Increase vocabulary proficiency: Children will have a broad vocabulary, including technical and academic terms, allowing them to express themselves more precisely and confidently in both written and oral communication.
• Develop long-term retention of writing concepts: By revisiting key concepts and text types, children will embed their learning into long-term memory, resulting in sustained improvement in their writing over time.
• Engage with writing meaningfully: The integration with the wider curriculum will ensure that children are not only learning how to write but are also motivated to write about subjects they find interesting and relevant, leading to a more engaging and purposeful writing experience.