In KS2 we teach spelling, punctuation and grammar both discretely through lesson starters and through immersion in our high-quality texts. Below you will find a table that demonstrates how spelling, punctuation and grammar progresses across the school. You will also find some definitions of some of the grammar and punctuation terminology in the glossary below. We do use this terminology with the children to help them identify the grammatical skills they are using and to help them to speak accurately about the tools they are using in their writing.

We do place an emphasis on spelling across the school. You will find links to the National Curriculum spelling lists below. It is a particularly useful skill to master when children are aiming to become confident writers, as children are able to focus more on their creative writing (their vocabulary choices, sentence construction and structure of their pieces).

The National Curriculum for Years 1 and 2 expects children to be able to:

• Use and write common exception words

• Use and write some common homophones

• Spell some words with contractions

• Use the possessive apostrophe (girl’s, man’s, dog’s)

 • Add suffixes to spell longer words including -ment, -ness, -ly, -less, -full

The National Curriculum for Years 3 and 4 expects children to be able to:

• Use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them (such as dis– and –sure)
• Spell further homophones (such as except/accept)
• Spell words that are often misspelled
• Use the possessive apostrophe accurately (plurals)
• Use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary

The National Curriculum for Years 5 and 6 expects children to be able to:

• Use further prefixes and suffixes and understand the guidance for adding them (such as –able and –ible)
• Spell some words with ‘silent’ letters (such as knight)
• Continue to distinguish between homophones and other words which are often confused
• Use knowledge of morphology and etymology in spelling
• Use dictionaries to check the spelling and meaning of words
• Use a thesaurus

Children are set spellings to learn each week by completing a different style of activity from the scheme that we use (Spelling Shed). Children also participate in a once-a-week spelling lesson at school and weekly spelling tests.

Children are encouraged to practise spellings both through this homework activity and frequent practice on spelling shed. On Spelling Shed, children can earn points and purchase different accessories/backgrounds for their online avatar.

Spelling Shed

Each week, classes have the opportunity to win a class trophy for their efforts on spelling shed over the week.