Wow! Just look at the difference a year makes! The writing samples shown here capture the incredible progress our Reception children have made throughout the year. From their very first attempts at recording ideas on paper to the confident writing you can see today, the children have worked incredibly hard and we are so proud of all they have achieved. 

In Reception, children develop their writing through a combination of speaking, listening, storytelling, reading and phonics. Throughout the year, we have provided exciting opportunities for the children to write for meaningful purposes, encouraging them to communicate their thoughts, ideas and experiences through writing. 

Our writing journey began with a Superhero theme. The children created their own superheroes, labelled pictures and designed wanted posters after reading Supertato. They also explored speech bubbles, thinking carefully about what characters might say to one another. As their confidence grew, they experimented with rhyming words inspired by Bonfire Night and used their developing phonic knowledge to record their ideas. 

Inspired by Stick Man by Julia Donaldson, the children began adding more detail to their writing by labelling characters and using descriptive language. They even wrote postcards, imagining what Stick Man might want to tell his family during his adventures. 

As the year progressed, the children tackled a range of different writing styles. During our Cold Lands and Space topics, they created fact files, descriptions and simple explanations, sharing their knowledge in increasingly organised ways. They began using adjectives and conjunctions to make their writing more interesting and detailed. One particular highlight was our alien egg challenge, where the children planned, tested and evaluated their ideas like young scientists. 

Most recently, our Mini Beasts topic has inspired the children to write descriptions, instructions and fact sheets using exciting vocabulary and a growing range of writing skills. 

The progress we have seen has been remarkable. Many children have moved from simple marks, labels and single words to writing sentences independently, using their phonics knowledge to spell unfamiliar words and communicate their ideas with increasing confidence. They are beginning to use capital letters, finger spaces and full stops more consistently and are developing the stamina and independence needed to write at greater length. 

We are incredibly proud of every child and the enthusiasm they have shown towards writing this year. Their creativity, perseverance and growing confidence shine through in their work, and we hope you enjoy celebrating their achievements with us. 

Mrs Murphy-Elson