Intent

We chose Literacy Tree because it provides a flexible and engaging curriculum that can be adapted to meet the diverse needs of our pupils while fostering creativity and a love of writing. The rich range of high-quality texts reflects the diversity of our school community, enabling children to see themselves represented in literature while also broadening their understanding of different cultures and experiences. We were particularly drawn to the opportunities Literacy Tree offers for both extended writing and shorter, purposeful writing tasks. As a school with a highly transient population, it was important to adopt a cyclical curriculum that revisits key skills throughout the year, ensuring all pupils have multiple opportunities to develop, apply and consolidate their learning regardless of when they join us.

Implementation

Our journey began with the evaluation and trial of several writing schemes before selecting Literacy Tree as the best fit for our school. To support implementation, we welcomed a consultant from Literacy Tree to deliver a whole-school INSET, enabling teachers and teaching assistants to explore and work through a Writing Root together. Later, they returned to provide co-planning support and Year 6 moderation. These sessions were invaluable in helping staff adapt planning to meet the individual and often unique needs of our cohorts. We continue to review and refine our long-term curriculum maps annually, working alongside Literacy Tree to ensure effective coverage within our mixed-age classes. We have also utilised whole-school Writing Roots to create shared experiences and unite pupils across the school through common themes and texts.

Impact

As a result, pupils are demonstrating greater independence and confidence as writers. We are increasingly seeing children develop their own distinctive writing styles, with individuality and creativity evident in their work. Literacy Tree has enabled us to explore a wide range of meaningful topics that celebrate and reflect our diverse school community. Engagement in writing has increased significantly, with pupils showing enthusiasm, resilience and sustained focus during writing lessons.

Teacher Testimonials

As a school leader, I have found Literacy Tree to be instrumental in supporting the development of a curriculum that meets the specific needs of our pupils and school community. The CPD package is invaluable; from online sessions to face-to-face training, it continually supports us in refining and strengthening our practice.

The short-term planning provides a strong foundation for our writing lessons while allowing the flexibility to adapt learning to our individual classroom contexts. In particular, we thoroughly enjoyed the Writing Root A Walk in London, which we successfully adapted into A Walk in Cambridge. Its local relevance enabled us to bring the unit to life in a meaningful way, engaging pupils and resulting in good writing outcomes.

Natasha Thake, Deputy Headteacher, English Lead and KS1 Teacher

The Literacy Tree scheme of work is an engaging and well-structured resource that appeals to a wide range of learners. It successfully captures children’s interest, with pupils excited to create texts inspired by the books we studied. The carefully chosen texts provide strong stimulus for writing and help to develop enthusiasm for purposeful composition.

From a teacher’s perspective, the scheme is easy to use and offers clear guidance without being overly prescriptive. It is highly adaptable, allowing teachers to make it their own while still benefiting from a supportive framework. This flexibility is particularly valuable in meeting the needs of different classes and contexts.

The scheme also supports pupils in producing well thought out pieces of writing, while embedding a secure understanding of grammar and punctuation in meaningful contexts. Most importantly, it promotes purposeful writing that children genuinely enjoy, making it an effective and enriching approach to literacy teaching.

Sarah Abrey, KS2 Class teacher