Supporting Early Writing
5 June 2024: 9 am – 12 noon
Writing is one of our four communication modes: speaking, listening, reading and writing. However, with the current focus on reading and phonics, writing has never been as crucial in developing and linking together all literacy skills.
Yet, what does writing look like for many of our students with SEND? Why is it essential for our learners to be writers? How does it support communication, reading, creativity, well-being and independence?
We examine strategies to support older learners at this early emergent writing stage and learners with more complex needs.
This half-day course will examine critical issues and combine each with practical ideas for you to use in your classroom.
Delegates will:
- Examine the nature of writing and how to develop this in the earliest educational stages.
- Understand the empowerment offered by supporting students to become writers in whatever form they choose.
- Look at mark making to handwriting, identifying the sensory elements that increase access and output.
- Consider how to use tools such as the ‘Developmental writing scale’ (Strum) and ‘Writing with all tools continuum’ (Farrall) to support our understanding and learners’ opportunities
- Consider the importance of creating a rich literary environment for our students to enrich vocabulary, ideas and experience.
- Gain ideas for the effective and appropriate use of technology to support writing in various forms.
9 am Admissions and virtual tea/coffee to start the session
9.10 am Welcome & introduction to agenda
9.15 am Session 1: Why do we write? What’s the point of it? Dr Sarah Moseley
This session will consider why we write and the importance of writing as the ultimate multi sensory experience (we hear it, say it, write it). We will view writing in its broadest sense as making marks on the world using traditional tools alongside technology. We will discuss the importance of learners being allowed to use letters as they go through the scribbling stage and how we can ensure accessibility for all within this critical developmental stage. This session aims to support a deeper understanding of how writing enables greater communication; opportunities for expression; develops our thinking, and gives us independence and choice-making opportunities.
9.45 am Session 2: Handwriting – the physical production Carol Allen
This session will consider the earliest mark-making stages while developing an understanding that marks convey meaning. We will explore alphabetic letter formation through to the need for fluency when writing.
10.00 am Session 3: Generating ideas! Carol Allen
A noticeable feature of many learners’ writing is that their initial exploration of ideas is constrained by their personal circumstances or interest, for example, family, pets, favourite foods, TV programmes, computer games or special interests. This is especially the case for the majority of learners with SEND. This session will look at tried and tested routes for creatively extending what a learner writes about and, by doing so, how outcomes and learning are improved.
10.30 am COFFEE BREAK and mini online learning course
11.00 am Session 4: Rich Literary Environment – importance for vocabulary and ideas Dr Sarah Moseley
This session will focus on the importance of creating rich literacy environments, experiences and opportunities to widen learners’ understanding of the power of writing. Research has shown that exposure to other’s ideas, vocabulary, and experiences can stimulate, extend and develop our writing irrelevant of age. A literacy-rich environment provides ample reading, writing, and language development opportunities. This includes access to books (real, digital, sensory etc.), writing materials/opportunities to see writing for a purpose, writing prompts (inspiring experiences, drama, music), opportunities to share/ celebrate mark-making/writing alongside aspirations that we all have something to say and record for others to hear.
11.30 am Session 5: Read with us! Carol Allen & Dr Sarah Moseley
In summary, writing can inspire individuals to tap into their creativity, express themselves, connect with others, reflect on their experiences, and learn new things. Whether individuals are writing for personal fulfilment or to share their ideas with the world, the act of writing itself can be an inspiring and transformative experience that every learner should have the opportunity to be part of.
We will finish by sharing a selection of writing that has impacted us as readers!
11.50 am Questions and Answers
12 noon Thank you and goodbyes!
This course will be appropriate for classroom practitioners from special schools and colleges, mainstream settings with specialist SEN provision and early years settings, and working with pupils with severe/complex learning needs and autism, or both.
Dr Sarah Moseley has over 25 years of experience working in special and mainstream education, from teaching assistant to Headteacher. In addition, she has a solid research background, including a master’s degree and PhD in Special Education, focusing on teaching reading for pupils with SEND and inclusion. Sarah has presented nationally and internationally at conferences and is a published author.
Sarah’s PhD centred on teaching reading to pupils with SLD and the impact on their feelings as learners. Her research focused on six special schools across the UK with pupils aged 11-14 years and found positive results from including all pupils in a reading curriculum.
Carol Allen is an education advisor for ICT and Inclusion, currently offering specialised support to Local Authorities, schools, parents and carers and a wide range of educators worldwide. She has taught since 1980 in both mainstream schools – primary and high, and schools for students with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties. As an English specialist, she recognises that communication lies at the heart of all effective teaching. Accordingly, most of her work has centred on technology’s creative and engaging use to support communication in its broadest sense.
All the resources from this event will be in your account at online.hirstwood.com. You will access these using the email address on the booking form and your password (instructions are in the joining information for creating your password).
Here you will find:
a digital recording of the event
resources shared or signposted during the session
a transcript of the Zoom chat
your certificate of attendance
These will be available for 10 days after the event.
Join our Facebook Group Sensory Support Spaghetti to connect with us and other like-minded practitioners – for everything sensory!
Each place costs £95 plus VAT.
You can pay by credit card for this booking or request an invoice on the booking for
UPDATED FOR 2024!
