Whole school audit (secondary) - Everybody Writes - Exploring writing beyond the classroom

Secondary school writing audit

Is your school a writing school?

Use this chart to highlight the ways in which your school is already supporting writing and to identify the next steps in your development as a writing school.

Whole school
Classroom teachers
Students

Whole School Environment (inc LRC)

	Getting started	Making progress	Aiming high
Whole school environment	Prominent display areas in school foyer or reception are used to feature students' writing There is a noticeboard to publicise writing events or clubs The school has a dedicated indoor writing space, eg in the school library	Whole school displays reflect a shared focus in writing, eg reports, journals, letters around Black History Month The indoor writing space includes inspiring ideas and writing resources The school has an inspiring outdoor writing space Specific pieces of students' writing are regularly celebrated in assemblies The school or library hosts writing events (writer visits, writing clubs, etc) and actively supports students' independent writing	The school environment, indoors and outdoors, is saturated with writing, language and wordplay Students are involved in designing and creating inspirational outdoor writing spaces, eg an interactive poetry wall or word walkway The school has a speakers' corner or soapbox for students' speeches, debates, rallies
Cross-curricular links	English Subject Leader and Literacy Across the Curriculum (LAC) Leader attend panel meetings and feedback information to colleagues	LAC makes links with LAC leaders in other schools to share good practice	LAC leaders are an identified group and have their own network for sharing effective practice on a regular basis
Transition	Cross-phase links include a focus on writing, e.g. transfer of examples of student writing	Cross-phase links are used to generate writing, eg letters to Year 6 pupils from year 7 students	Cross-phase links include writing events and visits
Family engagement	Families are invited to participate in writing events At parents' evenings, parents are informed of the role and importance of writing in each subject area	The school hosts family writing events and workshops	The school runs adult literacy sessions for parents
Working with local businesses	Local business links are being established to encourage writing	Visiting business representatives share importance of writing in their profession	School makes links with a local business to engage students with real writing for the world of work: over a period of several weeks, students visit the work place, consult with staff, see models of different kinds of writing, and undertake writing tasks for a real purpose Students have the opportunity to write for a real purpose and for a real audience, eg students work with a local restaurant to write an enticing lunch menu to tempt diners
Community engagement	The school has an active relationship with the local public library Community events and websites are used to inspire and initiate writing	The school works with the local public librarian to run a Local Writing workshop for students, exploring local literary history in a session supported by local writers Students meet members of the community to experience writing for a real purpose, eg a fire-fighter writing an incident report Students' writing is shared and celebrated throughout the community, in local newspapers, libraries, the town hall, etc. The school's identity as a 'writing school' is established. Members of community are invited to participate in writing events	Whole school display areas feature writing which links the school to the wider community, eg correspondence between students and local authorities on a community issue Students work with the local community to write and publish a book about the community's history or a topic of shared interest Students work with local services, such as the police or fire service, to produce real flyers and informative leaflets for a real audience of teenagers

Classroom teachers

	Emerging	Securing	Established
Classroom environment	Classroom displays in every subject support writing, eg subject-specific word banks, displays to support planning process	All departments display writing by students	Departments display writing from the 'real world' as it relates to their subjects
Teachers as writers	Teachers discuss the writing process with their students, from planning to redrafting Teachers of all subjects model writing for students	Teachers across all subject areas regard themselves as writers The school supports teachers in writing for audiences outside the school, eg professional publications or creative writing competitions	Teachers' writing is shared and celebrated within the school or in staff meetings The school hosts a writing club for teachers

Students

	Emerging	Securing	Established
Events and writing groups	The English department organises writer visits A member of staff is responsible for running a writing club for students. Writing events such as National Poetry Day and Everybody Writes Day are marked by the English department	Children design and produce invitations for members of the school community invited to attend school events All subjects organise visits by writers in their respective fields, eg a journalist from a car magazine visits a Design and Technology class Students regularly participate in writing competitions covering a range of subject areas The school runs an extra-curricular writing club for students, with an emphasis on writing for pleasure A member of staff runs a regular school newspaper which features submissions by students and is for a student readership Writing events (national and local) are marked in whole school assemblies and with selected activities in across departments	The school has a programme of writer visits and writer residencies embedded in the curriculum and has a dedicated budget for writer visits across subject areas Students are actively engaged in running and developing a sophisticated school newspaper with an editorial commentary as well are news reports. Readership of the newspaper includes parents and the community. Writing events are anticipated, publicised, planned for, and actively celebrated by every member of the school community, from the school caretaker to the Headteacher Cluster groups within the school organise inter-school writing events, from writing days to moderation of writing assessments
ICT	The school has a website which features students' writing Students are encouraged to use websites where they can publish their own writing A virtual writing space is available	Students use the school website to share their own fiction and non-fiction writing, to give and receive feedback on writing, and to contribute to topical school discussions and debates	Students are actively engaged in developing the school website