A half day or twilight session for primary schools.

The training tonight was excellent – thank you so much. You gave us a wealth of ideas which I know will be implemented straight away and work brilliantly… You know a twilight session is interesting and engaging when 2 ¾ hours only feels like an hour!

People are saying today how much they enjoyed the session.

Amanda Lee – Home Farm Primary School

‘How on earth will I get them to use use of dashes, colons and semi-colons when they don’t seem to be able to master the full stop?’

Y6 teachers everywhere

There is little doubt that children’s inability to use capital letters and full stops effectively and consistently is one of the biggest frustrations in primary schools. This whole school CPD is designed to address this and provide practical advice and solutions harnessing the power of a consistent whole school approach.

In the recent English subject report ‘Telling the Story’ from Ofsted, they stated

‘…errors with basic foundational knowledge…such as capital letters and full stops can often persist…’

We know this. So we will look at:

• What is the problem?
• Why is this happening?
• The Ofsted view
• Too fast – too far – too soon?

But most importantly…

Practical ideas based upon my existing practice, some new ideas I have researched and input from my group of English Leaders.

There will be a focus upon:

• ARE
• Modelling and scaffolding
• Sprinkling the magic and SOS – Singling Out Sentences
• Action planning for year groups

The ideas shown above were tucked away and developed from the document below published in 2001, but they are just as relevant today. This will form part of the input – Ofsted state that it is important to address these issues early before errors become embedded. The content will be extended to include the maintenance of sentence boundaries in longer pieces of writing.

The input is designed to be delivered to a whole school, or key stage as a minimum, to enable mutual and consistent support within a coordinated and long term approach rather than just being left to individual teachers.

The CPD, to be delivered online via Zoom, will ideally need two hours as a twilight or part of a training day and will include time for staff to formulate ideas for their own class and schools can then check for continuity and progression.

Year 2

Sentence

Subordinating conditions (when, that, because, if) Coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but) Expanded noun phrases for description and specification (for example, plain flour, blue butterfly, man on the moon) Use of full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate  Identifying the purpose of sentences (statements, questions, exclamations or commands) Use of commas in lists Apostrophes to mark where letters are missing in spelling and to mark singular possession in nouns

Punctuation

Use of full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate

Action

A completed, but editable, action planning template for leaders will be available as part of the package. This will be based upon the EEF resources ‘Effective mechanisms for CPD’. This will encompass medium and longer term outcomes to ensure impact.

In July 2025. the DfE Published The Writing Framework. The table below shows how the writing element of the training links with The Writing Framework.

DfE Summary of the Writing Framework	How this fits with Full Stops Forever
Writing is complex Writing places significant demands on pupils’ working memory so it is vital to teach it in a sequenced way that helps to manage those demands.	As we all know, the complexity of writing means that many children forget the basics of sentence demarcation when applying confidently supposed higher level punctuation. This CPD aims to help teachers to support their pupils in consistently remembering to use capital letters, full stops and question and exclamation marks.
Teach handwriting and spelling in reception Teaching handwriting and spelling (transcription) from the reception year is crucial to ensure that these skills become automatic for children. This will free up their working memory for composition.	It is likely that some children will have transcription issues. The CPD does not seek to replace schools’ own programmes but ideas suggested are shared under the heading Handwriting 101 and Spelling 101 for supported self assessment interventions.
Sentence instruction is essential All writing is made up of sentences. Knowledge of grammar helps pupils to control sentences and convey meaning, but it does not support their writing fluency when taught in isolation.	This is obviously the key element of any programme. A consistency of approach focusing around explicit sentence instruction for constructing sentences – combining and expanding sentences is recommended. These ideas are taught in the context of the shared text and not in isolation. Scaffolding and modelling are essential components of the CPD and teaching. The big emphasis here is on demarcating these sentences at they increase in length and complexity.
Spoken language is as important for writing as for reading Pupils should compose orally while they are developing their transcription skills. This can still be valuable even when they can transcribe fluently.	Oral rehearsal with, Think it – say it – like it – write it is a key approach. Reading aloud is an important part the editing process using prosody to assist with sentence endings in particular.
Quality is more important than length Pupils need to master the foundations of writing – handwriting, spelling and sentence construction. They should not be expected to write at length before they are ready.	The progression from simple sentences to longer texts in this CPD builds via short burst writing with an emphasis upon demarcation using the ‘tiny texts’ approach and the application of age related grammar within these.
The reception year is vital The reception year builds the foundations that support pupils’ writing throughout primary school and underpin their future success.	I would add here, that Y2 is vital. This is the golden year when full stops, capital letters, question and exclamation marks are established. I have added the golden year into ARE expectations above Y2 to maintain an emphasis of ‘the basics’.
Identify pupils who need additional support It is important to identify the pupils who need additional support with writing as early as possible, from reception onwards. Teachers can then adapt their teaching and make it accessible. This includes giving pupils more time and practice so that they can make good progress.	It is assumed that these pupils have already been identified and aims to provide ideas to practise and reinforce the ability to form and punctuate sentences.The I do/ we do / you do approach and the search for the ‘Goldilocks – just right’ model of scaffolding and modelling are key features here.
It will take time to tackle all the challenges in teaching writing Schools should concentrate initially on teaching high-quality transcription and sentence instruction, while gradually developing broader writing skills.	High quality sentence instruction is at the very heart of teaching.This CPD contains practical ideas and a consistent focus sentence demarcation. Daily practice is recommended in the framework.
Avoid focusing too heavily on test preparation This can limit the development of skills and knowledge, stifling pupils’ creativity and wider writing development.	If this refers to the SPaG test in Y6. Then why not just scrap it? Hopefully the wider curriculum review will address this. In the meantime, schools still have to prepare their children for tests. Some of the test question types relating to demarcation can be integrated within the approach for Y6 and in the context of the key text.
Leaders must establish the culture and curriculum Leaders are responsible for: establishing a positive writing culture developing a well-sequenced curriculum ensuring that all teachers are trained to teach writing	One of the wider elements of making change is a leadership strand to offer support for leaders in achieving these aims. This will be covered by my Literacy Leaders Network meetings in 2025/26

The above table can be downloaded as a PDF below.

The cost of the session will be £300.

If you would like to book a session or ask any questions then please email me philipgwebb@me.com