Intent

To give pupils the knowledge and the strategies required to become confident writers and accurate spellers – understanding the English language and importance of grammar.

Implementation

SPAG is taught within English lessons and within discrete SPaG lessons. This will also allow opportunities to reinforce and elicit links to prior learning to subsequently progress onto new learning. SPAG opportunities are given across the curriculum through Q and A and Spoken Language. There are also reinforcement opportunities within written activities.

Impact

‘The ability to write with purpose, accuracy and clarity, drawing on a wide range of vocabulary, is integral to success,’ says a DfE spokesperson.

But for your child to do well in the SPAG test, they don’t just have to be good at writing; they also need a technical understanding of how the English language works.

As well as being able to spell words correctly, use a wide range of vocabulary and punctuate well, they need to grasp the meaning of grammatical terms such as noun, verb, adjective, prefix, pronoun and adverb, know what phrases and clauses are and how to use them, understand what connectives are and how they work, know how to turn a question into a command, and so on. This terminology can be a stumbling block even for children who are otherwise good at reading and writing, and make the questions hard to understand; for a parent-friendly guide to the vocabulary and how English and grammar concepts are taught in primary school see our glossary for parents.