Children from Yoxford Primary
School have been putting their writing skills to the test, with the
help of a mocked-up UFO crash site within the school grounds.
The event was to support the project ‘Everybody Writes’ which is
run in partnership by Booktrust and the National Literacy Trust and
funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).
The four key principles of Everybody Writes are: taking writing
beyond the classroom, giving children authentic events to write
about, finding real audiences for children’s writing and exploring
writing across the curriculum.
Children aged between five and nine years old took on the role of a
journalist and reported on the day by writing the front cover of a
newspaper after witnessing the event.
A key element of the event was the involvement of local Police
Community Support Officer (PCSO) Jamie Newson from Saxmundham and
Framlingham Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) and Des Fisher from
www.nearthecoast.com. They supported the day by playing the roles
of a police officer cordoning the scene and a news reporter.
Key Stage One and Literacy Co-ordinator for Yoxford Primary School
Sam Cutler says, "The whole purpose of the day was for the kids to
enjoy writing and to inspire their imaginations. We wanted them to
be enthusiastic about the topic which is why we chose a UFO crash
landing.
"The day went very well and I know the children enjoyed it. We
purposely had not told them anything about the day so it was a big
surprise. I am very thankful to Police Community Support Officer
Jamie Newson and Des Fisher for their help with making the event as
realistic as possible.
PCSO Jamie Newson from Saxmundham and Framlingham SNT says, "We
were more than happy to lend a hand to make the event more
convincing. It also offered us the opportunity to show the children
what our policing role can involve and allowed us to interact with
them to show that we are approachable and here to keep Suffolk
safe."
For more information about Everybody Writes visit
http://www.everybodywrites.org.uk