It has been a busy week for headteachers in primary schools.
On Sunday, the Department for Education sneaked out an announcement that 2026 would be the Year of Reading. Monday saw the publication of a raft of policies around early years, Tuesday morning was spent analysing this year’s Sats outcomes and then at around 3pm, the writing framework landed.
After a desert of policy directives, it was all a bit overwhelming.
Primary writing framework
Of course, it was no secret that the DfE was going to publish a partner to the reading framework. In fact, earlier this year, one of the independent advisers involved was advertising their involvement (and their writing scheme) on social media.
But the timing could have been better, especially as it seems that this version is just a taster copy. The document will be revised in the autumn term to ensure it aligns with the curriculum and assessment review recommendations. Why publish now, you might ask?
Perhaps the DfE are hoping that the whole sector will be able to give them some helpful feedback on the document so far. So, with that intention in mind, here are a few thoughts.
Selected evidence
Let’s start with the process of assembling the document. All credit to the DfE for including a full list of those who have been involved. This level of transparency is important, but it presents a couple of challenges.
Firstly, can you really say that something represents the consensus of research when few academics have been involved? Probably not.
Secondly, some commercial interests were involved, but others were not. I can’t help but wonder how those publishers and writing training producers were selected and how those who were not asked to comment are feeling about this.
Finally, where are the voices of the frontline teachers and the pupils themselves? Perhaps the next iteration could draw upon the skills, knowledge and expertise of those not in leadership, consulting or management positions, and include more voices of primary children and teachers?
That would be truly remarkable.
Mixed message?
Another challenge is the length of the document itself. There are 150 pages (100 pages if you exclude the appendices) of statements organised around themes. It is a document of two halves, with a lot of repetition.
The first half emphasises the importance of transcription and the explicit teaching of sentences. Children should be taught to be accurate, to be effective spellers, using dictation.
This part mimics the reading framework, with a focus on teaching letters, then words and sentences. So far, so simple.
In contrast, the second (stronger) half shifts to a broader, wider focus on composition and the process of writing as a means of communication. There is useful and actionable advice on the practicalities of helping children develop the skills to be able to express their own wants, needs, wishes, thoughts and ideas.
Teaching the process of writing (composing, drafting, editing and publishing) helps children wrestle with writing, and it is positive that this section references the powerful research published by American psychologists Karen Harris and Steve Graham, among others.
But there lies a challenge in trying to align these two sections together.
How to teach writing
Writing is not simple, and the “Simple View of Writing” that has been adopted does not do justice to the complexity of process.
Models of writing with a strong research pedigree suggest that the metacognitive processes a child can bring to writing (identifying the purpose and audience for a text, goal setting, monitoring progress, evaluating success) are incredibly important, at any age. Motivation to write starts with a meaningful purpose for writing and an appropriate audience.
These aspects are mentioned as afterthoughts, rather than positioned as central to being an effective writer. Perhaps this is where the research is helpful?
The next challenge is to understand how, as a leader, you should navigate this document and what will be expected from you.
Ofsted expectations
Is it a practice guide that you can use in a pick-and-mix fashion to supplement and refine what is happening in the classroom?
Perhaps the excellent section on supporting pupils with additional needs will be able to prompt powerful conversations among staff, and help the 28 per cent of pupils who did not achieve age-related expectations in writing in Year 6 this year?
Is it a summary of the research about the development of writing to use as a reflective tool and as a prompt for discussion with colleagues?
Or is it an assemblage of practices that hint at what Ofsted will be looking for in classrooms, and you should ensure they are implemented as soon as possible?
Some guidance on the guidance would be helpful!
Finally, I wonder if this is what would be of most help for the education sector at the moment? What both the reading and writing frameworks have in common is the conviction that spoken language development is central to reading and writing development.
So, why have we not started there?
Megan Dixon is an associate lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University
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