Teachers receive “minimal” training on writing, despite a strong appetite for further development across the primary and secondary phases, a review has found.
A report by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) finds teachers had little in-school continuing professional development (CPD) on writing, and the subject tends to receive little coverage during university training.
It found an appetite from teachers for more writing training across all key stages, with a particular focus on handwriting, motor skills, vocabulary and spelling.
The EEF commissioned exam body Pearson to survey 743 teachers to investigate current practices in teaching writing in primary and secondary state schools in England.
More than a quarter (26 per cent) of secondary teachers surveyed said they have had no CPD on writing in the last two years - although this number was only 5 per cent for primary teachers.
And unless teachers had an interest in writing, there was “minimal coverage” of the subject or “the teaching of it” during higher education, the report says.
Commenting on the report, EEF chief executive officer Professor Becky Francis said that “it is clear that there are several challenges facing schools that need tackling to improve learning outcomes.
“Notably, teachers want - and need - access to more professional development opportunities to support their practice.”
Poor pupil vocabulary an issue across all key stages
The research comes as The National Literacy Trust warned that the number of children and young people who said they enjoy writing in their free time has fallen to the lowest point since the charity started its survey 14 years ago.
Issues like poor pupil vocabulary and inconsistent approaches to teaching writing came through strongly for both primary and secondary school teachers in Pearson’s review.
Primary school teachers identified their main challenges as a lack of pupil confidence in spelling, ensuring a consistent approach to teaching writing across the school, and poor pupil vocabulary.
But for secondary teachers, a lack of pupil motivation was perceived as a significant challenge in teaching writing, cited by one in four (25 per cent) of those surveyed.
Motivation was seen as a key issue for creative writing, particularly at secondary level “where the drive is more towards academic writing for examination purposes”, the report said.
Pearson recommended further exploration of approaches “which promote creativity”, such as using “hook activities”, “challenges and competitions”, and “providing safe environments in which self-expression is encouraged and supported”.
The review also said that generating evidence on how to address barriers to high writing outcomes would be “beneficial for understanding the potential to increase attainment in writing”.
Senior MAT leaders decide writing approaches
The report found that decisions on writing approaches at multi-academy trusts (MATs) are generally made at the senior leadership level to encourage consistency across schools.
This is compared with standalone schools, which reportedly relied on literacy leads to make decisions.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer announced plans last year to work with schools to deliver a “teacher training entitlement” to ensure teachers have the best CPD.
