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Writing habits 'at crisis point' warns National Literacy Trust

Literacy and numeracy
While 7 in 10 pupils say they don’t like writing in their spare time, more than 5 in 10 say they do enjoy writing at school – although writing enjoyment tails off dramatically as pupils move through the school system.
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Research from the National Literacy Trust (NLT) also shows that a third of children and young people never or rarely write in their free time, sparking calls for a focus on “writing for enjoyment”.

Indeed, the charity is warning this week that children’s writing habits are at “crisis point” with writing enjoyment at its lowest levels ever. The annual research has shown declining levels of writing enjoyment in pupils' personal lives since 2010 – and particularly since 2017 – and this year's figures are the lowest yet.

The study states: "The worrying series of lows recorded since 2017 ... and the sharp decline in writing attainment that continues to be recorded post-pandemic by statutory assessment data, suggest that we must prepare to live with the long-term consequences of this evolving crisis. Extraordinary action must now be taken."

The study is based on survey findings from around 76,000 UK children and young people aged 8 to 18. It reveals that:

  • Only 28.7% say they enjoy writing in their free time (meaning 71.3% do not)
  • Only 11.1% write every day in their free time (meaning 88.9% do not).
  • As many as 35.7% say they never or rarely write in their free time.
  • More than half (53.6%) of children and young people say they enjoy writing at school (up 9.7% on 2023’s findings).

The study emphasises that pupils who enjoy writing at school are twice as likely to enjoy writing in their free time. It states: “Providing opportunities for children and young people to feel inspired to write at school was found to be linked to their enjoyment and frequency of writing in their free time.”

However, despite this, the findings show that children’s enjoyment of writing peaks as they begin at primary school and then steadily declines until they leave secondary education.

Indeed, three times as many children aged 5 to 8 than those aged 14 to 16 say they enjoy writing (66.7% vs 21.8%) and five times as many say they write something daily in their free time (41.9% vs 8.3%).

The NLT is now urging the Department for Education to prioritise writing for enjoyment in its forthcoming writing framework guidance. The charity has also published a series of free activities and resources for teachers and families to help boost writing enjoyment in the classroom and at home (see below).

Responding to the survey this week, Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at the National Association of Head Teachers, said that the current curriculum and assessment regime at primary level was part of the problem: “When we surveyed school leaders on the primary statutory assessment system earlier this year, they criticised the key stage 2 writing framework for focusing too much on the technical aspects of writing. School leaders told us writing to a checklist strips out ‘the importance of flair and imagination’ and only 8% of our members agreed the framework teaches children to be creative and compelling writers.

“They said the SATs grammar, punctuation and spelling test does little to develop effective writing – with one describing it as a ‘fossil from a bygone era’ and only 12% supporting the retention of the test. The grammar curriculum for primary-aged children is unfit for purpose and must be subject to a comprehensive review.”

Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the NLT, added: “It is now time to provide children and young people with more meaningful opportunities, both in and out of school, to reconnect with the creative elements of writing which transform it into an enjoyable activity that allows for self-expression and that works as a tool to process struggles, make sense of the world and participate actively in civic life.”

Elsewhere this week, the annual What kids are reading report published by Renaissance, shows a 4.4% year-on-year decrease in the number of books being read by children using its reading software in years 1 to 11. The decline is particularly acute in secondary schools.

The report also finds that while primary school pupils using its software read harder books as they get older, during secondary school there is a downturn, particularly from year 9 when many students opt for books at a similar difficulty level to those of upper primary.