Research into Practice: Children and young people's perspectives on writing

Hear what children and young people think and feel about writing and get ideas for what their responses mean for us in our everyday school and classroom practice.

Research and context

Free time writing enjoyment and engagement have declined sharply over the last 15 years. The findings from our Annual Literacy Survey show that between 2010 and 2025, enjoyment of free time writing almost halved, signalling a profound disengagement with writing as a personally meaningful practice.

• Only 3 in 10 children and young people say that they enjoy writing in their free time
• Only 1 in 10 write something daily in their free time, in any format or style

The report 'Why children and young people do or do not engage with writing' looks closer at why children and young people do or do not choose to write. Importantly, it does that through analysing the responses of young people in their own words. This provides a compelling picture framed through the real experiences and perspectives of young people. It highlights the ways in which keen writers find joy, meaning and voice through writing while, at the other end of the spectrum, averse writers feel disconnected from writing, viewing it as pointless, out of reach or connected with frustration, feelings of failure or pressure.

The report reveals a complex picture with a range of factors influencing children and young people's relationship with writing. However, it also points to ways in which schools and teachers can help to help make writing relevant, meaningful and accessible.

About this resource

This resource is aimed at teachers working with students aged 8 to 18. It would also be useful to literacy leads, writing leads or school leaders wishing to build a whole-school writing for pleasure culture.

The resource includes:

• A selection of children and young people's responses chosen to draw out particular themes linked to young people's experiences of writing
• For each theme, suggestions for ways to tailor your class or whole-school approach to help support enjoyment and engagement with writing

This resource gives teachers a practical bank of strategies and activities which can be used flexibly within your classroom and school. Most require little or no additional resources and can be integrated within or added alongside existing curricula and teaching methods.