Much is documented about the importance of reading for pleasure and without doubt, the multi-faceted benefits are realised through higher levels of attainment, increased emotional literacy, improved well-being and development of a rich and varied vocabulary and imagination. But why should it stop there? The ceiling on these benefits could be lifted further if we encouraged children to take what they know, feel and think from reading and communicate it with others, through the form of writing. Self-expression holds its merits and upskilling children to write for pleasure, beyond its functional purpose of conveyance of message, is essential to creating successful, motivated writers.

Last year, we conducted a thorough exploration of pupil voice on writing. The findings were both informative and insightful and spoke directly from the children’s heart. The upshot of this whole school conferencing was that children wrote, in the main, because they ‘had to’ as demanded by the English Curriculum. Very few children expressed an intrinsic interest in writing for enjoyment’s sake. The main reasons given were that writing opportunities were too prescriptive, not enough time was given to self-expression and self-choice and the writing environment was not always conducive to creativity and inspiration.

As a school, we have taken this feedback on board and re-considered our writing provision and practice. Much has been done to be more adventurous and innovative with the ways, and reasons, we ask children to write. Audience and purpose is at the fore-front of our design, wishing children to see themselves as participants in determining writing projects as opposed to passive recipients of someone else’s choice. The next step in this journey is to develop greater volition to write, with increased enjoyment and satisfaction.

Our home/school writing initiative is designed to present children with monthly challenges that encourage them to bring, and use, their own ‘funds of knowledge’ into their writing expression, meaning that they write from a position of strength. The following model brings vision and value to this initiative.