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How can I help my child with writing at home?

Quick answer

Writing is the hardest thing primary children do, because they must think of ideas, choose words, spell, punctuate and form letters all at once. Help by talking ideas through first, writing for real reasons, and praising one thing at a time. In 2026, writing was the subject with the fewest Year 6 children meeting the expected standard.

By the TapLearn team · Updated 30 October 2026 · Facts checked 30 October 2026 · For England

Why writing feels hard

When a child writes, they're doing several jobs at once: having an idea, putting it into a sentence, spelling each word, remembering punctuation and forming letters. If any one of those is hard, the others suffer. That's why a child who tells a brilliant story out loud may write only two lines.

In 2026, 73% of Year 6 children in England met the expected standard in writing, lower than in reading or maths, so if writing is a struggle, your child is far from alone.

What children learn

  • Years 1 and 2: sentences with capital letters and full stops, joining ideas with "and", "because" and "when", question and exclamation marks, and describing words (expanded noun phrases such as "the big, hairy spider").
  • Years 3 and 4: paragraphs, speech marks, fronted adverbials ("Later that day, …"), and planning before writing.
  • Years 5 and 6: writing for different readers, from formal letters to stories, with relative clauses, brackets and dashes, and editing their own work.

Ideas for home

  • Talk first. "Tell me what happens" before "write it down". If they can say a sentence, they can usually write it.
  • Write for real reasons. A note to a grandparent, a list for a party, instructions for a game, a review of a film.
  • Share the pen. You write one sentence, they write the next. For younger children, you can scribe their ideas and they copy one line.
  • Read a lot. Children who hear lots of stories have more words and sentence shapes to borrow.
  • Praise one specific thing ("I love the word 'crept'") and fix one thing, not everything.
  • Keep it short. Five good sentences beat a page of rushed ones.

If your child hates writing

Find out which part is hard: ideas, spelling, or the physical writing. A child who struggles to form letters may enjoy telling a story into a voice recorder and then writing just the first sentence. If handwriting is painful or very slow, see our handwriting guide and mention it to the teacher.

Questions parents ask

How much should my child be writing at home?

There's no set amount. A few sentences written for a real reason, a few times a week, is plenty for most primary children.

Should I correct every spelling mistake?

No. Pick one or two words that matter most, such as words from their year's spelling list, and leave the rest so they keep enjoying it.

Is writing tested in the Year 6 SATs?

There's no writing test. Teachers assess writing from children's work across the year. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are tested separately.

My child can tell stories but won't write them. What can I do?

Let them plan out loud or draw the story first, then write just the opening. Sharing the writing with you also takes the pressure off.

Sources

Related guides

Written by the TapLearn team for parents and carers in England. Schools teach in different orders and ways, so your child's teacher is always the best person to ask about your child. Spotted something out of date? Please email us at [email protected].