Five to 18-year-olds across the UK are struggling to put pen to paper. As writing and literacy skills are so important to success both in school and post-education, a national effort is required to get children (enjoying) writing again, a campaign group says.
Key Stage 2 SATs in 2022 showed the highest drop in writing with only 69% of pupils meeting the expected standard, down from 78% in 2019. The National Literacy Trust’s Annual survey of over 70,000 children showed the enjoyment of writing declining over the last five years with no sign of recovery.
Young Writers has conducted several surveys with teachers this academic year and found the main reasons pupils struggle with writing is due to lack of confidence, inspiration, and meaningful impact – they don’t see the use of it. 
Director, Morgan Walton, said: “Since 1991 Young Writers has been committed to creating inspirational, free resources to give children and young adults a reason to write. In our latest survey 75% of children were more engaged with writing after getting involved in one of our competitions and 72% of parents agreed. We’re proud we can give kids a safe platform to be creative.”
This summer children aged 4-18 are invited to take part in The Young Writers’ Annual Showcase. They can enter any piece of writing from poems and stories, to blog posts or plays and anything in-between. A prize of £100 per age category and the opportunity to be published gives children a purpose for their writing.
Over the next four weeks Young Writers will publish a series of creative writing tips to help children and young adults craft their own piece, the first ‘How to write a blog’ is live now on their website and will be followed by ‘How to write a story’, ‘How to write an article’ and ‘How to write a script’. Parents can sign up to receive the free tips at www.youngwriters.co.uk/subscribe.
Young Writers will be reaching out to other businesses urging them to support the encouragement of creative writing and help bridge the gap the pandemic has exacerbated.
“Literacy is not a luxury, it is a right and a responsibility.”
Teachers can request free postal resources here: www.youngwriters.co.uk/info/teachers/resources-sign-up
