Writing moderation

Carefully considered preparation to elevate the moderation process and outcomes.

Photo by Mikael Kristenson on Unsplash

Thoughts and musings

As a highly reflective practitioner, I am keen to identify in my practice areas where I will benefit from learning further. This ties in perfectly with my belief in self-directed professional development opportunities (but more on that in a future post!) Writing moderation has been an identified area for me, right from the beginning of my career. I have been fortunate enough to have led English for the last 13 years, across 3 different countries, where I have learnt in abundance from a range of diverse and creative colleagues and put into place a number of strategies and approaches to raise the profile, and enjoyment of, reading and writing. Writing moderation, though, has always been my stumbling block. As it has been for a number of my colleagues also.

So, what issues could writing moderation experiences present practitioners with? Firstly, I have reflected that the potential stand-alone nature of a writing moderation staff meeting, pencilled in termly at the end of a busy teaching day, does not particularly lend itself to considered and dynamic discussions around pieces of writing. Secondly, the subjective nature of awarding writing a level can be both contentious and confronting. Couple this with writing moderation grids, which are so integral to the moderation process but may not be particularly ‘fit for purpose’. Levelling writing, for me, sits up there with critically assessing a piece of art. If you, yourself, are a writer (and a reader for that matter) it may feel somewhat more natural to note the nuance of the ‘writer’s voice’ and adeptly work through the tick list of criteria that contribute to the difference between a ‘working at’ or ‘exceeding’ piece of work. If, however, writing is not your natural skill this may become more of an exercise of dissecting writing, away from context and effect, and has the danger to attribute either too much (or more often, not enough) weight on stand-alone features.

Thirdly, and I would suggest most importantly, is how a moderated piece of writing fits in with the overall picture of what a child can write across the academic year, across genres, across stimuli. This is where I truly believe that writing moderation exercises need to become embedded into discussions, planning opportunities and best practice. I am sure there are a number of schools where this is absolutely the case and I am appreciative of the personal journey I have been on, and all that I have learnt, from the various settings in which I have been lucky to work. However, when the ‘to do list’ is mounting and all of the subjects have many of their own expectations for assessments and new strategies, it can be difficult to ensure that building up a picture of writing for all of our (often 30 plus) students is at the forefront of our weekly considerations.

Ideas and practical suggestions

So, how can writing moderation experiences be curated so that they are more purposeful, seek to up-skill and become embedded in weekly discussions, planning and practice? Below are two suggestions which I hope can be actioned with minimal time spent preparing. Think of these more as a shift towards intentionality when preparing for writing moderation experiences which promote regular discussion and empower judgements.

1. Make writing moderation a joyful and collaborative experience

Writing moderation can be the culmination of a purposefully designed outcome that is deliberately placed against the backdrop of a special, shared experience. This is where writing for purpose really comes into its own. How writing is taught in Primary schools can vary greatly. A lot of this writing may also involve a level of scaffolding to model for, support and stretch writers in the acquisition and application of knowledge. These day-to-day pieces should absolutely be building up a picture of a child’s writing ability but a stand-alone, completely independent piece of work is where you will truly see a writer’s capabilities. Some teachers feel nervous to use a piece of writing like this for moderation purposes, but if the skill of moderating is embedded into all writing experiences, this piece should just cement prior judgements.

So, what could a ‘wow’ piece of writing for moderation look like?

• Look on your school calendar for events where a piece of purposeful, motivating writing could be placed. Ideally, where possible, it would be a fantastic professional development opportunity to schedule this for the whole-school to experience and write about simultaneously.

• Your hook for writing is the experience! The children should be fully engaged by the writing as they have taken part in the stimulus for it first-hand and will have a purpose for writing which coincides with this shared event. In terms of genre, you may want to keep this the same across Year Groups and Key Stages so you have a writing journey across your school mapped for this one set of skills. Or you may decide to have a set genre for lower down the school and allow a genre of choice for KS2/writers who need more of a challenge.

• I have experienced success in organising a ‘whole-school write’ for Black History Month, after a week’s worth of drama and immersion activities and International Day, once the children had dressed up in cultural clothing and experienced food tasting, live music and traditional performances. Other examples may be World Book Day and post-trip/residential experiences, which would also lend themselves for being a great opportunity for a shared hook.

• Collaboration is key in these experiences, not only for the pupils but for the teachers. A lot of schools have planning teams or divvy up subjects for teachers to plan for. The moderation element really does start at the stage of planning for the writing experience. If some staff meeting/planning time can be carved out to plan for the teaching that will take place to equip the children to write as independently as possible, this will allow for all teachers to engage in what is being “looked for” in the final outcomes.

• Celebrate! I was inspired by a colleague in my last setting, who shared the idea of a writer’s journey. I absolutely loved this concept and myself and my fellow English lead jumped on it. Not only did it showcase that, as a school, we placed a high priority on writing and the celebration of it but it also allowed for discussion between the pupils. The well-placed board, with a selection of ‘whole-school writing’ from FS to Year 6, would literally stop children in their tracks! We had used the same genre (a portal story) and the same shared experience (International Day) for our moderated piece, so the children could actually connect with the writing of their peers from different year groups. What they hadn’t realised they were doing, in their totally unscripted and unguided conversations, was critically assessing. They were referencing SPaG techniques, discussing how the writing made them feel and comparing it to their own. It was truly magical!

2. Promote discussion, collaboration, ownership and learning

The process of ensuring that writing moderation is purposeful and embedded really does come in the design of ‘making the judgements’. Hopefully, you have now landed on some ideas for shared, purposeful and engaging writing experiences. Now, what do you do with the outcomes?

Using the time wisely that we all have together as educators, is integral. Therefore, there are a number of ways in which making judgements can be designed to promote purposeful discussion. This goes hand-in-hand with ensuring that professionals who don’t necessarily identify as confident writers themselves have the opportunity to up-skill during the moderation process.

• Think carefully about your writing moderation materials. As I will continue to reference throughout my posts, I am exceptionally lucky to have worked with inspirational, forward-thinking colleagues in my career. Creating bespoke writing moderation grids is a perfect example of my learning in this area. Through deliberate time attributed to promoting discussion and ownership, using resources (for example the ones linked below) to create Year Group specific grids has been a successful first key step to ensuring that all staff members have a secure understanding of the strands of writing and have autonomy over creating this resource. Collaboration can then be enhanced by evaluating these with colleagues from the Year Group above and below to ensure appropriate progression.

• Once the writing grids are established and fit for purpose (there are lots of pre-made examples out there but engagement from staff with these before the use of them is such an important foundation) consider how the moderation meeting(s) will be structured. There are a few different ways you can approach moderation and these may form the number of different meetings that you have throughout the year. Approaches may include:

  • “Random moderation” where conversations around the pieces of writing is had without any context as to the child or class teacher judgement. The benefits of moderating this way is so that conversation is without preconception and is completed in the ‘purest form’. To add another element to this, the class teacher can write their judgement on the back of the piece, so further discussion can be had about whether the judgement fits or raises any amendments which may need to be considered.

  • “Moderation journeys”, best used when a piece of writing has already been moderated and teachers across Year Groups can then have conversations and see the journey of writers across phases. This is particularly effective for teachers to become familiar with judgements in the Year Groups above and below where they are currently placed. Discussion prompts can be shared when comparing the journey of the assessment bands of writers and should clearly reflect statements on the moderation grids. For example, ‘Can I see evidence for the highlighted judgements? How many pieces of evidence can I see? Is there a clear progression in writing skills and expectations?’

  • Placing your ‘not yet meeting’ age-related expectation writers during a whole-school moderation meeting also allows for teachers to consider the skills that these children need to secure to accelerate progress. When levels were part of the National Curriculum assessment guidelines, I always found it useful to be able to place my writers exactly where they were in their own individual journeys. This was a powerful tool as it supported me in knowing exactly what their next steps were and I could adjust teaching content accordingly. Living in ‘life after levels’ this can be trickier unless you are deliberately engaging with what writing looks like in different Year Groups and at different points of attainment. Taking a walk around the Year Groups which are further behind your current expectations allows for a ‘pin point’ as to where those writers may be sitting. Last week’s post on ‘Purposeful SPaG’ shares ideas on how you can then create experiences to support these children in securing the building blocks in their journey.

  • Get some support and guidance! There is such a wealth of opportunity and experience in-house for writing moderation and hopefully some ideas I have shared in this post support that. However, I do feel that moderating is such a subjective skill, that gaining expert help is such an investment for educators. If you are in a MAT or part of a Local Authority and do not have a writing hub organised, I would suggest this is a good place to start, to cast the net out into further expertise and experience. I am also an avid follower of Pobble Education and have been using their thought-provoking and engaging writing prompts in my lessons, and as morning starters, for years. Pobble were the first direction I turned to when deciding with my colleague that we would like to moderate our moderation! The bespoke services that they offer cover a range of training options to suit all settings and experience levels. Once again, not an affiliated promotion, but one that absolutely exceeds expectations for expertise, flexibility and guaranteed value added. To explore the plethora of options Pobble has to offer, click the link below.

To support the curation of bespoke writing grids:

2025 teacher assessment guidance: