On the 8th of July 2025, the Department for Education published its non-statutory guidance document: The Writing Framework.
The mission of The Writing For Pleasure Centre is to help all young people become passionate and successful writers. As a think tank dedicated to exploring what world-class writing is — and what it could be — a crucial part of our work involves influencing government policy. We were therefore delighted to be invited to contribute to this framework, and we believe there is much to celebrate.
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The power of choice: Personal writing projects deserve a place in the classroom
In classrooms that hum with the sound of writing, something extraordinary happens when pupils are given space to work on their own passion projects. Not to tick off an objective. Not to follow a success criterion. But to say something they want to say – because they’ve chosen the topic, the form, and the audience (Young & Ferguson 2022).
Personal writing projects are not a luxury. They’re not just a ‘nice extra’ for an idle Friday afternoon. According to the DfE’s Writing Framework, they’re essential. When pupils write for enjoyment, they develop autonomy. They build fluency. They get better.
Writing for its own sake
For too long, writing in schools has been tightly prescribed. Units are planned with precision. We scaffold. We model. We assess. All of this has value – but if we’re not careful, it can send an unspoken message to pupils: writing only counts when it’s teacher-directed.
The DfE’s Writing Framework challenges this view. “It is also important,” it says, “that [pupils] are not discouraged from pursuing their own personal writing.” This means schools carving out space for writing that is self-chosen, self-driven, and self-owned.
The DfE explains how this might take the form of timetabled sessions devoted to personal writing projects. It might look like a lunchtime writing club. It is about a culture that celebrates the information texts, stories, comics, poems, and fan fiction children are creating at home and bringing into school to share with everyone.
Autonomy breeds fluency
We know that motivation matters (Young 2024). Children are more likely to practise and persist with skills they find meaningful. When pupils choose their own writing projects, they’re more invested. They return to their manuscripts willingly. They revise because they want to improve their composition. They think and live as writers.
As the Writing Framework puts it:
“choosing to read and write for enjoyment develops autonomy and fluency, and provides further opportunities for practice.”
Valuing the writer, not just the writing
A classroom that makes space for personal writing sends a powerful message: we don’t just value the writing you produce for assessment – we value you as a writer. Your voice, your ideas, your perspective (Young 2025a).
This means honouring writing that happens beyond the lesson. When a pupil brings in a short story they wrote over the weekend, we read it. When a child shares the lyrics to a song they’ve composed, we listen. When they fill their own notebooks with serialised fiction or jokes or recipes or memories — we celebrate that.
The Writing Framework is clear: schools should “celebrate the compositions pupils produce of their own accord.” This recognition builds confidence. It shows pupils that writing isn’t just something they do – it’s something they are (Young et al. 2021).
The writing curriculum we want
Some might worry that making time for personal writing projects is a distraction from curriculum goals. But the truth is, it supports them. Pupils need structured, high-quality teaching of writing skills – but they also need opportunities to apply those skills more freely and independently. To take risks. To experiment. To play (Young & Ferguson 2022).
In fact, some of the best writing outcomes come from this blend: explicit instruction paired with space for independence. Mentor texts and modelled writing alongside moments for pupil-led creativity (Young 2025b). Purposeful practice coupled with joyful exploration.
This is the writing curriculum we want: not compliant writers, but confident writers. Not just proficient writers, but passionate ones too (Bonafede et al. 2025).
Let them write
Let’s timetable personal writing project sessions and start with a simple question: What do you want to write? And let’s celebrate the writers our pupils are becoming, not just the writing they produce on demand.
Because when we give children the choice to write for themselves, we give them the chance to fall in love with writing — not just as a school subject, but as something they can carry with them for life.
References
- Bonafede, F., Clark, C., Picton, I., Cole, A., Young, R. (2025) Children and young people’s writing in 2025 London: National Literacy Trust
- Young, R., (2024) Motivating writing teaching Brighton: The Writing For Pleasure Centre
- Young, R. (2025a) Children’s perspectives on writing competency: Academic, personal and social influences UKLA International Conference – Liverpool – 2025
- Young, R. (2025b) “It’s healthy. It’s good for you”: Children’s perspectives on utilising their autonomy in the writing classroom UKLA International Conference – Liverpool – 2025
- Young, R., Ferguson, F. (2023) Personal writing projects Brighton: The Writing For Pleasure Centre
- Young, R., Ferguson, F., Kaufman, D., Govender, N. (2021) Writing realities Brighton: The Writing For Pleasure Centre