For parents of Year 6 pupils in England

How KS2 Writing Is Assessed in Year 6

In England, there is no separate Year 6 writing SATs paper. Teachers judge a body of independent work against statutory standards, and school judgements may be checked through moderation.

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Lead authorRobin GibbonsFounder & CEO·Latimer Tuition
Reviewed byHeather LatimerTutor Matching & Customer Service·Latimer Tuition
Published4 August 2026
Last reviewed4 August 2026

Current answer

Is there a KS2 writing SATs paper?

In England, KS2 writing assessment is a teacher judgement: Year 6 pupils do not sit a separate end-of-KS2 English writing test paper. The Standards and Testing Agency states:

“There are no tests for English writing or science at the end of KS2.” — Standards and Testing Agency, GOV.UK

Instead, the school reports English writing through a teacher-assessment judgement based on the pupil’s overall work. Pupils take separate national curriculum tests in English reading, English grammar, punctuation and spelling, and mathematics. The writing result is therefore a statutory standard, not a writing scaled score or a grade converted from a test mark.

This page explains the system used in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different curriculum and assessment arrangements.

Current answer

What counts as independent writing at KS2?

The official rule is direct:

“Teachers’ judgements must only be based on writing that a pupil produced independently.” — Standards and Testing Agency, GOV.UK

Independent does not mean untaught, completed in silence or always written as a first draft. A pupil can take part in normal teaching, whole-class discussion and oral rehearsal. The central question is whether the pupil made the substantive choices: generating and organising ideas, choosing the wording, composing the text and deciding how to edit it.

Teaching a transferable skill is different from supplying the content or corrections that make a particular assessed piece meet the standard.

KS2 tests and writing teacher assessment are different

The grammar, punctuation and spelling test and the English writing judgement are related parts of Year 6 assessment, but one does not determine the other.

Area	Grammar, punctuation and spelling test	English writing teacher assessment
Format	A scheduled national curriculum test taken using test papers.	A professional judgement made by the teacher from evidence gathered over time.
Evidence	The pupil’s answers under the national test arrangements.	A body of the pupil’s independent classroom writing across different purposes and contexts.
Result	A separate test result and scaled score.	A statutory teacher-assessment outcome, such as working at the expected standard.
Focus	Specified knowledge of grammar, punctuation and spelling.	Composition, organisation, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, spelling, handwriting and control for purpose and audience within the statutory framework.

How a Year 6 writing judgement is made

Teacher assessment is designed to draw on normal classroom work rather than create a separate writing event. The sequence below shows how the evidence becomes a reported outcome.

Stage	What happens	What it means for parents
Classroom writing	The pupil writes across English and, where useful, other curriculum subjects over time.	The judgement should reflect normal attainment, not one unusually strong or weak day.
Evidence review	The teacher reviews the pupil’s work against the statutory English writing framework.	There is no writing test mark that is converted into a writing grade.
Professional judgement	The teacher decides which standard the pupil demonstrates securely, consistently and independently.	The framework guides the decision, but the teacher still has to interpret the whole body of evidence.
School checking	Schools are strongly encouraged to compare and moderate judgements internally.	Colleagues can review work together so that standards are applied consistently.
External moderation	A local authority checks a sample of judgements in selected schools.	Moderation is quality assurance. It is not an extra assessment taken by the child.
Reporting	The school submits the required outcome and reports the result to parents.	Writing is reported as a teacher-assessment standard, not a writing scaled score.

What evidence do teachers use?

The judgement comes from a body of evidence that shows what the pupil can normally do independently. Schools should not need to manufacture an oversized assessment folder when ordinary classroom work already provides suitable evidence.

Work produced over time

Teachers consider writing across a range of purposes and contexts. The judgement is not based on one timed composition, one ‘best’ piece, a grammar test score or a numerical points total.

Normal classroom evidence

Workbooks and day-to-day writing are usually central. Other evidence can be added where needed, but schools do not need a separately labelled piece for every statutory statement. One piece may support several statements.

Writing from more than English lessons

A historical account, science explanation or geography report may contribute where it shows relevant writing skills and was produced under conditions compatible with independent writing.

Secure and consistent does not mean perfect

Teachers look for a standard demonstrated securely across the body of work. Occasional errors can still be compatible with a secure judgement; every sentence does not have to be faultless.

Exercises can add evidence, but do not replace the body of work

Spelling tests or other exercises may supplement the evidence. Handwriting exercises alone are not enough to demonstrate the handwriting statements; handwriting should be evident in independent writing, subject to appropriate reasonable adjustments.

Independent writing: two illustrative examples

These examples apply the official principles, but they are not formal rulings on an individual piece. The decisive issue is who made the writing decisions.

Part of the task	Likely to remain independent	Unlikely to qualify as independent evidence
Starting point	The class discusses persuasive writing, then the pupil chooses their own position and arguments.	An adult supplies the position, arguments and exact structure the pupil must follow.
Writing	The pupil selects their own vocabulary and sentence structures and develops the text themselves.	The pupil reproduces modelled language, copies or paraphrases another text, or inserts phrases provided by an adult.
Editing	The pupil rereads the work, independently consults a dictionary and decides which sentences to revise.	An adult identifies each error, directs the exact changes and gives replacement wording or sentences to copy.
Why the distinction matters	The finished piece demonstrates the pupil’s own composition and editing decisions.	The finished piece demonstrates decisions or corrections supplied by someone or something else.

Decision caveat

Feedback, redrafting, digital tools and reasonable adjustments

Redrafting is neither automatically allowed nor automatically disallowed. A revised piece can remain independent when the pupil decides what to change after ordinary teaching, self-evaluation, peer discussion or general feedback. It is unlikely to remain valid independent evidence when an adult directs the specific wording, corrections, additions or removals.

The same principle applies to digital help. Tools can make a piece unsuitable when they automatically correct spelling, supply punctuation, suggest wording, generate text or direct the pupil’s edits in a way that performs the skill being assessed. This does not mean that every use of a computer, typing aid or accessibility tool is forbidden.

A reasonable adjustment should remove disadvantage while leaving the evidence able to show the pupil’s own attainment.

The digital-assistance examples above reflect the 2026 guidance for the 2025–26 academic year. Guidance for a later school year may change the detail.

When this advice is not enough

Your child uses assistive technology, a word processor or another adjustment and you need to know how it applies to the writing evidence.
A particular piece has received detailed adult, tutor or digital support and the school may be considering it as assessment evidence.
The question concerns handwriting requirements alongside a physical disability or another individual need.

What to do instead

Ask the school to explain how the support or adjustment is recorded, which writing skills the child still demonstrates independently and whether the piece is being used for practice or as assessment evidence.

The three KS2 writing standards explained

For pupils assessed within the statutory KS2 writing framework, the outcomes below describe the level demonstrated across the body of work. These summaries help explain the language; they do not replace the official ‘pupil can’ statements.

The framework also contains a limited particular weakness qualification. A teacher may judge that a pupil meets a standard despite one identifiable weakness where it does not prevent the pupil demonstrating overall attainment against the remaining statements. This is not a points or averaging system.

Official outcome	Plain-English meaning	Selected features — not a checklist
Working towards the expected standard	The pupil demonstrates the defined foundation of end-of-KS2 writing skills but does not yet demonstrate all the expected-standard statements.	Writing for a range of purposes; organising ideas into paragraphs; describing settings or characters; using basic punctuation mostly correctly; applying specified spelling knowledge; and writing legibly.
Working at the expected standard	The pupil securely demonstrates the statutory end-of-KS2 expectations across their independent writing evidence.	Effective writing for different purposes and audiences; coherent organisation and cohesion; appropriate vocabulary and grammar; dialogue used purposefully; mostly correct KS2 punctuation; relevant spelling knowledge; and sufficiently fluent, legible joined handwriting.
Working at greater depth within the expected standard	The pupil applies the expected-standard skills with more assured, independent and controlled choices. It remains within the KS2 expected standard, not the secondary-school curriculum.	Selecting suitable forms; drawing independently on models from reading; controlling register and formality; and using punctuation accurately and precisely to shape meaning.

How KS2 writing moderation works

Moderation checks whether teachers and schools are applying the national standards consistently. A school being selected for external moderation is part of normal quality assurance, not evidence that the school or pupil has done something wrong.

Area	Internal moderation	External moderation
Who is involved	Teachers and school leaders, sometimes working with colleagues from other schools.	A local-authority moderator and the Year 6 teacher in a selected school.
Purpose	To compare interpretations, discuss evidence and improve consistency before outcomes are submitted.	To validate that sampled teacher-assessment judgements are accurate and consistent with national standards.
Status and scope	Strongly encouraged, but not itself a national statutory requirement.	Statutory for selected schools. Not every school is selected every year, and not every child is reviewed when a school is selected.
What happens to the pupil	The pupil normally completes no extra task; colleagues review existing work.	The pupil does not sit another assessment. The moderator reviews work and discusses the evidence with the teacher.
Possible outcome	The school may confirm or refine a judgement before submission.	The sampled judgement may be confirmed or revised through professional discussion. Any formal remoderation or appeal process operates between the school and local authority.

How the writing result is reported

The English writing outcome appears separately from the test results. The exact presentation can vary between schools, but the underlying distinction remains the same.

There is no writing scaled score

Reading, grammar, punctuation and spelling, and mathematics tests produce separate test results. English writing is reported as a teacher-assessment standard.

The outcome may be written in words

Parents may see wording such as working towards the expected standard, working at the expected standard or working at greater depth within the expected standard. Schools use submission codes including WTS, EXS and GDS, but a report may spell the outcome out.

The report should give wider context

For maintained schools, the annual report includes test results where applicable, teacher-assessment outcomes in English writing and science, and a brief account of progress, strengths and areas for development. Reporting duties can differ for other school types.

Ask about meaning and the next step

A useful discussion focuses on what the standard means in everyday language, the strongest features in the child’s writing and the most helpful area to develop next.

Decision caveat

Pupils working below the national curriculum assessment standard

A Year 6 pupil who is working below the overall standard of the national curriculum assessments is not automatically given the outcome ‘working towards’. Where the pupil is engaged in subject-specific study, the statutory pre-key stage 2 standards may apply. Where the pupil is not yet engaged in subject-specific study, the engagement model is used.

SEND alone does not determine which framework or outcome applies. The decision depends on the pupil’s demonstrated attainment and whether they are engaged in subject-specific study. Reasonable adjustments should remove disadvantage while preserving evidence of the pupil’s own attainment.

When this advice is not enough

You need an explanation of the exact standard, code or framework used for your child.
Your child’s disability, handwriting, communication method or assistive technology affects how writing evidence is produced.
You need detailed information about the engagement model rather than a brief overview.

What to do instead

Ask the school which statutory framework has been used, how reasonable adjustments have been applied and how the reported outcome reflects your child’s attainment and progress.

How to support writing at home without taking over

Parents can build the skills behind confident writing without manufacturing assessment evidence. The aim is to help the child think, compose and edit more independently.

Read and discuss a range of texts

Talk about audience, purpose, word choices, sentence effects and how writers organise ideas. This builds knowledge the child can later apply independently.
Give genuine reasons to write

A story, review, letter, explanation, journal entry or message for a real purpose can make practice meaningful without trying to imitate an assessment folder.
Practise transferable skills separately

Spelling patterns, sentence construction, paragraphing, planning and revision can be practised in short activities before the child applies them in their own writing.
Let the child make the editing decisions

Ask them to reread for clarity, explain what they want the reader to understand and decide what they would change. General questions preserve more independence than a line-by-line correction list.
Do not rewrite work intended as independent evidence

Avoid dictating, supplying replacement sentences, correcting every marked error or editing the text into an adult version. That may stop the finished piece showing what the child can do.
Check the purpose of the task

Where it is unclear, ask the teacher whether the work is for practice or needs to demonstrate what the child can do independently. The right level of help can differ.

A message to your child’s teacher

Questions to ask your child’s school

When this applies

Use this after receiving a Year 6 writing outcome or when you are unsure how the judgement was reached.

Suggested wording

Could you explain which writing standard my child has been assessed at and what that means in everyday language? I’d also like to understand their strongest writing features, the most useful next step, and whether the judgement draws on a broad range of independent work. What kind of help at home would build their skills without taking over the writing?

Why this helps

A calm conversation can turn an unfamiliar standard into useful information about strengths, evidence and next steps.

It keeps the discussion focused on the evidence, the child’s strengths, the next learning step and appropriate support rather than treating the outcome as a single test score. You can also ask how the school checks consistency and whether it was externally moderated, while remembering that non-selection does not weaken the result.

Official guidance and further reading

These are the principal official sources used for this guide, accessed on 4 August 2026. The two annual 2026 documents apply to the 2025–26 academic year; guidance for a later school year may differ.

2026 key stage 2 national curriculum tests: information for parents

Standards and Testing Agency / GOV.UK · Updated 2 July 2026 · Parent-facing explanation of tests, teacher-assessed writing and moderation.

Open source 1
Key stage 2 teacher assessment guidance 2026

Standards and Testing Agency / GOV.UK · Updated 2 March 2026 · Evidence, independence, professional judgement and moderation for 2025–26.

Open source 2
2026 key stage 2 assessment and reporting arrangements

Standards and Testing Agency / GOV.UK · Updated 7 July 2026 · Assessment administration, reporting and reasonable adjustments for 2025–26.

Open source 3
Teacher assessment frameworks at the end of key stage 2

Standards and Testing Agency / GOV.UK · Published 14 September 2017; updated 10 October 2022 · Statutory writing standards and the particular-weakness qualification.

Open source 4
Teacher assessment exemplification: KS2 English writing

Standards and Testing Agency / GOV.UK · Published 19 October 2017 · Annotated examples illustrating the statutory standards.

Open source 5
Pre-key stage 2 standards

Standards and Testing Agency / GOV.UK · Published 10 September 2018; updated 10 October 2022 · Statutory standards for eligible pupils working below the overall national curriculum assessment standard.

Open source 6

More guidance from this section

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Support and clarity

Frequently asked questions

Straight answers to the questions people ask most often.

Is there a KS2 writing SATs paper?

No. In England, pupils do not sit a separate English writing paper at the end of KS2. Writing is teacher-assessed, while reading, grammar, punctuation and spelling, and mathematics are tested separately. The writing outcome is a standard, not a writing scaled score.

Does the grammar, punctuation and spelling test decide the writing result?

No. The grammar, punctuation and spelling test produces a separate test result. Teachers judge English writing from a body of independent work against the statutory writing framework. Grammar, punctuation and spelling still matter within that framework, but the test score is not converted into the writing outcome.

What counts as independent writing at KS2?

The pupil must make the substantive choices, compose the text and decide how to edit it. Normal teaching, whole-class discussion, oral rehearsal and pupil-led use of a dictionary can remain compatible with independence. Adult-supplied wording, directed corrections, heavy scaffolding or tools that perform the assessed skill can make a piece unsuitable as evidence.

Can Year 6 writing be redrafted?

Redrafting is not automatically allowed or disallowed. A revised piece may remain independent when the pupil decides what to change after ordinary teaching or general feedback. Detailed adult corrections, supplied wording or a model copied into the piece can undermine independence.

Does every child’s writing get externally moderated?

No. Local authorities externally moderate samples in selected schools. Not every school is selected every year and not every child is reviewed when a school is selected. Moderation checks the consistency of teacher judgements; it is not another test taken by the pupil.

What does greater depth mean in KS2 writing?

The official outcome is working at greater depth within the expected standard. It reflects more assured, independent and controlled use of KS2 writing skills. It does not mean that the pupil is formally assessed against the secondary-school curriculum.

How is a Year 6 writing result reported to parents?

The writing outcome is reported as a teacher-assessment standard rather than a writing scaled score. It may appear in words such as working towards, expected standard or greater depth, while schools use submission codes including WTS, EXS and GDS. Maintained-school reports also cover progress, strengths and areas for development; arrangements can differ for other school types.

What happens if a pupil is working below the national curriculum assessment standard?

Pre-key stage 2 standards may apply where the pupil is engaged in subject-specific study but is working below the overall assessment standard. The engagement model is used where a pupil is not yet engaged in subject-specific study. SEND alone does not determine the framework or outcome, and reasonable adjustments should preserve evidence of the pupil’s own attainment.

Official guidance

1.
GOV.UK: 2026 key stage 2 national curriculum tests — information for parents
Standards and Testing Agency · 2026-07-02 · Accessed 2026-08-04
Parent-facing authority, updated 2 July 2026, for the absence of a separate end-of-KS2 English writing test and the use of teacher assessment.
2.
GOV.UK: Key stage 2 teacher assessment guidance 2026
Standards and Testing Agency · 2026-03-02 · Accessed 2026-08-04
Principal 2025–26 annual guidance for evidence, independent writing, professional judgement, digital assistance and moderation.
3.
GOV.UK: 2026 key stage 2 assessment and reporting arrangements
Standards and Testing Agency · 2026-07-07 · Accessed 2026-08-04
The 2025–26 annual arrangements covering assessment administration, reporting and reasonable adjustments.
4.
GOV.UK: Teacher assessment frameworks at the end of key stage 2
Standards and Testing Agency · 2017-09-14 · Accessed 2026-08-04
Statutory authority for the English writing standards and the limited particular-weakness qualification; page updated 10 October 2022.
5.
GOV.UK: Teacher assessment exemplification — KS2 English writing
Standards and Testing Agency · 2017-10-19 · Accessed 2026-08-04
Annotated pupil-work collections that illustrate how the statutory standards can be demonstrated.
6.
GOV.UK: Pre-key stage 2 standards
Standards and Testing Agency · 2018-09-10 · Accessed 2026-08-04
Statutory standards for pupils working below the overall national curriculum assessment standard while engaged in subject-specific study; page updated 10 October 2022.

Internal pages

1.
Latimer Tuition: KS2 English tuition
Latimer Tuition · Accessed 2026-08-04
2.
Latimer Tuition: Match me with a tutor
Latimer Tuition · Accessed 2026-08-04