Guernsey educators contribute to UK writing framework
- Two educators from Guernsey participated in shaping a new national writing framework for the UK.
- Clare Sealy and Joanne Siddall reviewed and influenced the framework published by the UK Department for Education.
- The framework aims to improve writing standards in schools across the UK.
- Guernsey's educational practices have already benefited from these methodologies.
Two education specialists from Guernsey, Clare Sealy and Joanne Siddall, played key roles in developing a new writing framework launched by the UK Department for Education in July.
The framework aspires to enhance writing standards for children nationwide. It incorporates a focus on handwriting, encourages the expression of thoughts through spoken language, and emphasises a revitalisation of early years classrooms.
The guidance aims to address current educational needs and provide teachers with structured methodologies to support students' writing skills.
Clare Sealy, Head of Education Improvement, and Joanne Siddall, former Strategic Lead of Burley Woodhead English Hub and now Guernsey’s Primary Education Development Officer, helped ensure the framework reflects both research findings and the realities encountered in the classroom.
They collaborated with academics, practitioners, Ofsted, and writing programme providers to incorporate diverse perspectives into the final document.
Schools in Guernsey, such as La Houguette Primary School, have already experienced the advantages of this approach for over a year, with insights from their experiences contributing to the national framework's development.
Clare Sealy said: “Our monitoring shows that pupils in Guernsey perform significantly better in Literacy and English than the UK average. As just one example, this year 40% of our Key Stage 2 pupils are exceeding UK benchmark expectations for their age compared with just 23% of pupils nationally, highlighting the quality of education in our primary schools.
"It has been fantastic to contribute to this national framework, helping to share our best practice, and shape and guide classrooms nationally about how best to teach children vital writing skills.”
Joanne Siddall added, “It has been great to share how our States primary schools are leading the way in using current educational research practically in the classroom to hone our children’s writing.
"The schools that have implemented a sentence knowledge curriculum have seen big improvements in writing, and we look forward to continuing to share our sector-leading work with schools locally and further afield.”
The transformation within Guernsey schools has drawn praise. Claire Judd, Headteacher at La Houguette Primary School, stated, “We’ve seen a real transformation in how our pupils approach writing.
"The framework’s clarity and structure have helped both teachers and our learners and we’re already noticing improvements in fluency and confidence.”
For further details about the newly launched writing framework, click here.
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