ELG: Writing
Criteria for the Writing ELG
As set out in the early years foundation stage statutory framework, children at the expected level of development for the writing ELG will:
- write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed
- spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters
- write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others
Key messages
When you make judgements on the Writing ELG, remember:
- children do not need to compose independently to meet the Writing ELG
- focus on correct letter formation, phonetic spelling, and readability
- dictation and guided writing are valid assessment tools
- children do not need to write multiple sentences in longer compositions
This video illustrates examples of assessment practice. While it features real children in real school settings, their actual developmental levels may differ from what is shown, and some scenes include acting for demonstration purposes.
Transcript
Transcript
– Red is sad.
Can you have a go at writing on the new line, “red is sad”?
Three words.
I’m assessing a child against the Early Learning Goal for Writing.
It is important to note that children do not need to write extended pieces or compose independently to meet the ELG.
The 2025 writing framework provides clear guidance on this.
It outlines how to make judgements against the writing ELG and includes helpful examples and phrasing to support teacher assessment.
To enable children to reach the writing ELG at the end of Reception, it is important throughout the year that children are provided with sufficient high-quality opportunities to practise writing.
This will help them to apply and embed their knowledge of the grapheme-phoneme correspondences they have been taught.
– I can see.
– So we’re going to write “I can see.” Three words. Can you write them down?
For example, if a teacher wants children to write a shopping list, they should reflect on whether children have the necessary phonetic knowledge to write the words they know.
The teacher could instead dictate words they’ve already learned the sounds for, omitting words that include grapheme-phoneme correspondences that have not already been taught.
Dictation helps teachers to tailor the transcription practice to what different groups of children know.
This makes sure that all children benefit.
– I went to the beach.
– I went to the beach.
Adam is writing a sentence dictated by a teacher.
– Went. Use your sounds.
Lovely. Can you read me your sentence?
– I went to the beach.
While the spelling is phonetic and some punctuation is missing, the sentence is readable and shows understanding of sound-letter correspondence.
The phoneme the child uses may not be the correct spelling.
For example, B-E-C-H for “beach,” but they are plausible and reflect the child’s developing phonological awareness.
This is typical for Reception-age children and is consistent with the expectations of the ELG for writing, so would be assessed as expected.
It’s important to note that children do not need to compose their sentences independently to be able to meet the ELG for writing.
While independent writing can help instil a love of writing, it is important that most of the children’s early writing is teacher-guided.
This is vital so that children do not embed incorrect letter formation.
– The next word we’re going to write is “bed.”
b – e – d
Dictation is a valid and helpful way to teach children handwriting, as well as assess children’s ability to form letters and represent sounds.
This is an important part of a rich and balanced early language and literacy curriculum.
I want you to use your sounds to write the sentence. Can you start, please?
I went to the park.
Meghna is still developing confidence in segmenting and representing sounds.
For example, by the end of Reception she should have learned both the phoneme “ar” in “park,” and the common exception words “the” and “to,” and should be able to write these.
– Over here. That’s fine.
p – ar – k
I ran to the park.
Letter formation is inconsistent and the sentence is difficult to read without adult interpretation.
I went to the park.
Dictation, shared writing and independent writing can all support teachers in making judgements about a child’s writing.
To support the child to progress, the teacher could help Meghna by providing opportunities to practise letters which are incorrectly formed and writing words with the “ar” phoneme.
Reading stories that include these phonemes will also help.
We ultimately want children to use their knowledge of grapheme-phoneme correspondences to write simple phrases and sentences that others can read.
What matters is not perfection, but whether children can communicate meaning through writing that others can read.
That’s the heart of the Early Learning Goal for Writing and Reception is a vital year for establishing these skills.
Yay! High five!
Case studies
For illustrative purposes, the following writing case studies show one example per child. Remember, overall assessment should be based on a best-fit judgement rather than isolated examples.
Taylor is working at the expected level
‘My best dog I had when I was a baby.’
Taylor is at the expected level for writing. In this example, they wrote about a favourite toy. Taylor has demonstrated they can write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed. They have not formed their letter ‘s’ correctly in the word ‘best’. They then realised and wrote the letter ‘s’ again. Although not all spellings are correct, they have demonstrated they can spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters. The words they have written are phonetically plausible and legible. They have used finger spaces between most words. Although a capital letter has been used at the start of the sentence, it does not have a full stop at the end.
Harper is working at the expected level
‘It is mad. It is bad.’
Harper is at the expected level for writing. In this example, they created a ‘Watch Out’ poster for a wolf as part of their play. They have written very simple sentences (of at least 3 words) and phrases (of at least 2 words). The writing is phonetically plausible and most letters are correctly formed. The letter ‘t’ in the first word was not formed correctly. However, this was formed correctly the second time they wrote the word ‘it’. Harper has attempted to amend this. Capital letters and full stops are not used. Although finger spaces are not used consistently, the writing is legible and makes sense.
Amani is working at an emerging level
‘Lost. Stick man is missing.’
Amani is working at an emerging level for writing. For example, Amani is not yet forming most letters correctly. There is an awareness in how sounds are represented by letters and some letters are recognisable. The sentence reads ‘Lost. Stick man is missing’. Amani clearly has an awareness of grapheme-phoneme correspondence and has recognised the initial sounds and some other elements of the words, but not all. There isn’t clear spacing between words, making it difficult for others to decipher what has been written. Amani is beginning to work on the objectives in the Writing ELG, however, still requires support and further development in all three areas.