Writing

Our research into writing covers behaviours, attitudes and skills of children and young people. We look at writing in every form and genre from poetry and lyrics to letters and essays, alongside its links with wellbeing and attainment in other areas.

Key statistics in writing

• 1 in 3 (34.6%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they enjoy writing in their free time in 2023.
  • Levels of writing enjoyment have reduced by 12.2 percentage points over the past 13 years, which means that, over that time, there has been a 26% decrease in the number of children and young people aged 8 to 18 who say they enjoy writing in their free time.
    
• 1 in 5 (19.3%) children and young people told us that they wrote something daily in their free time in 2023.
  • While daily writing levels have increased slightly over the past year, compared with 2010, the number of children and young people who wrote something daily in their free time has decreased by over a quarter (28.5%).
    
• 1 in 2 children and young people say that they write to be creative (50.2%) while 2 in 5 write to express their ideas and imagination (40.5%) or their thoughts and feelings (45.5%).
  • Writing continues to support children and young people’s mental wellbeing, with 1 in 4 (24.5%) of children and young people saying that writing made them feel better, while 1 in 7 (15.5%) wrote to support causes and issues they care about.