When creativity is compromised by the needs of SPaG

We salute one Primary Headteacher for her valiant effort in setting up a creative writing group for Year 5 and 6, led by a published author, with the aim of encouraging young students to become more experimental and exploratory in their writing.

How sad then that the so-called 'creative' sessions became compromised by the demands of the tests in SPaG; the Creative Writing group became the Writing Booster Group, linked to the school plan for raising levels of achievement in writing. Nobody's fault - only thing you can do when the SATs are approaching.

Exciting sessions exploring, for example, different ways of using the senses through synaesthesia ('the green smell of hospital' - thanks Ross, Year 5) 'morphed' into lessons in sentence variety, banging on the drum of complex, compound, simple combinations.

How easily the word 'SPaG' now rolls off the children's tongues. Like swallowing a huge mouthful of Alphabetti Spaghetti.

It slips down so easily.