A NEW report - co-written by the University of York - suggests the national curriculum’s focus on teaching grammar may not help pupils to write more effectively.

A study funded by the Nuffield Foundation, and co-authored by researchers from the university in York and UCL, assessed whether Year 2 pupils’ writing improved after a grammar teaching intervention called Englicious.

The study involved 70 Year 2 teachers in 70 primary schools, and 1,736 pupils, with children’s writing assessed by a narrative writing test and a sentence generation test before and after the grammar intervention.

The researchers found that while the intervention helped pupils to generate sentences, it did not impact their ability to write stories, which it found to be “negligible”.

“The lack of effect on narrative writing is the main outcome of our research, and is consistent with previously published studies on grammar and writing at primary education level,” the paper says.

A smaller positive effect from the intervention was seen for how well pupils could generate sentences from two-word prompts, although the report adds that this was not statistically significant.

The researchers said that this was nonetheless an “encouraging finding, and not one that has been seen in previous research of grammar for writing approaches”, adding that pupils being able to generate more sentences was “regarded as a desirable aspect of learning to write”.

The paper recommends that the grammar requirements in the national curriculum for primary pupils should be reviewed to evaluate their appropriateness for improving pupils’ writing.

Professor Dominic Wyse, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, lead author, said: “The lack of impact of grammar teaching on pupils’ narrative writing raises questions about the extensive grammar specifications that are part of England’s national curriculum.”

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “This report adds to the accumulating evidence that the National Curriculum for English stands on weak foundations.

“In January, a comprehensive review of the literature from UCL concluded that research evidence did not support the Government’s phonics-centred model for the teaching of reading.

“Now, the UCL/York research suggests the way that primary schools are required to teach grammar does not support children in their writing.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We continue to build on the progress we have made in raising literacy standards for all children, and have set an ambitious new target for 90 per cent of children to leave primary school in England having met the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths by 2030.

“Good grammar is central to achieving our target and that is why we have made it a fundamental part of the national curriculum at all key stages.”