KS2 writing moderation: the complete guide for teachers

What is KS2 writing moderation?

At the end of key stage 2, writing is the one core subject assessed by teacher judgement rather than a test. To keep those judgements consistent with national standards, local authorities externally moderate a sample of schools each year: a trained moderator visits, reviews a sample of pupils' everyday written work against the “pupil can” statements in the teacher assessment framework, and talks the judgements through with the Year 6 teacher.

The Standards and Testing Agency is explicit about the spirit of the exercise: moderation validates judgements and is “a collaborative process between schools and local authority moderators”. It is not an inspection, there is no lesson observation, and — despite the folklore — no portfolio requirement. If you teach Year 6, the whole system runs on work your pupils were producing anyway.

Who gets moderated, and how are schools chosen?

Every year, local authorities must externally moderate at least 25% of their maintained schools, and 25% of academies and participating independent schools — and every school must be moderated at least once every 4 years. So over a typical Year 6 career you will be moderated repeatedly; the only question is which years.

Local authorities select schools using their own local intelligence rather than a purely random draw. In practice that means some schools are more likely to be picked in a given year — for example where the Year 6 teacher is new to the year group, leadership has changed, the school has recently converted to an academy, or previous results looked out of line with other evidence.

Notification comes late by design: schools are told from mid-May onwards, with at least 2 school days' notice of the visit itself, and the local authority must say who will be attending. The short notice is the system working as intended — it assumes the evidence already exists in books, because it should. If you want the practical run-through of those two days, see preparing for writing moderation.

When does writing moderation happen?

The cycle runs on the summer term. In 2026, notification started on Friday 15 May, moderation visits ran from Monday 1 June to Friday 26 June, and teacher assessment data was due by Friday 26 June. The shape of the timetable is stable year to year, but the exact dates move — always check section 3 of the current STA teacher assessment guidance for your year.

What do moderators actually look for?

Three things, in essence: that the writing evidences the “pupil can” statements at the standard awarded, that it was produced independently, and that the teacher can explain the judgement. The guidance asks schools to have evidence of pupils' work available “to demonstrate attainment of the ‘pupil can’ statements at the standard the pupil has been judged to have met — this should be in the form of day-to-day work”.

Just as important is what moderators are told not to do:

“Not dictate what schools’ evidence should look like or how it is presented — in particular, local authorities should not expect portfolios or checklists of evidence”

Independence gets particular scrutiny, because a judgement is only as good as the evidence behind it. Writing that was heavily scaffolded, copied from a model, corrected after direct intervention, or — since the 2026 guidance — edited following AI feedback does not count as independent. The full rules, with the STA's exact wording, are in our guide to AI and independent writing.

How do teacher assessment judgements work?

Judgements are made against the teacher assessment frameworks, which set out three standards for writing — working towards the expected standard, working at the expected standard, and working at greater depth — each defined by a short list of “pupil can” statements. To be awarded a standard, a pupil's collection of writing should meet all the statements at that standard, judged across the collection rather than piece by piece.

• It's a best-fit-with-rules system, not a tick-list. The “particular weakness” flexibility lets a teacher's judgement of overall attainment take precedence where one weakness would otherwise distort the picture — with good reason, explained to the moderator.
• Evidence is broad, not bespoke. The framework says evidence should include writing from curriculum subjects beyond English, and that a single piece can evidence multiple statements.
• Qualifiers carry defined meanings. “Most” means generally met with only occasional errors; “many” means frequently but not yet consistently.

Every statement at all three standards, with the exact wording and the spelling and handwriting rules, is set out in the teacher assessment framework for writing, explained. For the top standard specifically — the judgement moderators probe hardest — see greater depth in writing.

What happens on the day?

The school provides a breakdown of its teacher assessment judgements for the cohort, categorised by standard. From that, the moderator selects “an initial representative sample of 15% of pupils” working above pre-key stage standards, chosen proportionately across classes — a minimum of 5 pupils where there is a single class, or the whole cohort if it is smaller than that.

For each sampled pupil, the moderator reviews the work against the “pupil can” statements and holds a professional discussion with the Year 6 teacher. The STA's framing is worth holding on to when the nerves kick in:

“It should be a positive discussion, allowing teachers to talk through their judgements, using evidence to support their decisions and articulate their understanding of the standards.”

If the evidence for the sample doesn't support the school's judgements, the sample is expanded and similar pupils are discussed; judgements can be adjusted. Where school and local authority cannot reach consensus, the local authority must have appeal arrangements in place. Most visits end far less dramatically: judgements confirmed, sometimes a borderline pupil talked through in detail, and a written record of the outcome.

What are the common myths about moderation?

Much of the anxiety around moderation comes from expectations the STA has explicitly ruled out. The most persistent ones, against what the guidance actually says:

How does AI feedback fit into moderation?

The STA's guidance now names AI directly in its independent-writing rules, and the line it draws is clean. Writing a pupil has “edited or rewritten following feedback from large language models or other forms of artificial intelligence” is not independent — teachers must make clear to moderators where AI feedback was used so that work can be excluded from the collection. And writing “produced, either in full or in part” by AI must never support a judgement: the guidance warns that using it “could result in the school being investigated for maladministration”.

What the rules restrict is what happens to the pupil's writing — not what informs the teacher's own assessment. A teacher using AI to help assess a completed, independently produced piece doesn't change how that piece was produced; the original remains legitimate evidence. That is the lane a tool like Howay is built for: the pupil writes by hand, the teacher photographs the finished page, and the AI drafts feedback for the teacher to edit — the pupil's work is never touched. Keep originals in the collection, flag any pieces where a pupil redrafted after AI feedback, and the two systems coexist.

The exact STA wording, quoted in full with a practical dos-and-don'ts list, is in AI marking and independent writing.

Common questions

What is KS2 writing moderation?

External moderation is the process by which local authorities check a sample of a school's end-of-KS2 teacher assessment judgements in English writing against national standards. A moderator visits the school, reviews a sample of pupils' day-to-day writing against the 'pupil can' statements in the teacher assessment framework, and holds a professional discussion with the Year 6 teacher. The STA describes it as a collaborative process that validates judgements, not an inspection.

How do I know if my school will be moderated this year?

You won't know in advance. Local authorities must moderate at least 25% of their maintained schools and 25% of academies and participating independent schools each year, and every school at least once every four years. Selection is based on the local authority's own local intelligence, and schools are told from mid-May onwards, with at least 2 school days' notice of the visit itself. The practical answer is to assume you could be moderated and let normal classroom evidence accumulate all year.

How many pupils does the moderator look at?

The STA guidance asks moderators to select an initial representative sample of 15% of pupils working above pre-key stage standards, chosen proportionately across classes, with a minimum of 5 pupils for a single class. If the evidence for the sample doesn't support the school's judgements, the moderator and teacher expand the sample.

Do moderators expect a special portfolio of evidence?

No — the opposite. The STA guidance tells moderators not to dictate what schools' evidence should look like or how it is presented, and says in particular that local authorities should not expect portfolios or checklists of evidence. Evidence should be pupils' day-to-day work, and a pupil's workbook will often have all the evidence a teacher needs.

Can a moderator change my judgements?

Moderation can result in judgements being adjusted, and where a judgement changes the moderator and teacher expand the sample to look at the evidence for similar pupils in the cohort. It is a professional discussion first: teachers talk through their judgements using the evidence. Where the school and local authority cannot reach consensus, the local authority must have appeal arrangements in place.

Does using AI feedback tools affect writing moderation?

It can, depending on how the tool is used. The STA guidance says writing a pupil has edited or rewritten following feedback from AI is not independent and must be flagged to moderators so it can be excluded from the collection, and writing produced in full or in part by AI must never be used for judgements — doing so risks a maladministration investigation. A teacher using AI to inform their own assessment of completed work is a different activity and doesn't change how the work was produced.

Sources

1. Standards and Testing Agency (updated 2 March 2026), “Key stage 2 teacher assessment guidance” — moderation process, sample sizes, 2026 dates and independent-writing rules quoted verbatim from this document.
2. Standards and Testing Agency, “Teacher assessment frameworks at the end of key stage 2” (for use from the 2018/19 academic year onwards) — the three standards and ‘pupil can’ statements.
3. Standards and Testing Agency (2017), “Teacher assessment exemplification: KS2 English writing” — exemplified collections at each standard.