The Pobble blog

The 2025 moderation cycle once again offered the opportunity to celebrate the hard work and expertise of Year 6 teachers and leaders across the country. This year, one message came through louder than ever: the schools that achieved the most accurate, confident, and joyful moderation outcomes were those that had woven moderation, reflection, and pupil voice into the fabric of their writing curriculum all year long.

These schools didn’t view moderation as a one-off event in June. Instead, they saw it as the natural outcome of a well-sequenced curriculum, a culture of professional discussion, and a shared commitment to helping pupils understand, talk about, and take pride in their writing.

Embedding regular moderation: Building confidence and consistency

Across every region, the difference was striking between schools that moderated regularly and those that didn’t. Where internal moderation was built into the assessment cycle, taking place both informally and formally, teachers arrived at statutory moderation confident, aligned, and proud of their judgements. Teachers in these schools spoke with assurance about their pupils’ journeys, reflecting a deep familiarity with the writing standards and their consistent and professional application across their different contexts.

Senior leaders also played an active role in sustaining these practices, ensuring moderation was timetabled, supported, and treated as professional learning rather than accountability.

“Our Year 6 team came back absolutely buzzing, feeling that their hard work was truly praised and that they had a fantastic opportunity to share their writing. Your team’s approach really made them feel validated and appreciated.” 
Mark White, Head of School, Lea Forest Primary Academy

“Both teachers came away from the moderation feeling empowered, proud of themselves and like they had had a fantastic professional development opportunity.” 
Emily Ferris, Headteacher, Beaufort Primary School

A carefully sequenced curriculum: Mastery before complexity

This year’s moderation findings again underscored the impact of a well-planned, sequential writing curriculum. In the most successful schools, writing instruction followed a clear progression, ensuring that fundamental concepts such as punctuation and spelling were securely mastered earlier in Key Stage 2.

By the time pupils reached Year 6, teachers could focus on refinement and control, exploring the purpose and effect of punctuation rather than simply its correct use. The same was true of spelling and grammar: well-embedded understanding freed Year 6 teachers to push creativity, precision, and authorial choice to new heights. This thoughtful sequencing not only supported pupils’ skill development but also made assessment judgements far more secure.


Purpose and choice: The hallmarks of engaged writers

Schools that provided plentiful opportunities for choice in writing tasks continued to stand out during moderation. Pupils who were able to connect personally with their writing, selecting topics, genres, or audiences that resonated with them, produced pieces that were rich in voice, structure, and intent.

Teachers in these schools spoke about creating meaningful contexts for writing, often linking tasks to high-quality texts or wider curriculum themes. The result was writing that was both technically strong and deeply authentic. Pupils weren’t just meeting objectives; they were writing as authors, motivated by a clear sense of purpose and ownership. Again, in these schools, judgements were more accurate as teachers had plentiful independent writing opportunities upon which to base their judgements.


The power of pupil conferencing in assessment

Perhaps one of the most inspiring trends this year was the growing use of pupil conferencing as part of the assessment and moderation process. Schools that embraced this practice created powerful spaces for pupils to reflect on their writing, share what they were proud of, and discuss the authorial decisions behind their work.

Many Year 6 teachers described moments where pupils read aloud pieces they felt best showcased their skills, articulating, often with great confidence, why certain techniques or structures were effective. For those working at greater depth, these conversations became particularly rich, revealing metacognitive understanding and a genuine love of writing.

Where pupil conferencing was embedded, teachers gained not just evidence for assessment but valuable insight into how pupils view themselves as writers, insight that informs next steps for teaching, planning and curriculum design.

“I was part of a really lovely external moderation session yesterday. It was a really positive experience and really validating for us all.” 
Elise Baird, Head of Assessment, Goldsworth Primary School


Final Reflections

The 2025 moderation cycle has shown that the most successful schools share several key characteristics: 
- Regular moderation built into the school year, supporting accuracy and professional trust. 
- Carefully sequenced writing curriculums ensure pupils master key skills before tackling complex concepts. 
- Meaningful opportunities for choice in writing, leading to authentic and motivated authors. 
- Pupil conferencing that elevates writing assessment into a dialogue, giving pupils voice and ownership over their work. 

Together, these elements create the conditions for moderation that is a genuine celebration of both teaching and learning.

A huge thank you to our moderation team for their professionalism and warmth, and to every Year 6 teacher who continues to champion purposeful writing and accurate assessment.

If your school is ready to strengthen its moderation practice, explore Pobble’s moderation offer and join us in making 2026 a year where moderation is joyfully collaborative, professionally empowering, and a true celebration of teachers, learners, and writing itself.