Writing in the Age of AI

Using Generative AI to Improve Writing, Oracy and Disciplinary Literacy Across the Curriculum

A practical 3-hour course for primary and secondary schools – Includes progression frameworks and Adapt Writing access

Writing is one of the most complex things pupils are asked to do in school – and difficulties with writing affect achievement far beyond English.

The DfE Writing Framework emphasises the importance of developing fluent writers who can meet the demands of the wider curriculum, while Ofsted’s current inspection approach places significant emphasis on curriculum sequencing, strong foundations in communication, reading and writing, disciplinary knowledge, effective teaching and assessment.

At the same time, generative AI is giving schools powerful new tools for curriculum planning, modelling, scaffolding and assessment.

But how can we use AI to improve the teaching of writing without allowing AI to do the thinking – or the writing – for pupils?

This practical course explores how schools can combine strong writing pedagogy with generative AI to develop confident, increasingly independent writers from primary into secondary education.

The course will explore

• The national picture for writing – what current DfE and Ofsted evidence tells us about the strengths and weaknesses of writing provision in primary and secondary schools.
• How pupils become successful writers – connecting knowledge, vocabulary, reading, oracy, sentence construction, composition and independent writing.
• Sequencing writing effectively – identifying prerequisite knowledge and building towards increasingly complex writing rather than introducing complex tasks too early.
• Generative AI as a teaching tool – using AI to support planning, modelling, questioning, vocabulary development, scaffolding, adaptation and feedback while protecting pupil thinking and independence.
• Cross-curricular writing – creating meaningful opportunities for pupils to apply writing in history, geography, science, RE and other curriculum areas without writing becoming a substitute for learning the subject.
• Disciplinary literacy – understanding why good writing looks different in different subjects and helping pupils learn how historians, scientists, geographers and other subject specialists communicate.
• Reading, writing and oracy – using the three together to build the knowledge and language pupils need before asking them to write.
• Model texts and scaffolding – using AI intelligently to create high-quality examples, sentence models, vocabulary support, oral rehearsal and appropriately adapted materials.
• Writing at transition – considering what pupils need to take from Year 6 into Year 7 and how secondary teachers can build on, rather than simply repeat, previous learning.
• Writing and Ofsted – considering how curriculum, teaching, assessment and pupils’ work can demonstrate a coherently planned and effectively taught approach to writing.

The DfE Writing Framework specifically highlights writing across the curriculum and the transition from KS2 to KS3, noting that pupils need to learn to adapt their writing for different subjects and that good writing routines and models should be embedded across subject teaching.

A practical AI workshop

This is not simply a course about prompting ChatGPT.

Throughout the session, delegates will work with practical examples showing how generative AI can support different stages of the writing process.

We will explore how AI can help teachers move from:

Curriculum knowledge → vocabulary → oracy → reading and models → sentence construction → composition → independent writing → assessment and feedback

Delegates will consider when AI adds genuine value, when it does not, and how to retain the essential role of teacher expertise.

Adapt Writing

Delegates will also have the opportunity to use Adapt Writing, a platform designed to help teachers create appropriately pitched model texts and writing resources.

During the course, we will use Adapt Writing to explore how teachers can create and adapt writing according to factors such as:

year group • reading age • curriculum context • genre • audience • purpose • vocabulary • writing expectations

Rather than treating AI-generated material as a finished product, delegates will learn how to evaluate and refine it against curriculum expectations and the needs of their pupils.

Exclusive delegate resources

Every delegate will receive access to JMB Education’s:

Writing Progression Framework KS1-KS3
A practical framework for considering how writing knowledge and expectations develop over time.

Reading Progression Framework KS1-KS3
Supporting the relationship between reading, vocabulary, models and successful writing.

Oracy Progression Framework KS1-KS3
Helping teachers build the spoken language, rehearsal and disciplinary talk that underpin successful written composition.

Delegates will use these frameworks during the course to help sequence learning and create curriculum-informed AI outputs rather than relying on generic AI-generated content.

Delegates will leave with

Delegates will leave with practical approaches they can begin using immediately, including access to the Reading, Writing and Oracy Progression Frameworks, strategies for sequencing writing, approaches to disciplinary literacy and cross-curricular writing, generative AI techniques for planning and modelling, experience of Adapt Writing, approaches to KS2 moderation and a clearer understanding of how strong writing provision connects with current Ofsted expectations.

Key message

AI should not do the writing for pupils.

Used well, it can help teachers become more effective at teaching pupils to write.