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Become a Seven Steps school

The simple and engaging approach
that’s transforming writing in
over 4,800 schools

A Seven Steps approach to writing unlocks the best results in your school

By becoming a Seven Steps school, you’ll gain a simple and powerful framework for teaching writing.

  • Fun and engaging writing classrooms
  • Build a common language schoolwide
  • Inspire passionate teaching
  • Award-winning training and resources

  • Curriculum-aligned and evidence-backed approach
  • Lessons that encourage collaboration and verbalisation
  • Increase student engagement
  • Improve writing results

Best practice pedagogy paired with
award-winning training

‘We absolutely love this program. It has transformed writing in our school.
My teachers are actually excited about teaching writing now
and we love your Teacher Hub resources so much. Thank you.’

Deb Featherby, Nazareth Catholic College
South Australia

Training
Eye-opening, engaging and practical

Join us at our award-winning Workshop One – an immersive training experience that’s guaranteed to spark real change in your school.

Our expert presenters deliver the perfect balance of theory, practical application and evidence (not to mention, the best tips and tricks!), so teachers come away confident and excited to roll the Seven Steps out in their classrooms.

Resources
Designed by educators for educators

It’s easy to learn, teach, apply and assess the Seven Steps with our award-winning resources – online member site Teacher Hub and the writing manuals (available in print and digital format).

Your school will have a Step-by-Step guide to rolling out the Seven Steps across text types, as well as access to classroom-ready writing resources and assessment tools.

That’s all the support you need to easily develop implementation plans, build a common language and continuously improve student writing and engagement.

A whole school approach makes the greatest impact

Read or listen to these stories from real principals, literacy leaders and other school leaders who have implemented the Seven Steps in their schools around Australia.

Success Story
Outstanding writing success for Bunbury Primary School
10 min
Success Story
Al Sadiq: A top-performing NAPLAN Writing school
8 min
'Brilliant. This needs to be every school's writing program.'
Belinda Lahrs
Master Teacher
'I am able to see success in the implementation of the Seven Steps across the whole school – we have seen improvement in student writing and in our writing culture. Students are excited about writing!'
Lindsay McQuattie
Primary Curriculum Leader
Success Story
Rasmussen State School transform engagement, confidence and writing results
5 min
Real Student Results
69% of students improved by more than one NAPLAN band

In just 10 weeks, the majority of students taught the Seven Steps improved by the equivalent of 2 years in writing ability!

Education
How one school built long-lasting change school-wide
4 min
Success Story
Grange Primary School dominates Mayoral Make a Book Literacy Challenge
5 min
'Marking NAPLAN this year, the Seven Steps flair in students' writing was certainly noticeable. I could pick the Sizzling Starts with Show, Don’t Tell. I just wish there were more of them!'
Pip Walsh
Teaching/Learning Coordinator
Success Story
Transforming writing by increasing engagement
5 min

When teachers are inspired,
amazing things happen

‘Seven Steps to Writing Success is one of the best professional learning activities
my staff have been involved in. I’m still hearing a buzz about the Seven Steps in the staff room
and we’re seeing tangible results in student writing.’

Cindy Gardiner, Principal
Bilgola Plateau Public School
New South Wales

Evidence and research

The Seven Steps are based on best-practice pedagogy and supported by years of educational research. Learn about the principles that underpin the Seven Steps.

Ready to empower teachers and unlock student potential?

Get started
Training and resource options to support your school needs
Teacher Hub
The ultimate online platform for teaching writing
Teacher Manuals
From Workshop attendees
90% of Seven Steps teachers rated their workshop 9 or 10 out of 10!
'Our School Subscription has been invaluable in upskilling our staff (many beginning teachers) with the tools to use Seven Steps in the classroom.'
Lynn Mattingley
Master Teacher
'We have used Teacher Hub to roll out the Seven Steps across our school with positive feedback and results on all fronts!'
Danielle Hartmann
Head of Curriculum

Frequently asked questions

Does Seven Steps align with the Australian or State Curriculum?

Our focus at Seven Steps is on the creation of great writing. Every education jurisdiction in Australia considers writing extremely important, and all educators want students to become the best communicators they can be.

Each state and territory expects its students to write narrative, persuasive and informative texts, to get plenty of practice, and to learn to communicate in written, verbal and visual means. The Seven Steps strongly support these aims, with a focus on students practising the component steps of writing in an accessible way – sometimes in words, sometimes in verbal and visual language.

For more information, see the following blog post: Seven Steps and the Australian Curriculum

Do the Seven Steps address or improve spelling and grammar?

While Seven Steps doesn’t specifically have a spelling and grammar course or series, we’ve seen vast improvements in all areas of writing when teaching the Seven Steps.

We thought Carly Brien (a Year 7 teacher from Henry Kendall High School) summed it up nicely:

‘I really think that the students’ spelling, grammar and punctuation improve because they are spending so much more time just writing! Usually students don’t write in such volume like in Seven Steps and that has made all the difference.’

Are the Seven Steps helpful for Indigenous or ESL students?

 There are quite a few Seven Steps schools with a high percentage of Indigenous or EAL students who have achieved great success with the Seven Steps.

One of the loveliest stories came from a school that told us they scheduled their Seven Steps activities first thing in the morning every day. And yes, their literacy scores went up, but the fascinating outcome they did not expect was that their truancy rate halved!

Does Seven Steps cover analytical writing?

Our resources do not currently cover how to use the Seven Steps to write analytical essays responding to prompts about novels, films, poetry and other cultural productions such as art. We do touch on techniques such as compare and contrast in our new Informative Writing Manual, but not in the context or depth that would be required when teaching analytical writing with Year 9 and 10 students.

How do we use Seven Steps with other writing programs?

Unlike many other programs, Seven Steps focuses on the authorial, big picture skills of planning and drafting a text. We focus on the creative, fun side of writing in a structured way that teaches students critical thinking strategies about writing: what to say, how to say it, when to make certain decisions, and how to engage and hold a reader’s attention.

You can slip the short, fun Seven Steps activities into your weekly writing program, or you can use it with complementary programs that focus on other aspects of literacy, such as sentence structure, grammar and spelling.

The Australian Curriculum and every state curriculum or syllabus require students to learn both authorial and secretarial skills with the aim of being clear, competent communicators. The Seven Steps improve students’ authorial writing skills – and you can be confident that our approach fits with other programs as well as meeting the curriculum.

For more information, see the following blog post: Seven Steps and the Australian Curriculum