How Write to Rachel Works

To begin with, tell us about your child. You can simply fill in the Write to Rachel Sign-up questionnaire , or if you prefer we can arrange a telephone consultation.

Then your child will receive, by email, a letter tailored to their age, ability, interests etc., and including a few questions. Your child is expected to reply within the week.

The response to that letter will include plenty of flattery and encouragement, one small stylistic correction or piece of advice eg. 'See what happens if you leave out the exclamation marks.' -- and one spelling correction, if necessary. (Spellcheck can't tell whether you mean 'morning' or 'mourning').  The rest of the letter will model the sort of writing appropriate for your child's age and level.

Each week your child will receive a new letter from Rachel and will be asked to write back. Because the letter is personal to your child and talks about things that are interesting for your child he/she will want to write back with his/her own news.

(Sometimes your child will need a little encouragement from you -- although we find that this is usually not needed for very long as your child develops interest and confidence in writing).

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A Write to Rachel Programme for your child is tailored to your child's needs.

As a result it can help your child, whatever your child's age or abilities. We recommend that it is long enough for your child to develop the confidence and communication skills that it is designed for.  This generally means around 6 months, or 26 letters.  Shorter or longer programmes can be designed to suit your child's needs -- for example, a more intensive four or eight week programme over the Winter, Spring or Summer school holidays.

All letters to your child are copied to the designated parent(s) or other responsible persons. Each programme includes an assessment and report on your child's progress. If desired, at the end of the course you can request a half hour consultation to discuss the progress made by your child and recommendations on  how to continue to grow your child's communication skills.

If required, additional individual consultations can be arranged on request at additional cost.

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What we don't do

Write to Rachel
is easy and fun

 
Step 1: Tell us about your child and their needs. (You can fill in the short questionnaire or we can arrange a telephone consultation).

Step 2: Your child receives their first Write to Rachel letter by email, written to be just for your child's interests and needs. Of course, you are also copied in.

Step 3: Your child writes back to Rachel with his/her news.

Step 4: Every week your child gets the next Write to Rachel letter and writes back. You are always copied in.

At the end of your child's Write to Rachel course you receive an assessment and report on your child's progress.
 

What you say about
Write to Rachel 

'Write to Rachel turned out to be very engaging and enjoyable for all of us'.  

Parent of boy, aged 7


'We received the letter thanks! 
She.... loved it and is working on a reply over the next few days! She's very excited to have a mystery pen pal'.

Parent of girl, aged 6

A core belief of Write to Rachel is that by designing our programmes  around your child and their own interests and needs, and helping your child to make progress at their own pace, your child will become more confident and more capable. Write to Rachel is the opposite of a 'one-size-fits-all' standardised approach.

Write to Rachel is emphatically not exam preparation. We do not encourage the 11+ style of writing (two adjectives for every noun, an adverb for every verb, include metaphor, simile, personification) or SATS testing. Rather, we want to help each child find his or her own voice and learn to use English in the way that works best for them.

 Our goal is simple --  to help children to write well and to be better prepared and more confident  in their communication for their future.

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