How to write Year 6 end-of-year reports: the ones that really matter

Year 6 reports are different. Every teacher who has written them knows it. Parents read them at the kitchen table with a different quality of attention than they bring to any other school communication. Their child is about to leave primary school, probably for the last time in their lives. They want to know their child was seen.

That weight is real. But it does not need to make the writing harder — it just needs to make it more intentional.

What Year 6 parents are really asking

When a parent reads a Year 6 report, they're asking a few questions that they might not articulate directly:

Is my child ready for secondary school? Have they been happy here? Do you actually know them? Will they be okay?

The best Year 6 reports answer all of these without ever phrasing it that starkly.

Phrases that carry the weight

On academic readiness:

• “[Name] leaves Year 6 well-prepared for the demands of secondary school. She is a confident, independent learner who takes responsibility for her own progress.”
• “He has the skills, the work ethic, and the curiosity to thrive in secondary school. We have no doubt about that.”
• “She is a strong writer, a careful mathematician, and a thoughtful reader — the academic foundations are solid.”

On character:

• “[Name] is one of those people who makes a room better just by being in it. She will be missed.”
• “He leaves Year 6 as a genuinely good person — kind, reliable, and quietly brilliant in ways that don't always show up in data.”
• “She has grown so much this year. Not just academically, but as a person — more confident, more self-aware, more ready.”

On transition:

• “[Name] is ready. Secondary school is lucky to be getting him.”
• “She approaches the next chapter with exactly the right attitude — excited, prepared, and with far more to offer than she probably realises.”
• “He will bring the same warmth, curiosity, and determination to secondary school that has made him such a valued member of our class.”

On things to work on (said kindly):

• “[Name] will benefit from continuing to build her confidence in [subject] — she is more capable than she believes herself to be.”
• “His next challenge is to back himself a little more — the ability is clearly there.”
• “She will continue to develop her [skill] in secondary school, and we're confident she has the foundations to do so.”

What to avoid

Avoid anything that sounds like a closing statement on a child. Year 6 reports should feel like a handover, not a verdict. Words like “struggled throughout” or “never quite managed to” have no place here — be honest about gaps, but frame them as the next chapter's starting point, not the last chapter's conclusion.

Avoid generic sign-offs. “We wish [Name] all the best” appears in every report in every school in the country. It means nothing. Write something that could only be true of that child.

One last thing

If you've taught a child for a year, you know something about them that no data captures. Write that thing down. It will be the sentence their parent reads to them when they're grown up.