This article is a critique of current approaches to the teaching and assessment of writing in schools in the UK. Successive government initiatives, most particularly the latest (impoverished) version of the English curriculum, are seen as having led to a situation in which pupils are taught in a way that does not improve the quality of their writing, and often results in writing which is inflated and unconvincing. The national curriculum and assessment scheme for writing prioritises form over content; it makes grammatical complexity and ostentatious vocabulary the success criteria for assessment, to the detriment of children's writing and learning, and of teachers' practice.