How much should they be writing in Y3?

[JazT]

My DS is in Y3 at private school. He has just brought his creative writing book home and I'm really concerned by how little writing they've done since the start of the year (Sept not Jan)- 4 pieces. They seem to use mainly worksheets, filling in words here and there, rather than practising writing longer pieces. It's the same in all subjects (ie they're not getting writing to do in History, Geography etc)
My DD was in Y6 at the same school last year and I know that lots of the DC in her class struggled with English when it came to 11+ exams for independent schools. It wasn't an issue for her because English is her best subject, and she's pretty academic. English is definitely not my DS's strength though.
Am I right to be concerned?

Is this their only writing book, some schools have different books for creative writing, extended writing,Big Writing etc? If it is his only writing book then, yes I think I would be a little concerned. Although the Renewed Framework places emphasis on speaking and listening, drama, role play and other "immersion" activities, writing is still a key feature ( as it should be!) and there should be plenty of opportunities for both short and extended writing.

It is their only writing book. They also do comprehension (words or very short sentence answers) and grammar (worksheets mainly). Do you think I should raise it with his teacher? I'm really concerned

My new Y2 class are producing a page A4 size or more. This is in addition to other written work and no worksheets.

Oh no...I thought as much. Should I raise this with his teacher? Any advice on how to go about it? She can be a bit of a dragon...
Thanks for responses by the way

I would also expect about a page of A4 for a sustained writing task in Y2 (from average to top ability children). We do sustained writing tasks every 2-3 weeks. We have done about 6 'big writes' since coming back in Sept - fewer than I'd done by this time last year because of snow days.

We also do written work in creative curriculum books and in literacy books (usually shorter activities - e.g. character studies, short descriptions, thesaurus work, etc.) The children will also have done shared writing with me, in groups and with partners.

And they're still not hitting their targets!!!!

I'd just go in and question it with the teacher. Like mrz, I'd be a little concerned about the number of worksheets. Most schools have cut down on worksheets significantly, except in situations where they save time (e.g. I do give children pre-printed number lines in order to keep my blood pressure within normal limits!)

And you're both talking about Y2 here? So Y3 should be further on than that...Can I ask, are you teaching in state or private schools?
And if in state, are the tasks you describe part of the National Curriculum? Thanks so much for your input

Me - state. I'm just teaching to expectation for Y2 really. We use the National Framework for Literacy loosely as a guide for planning.

I also teach in a state primary

All maintained schools have to follow the National Curriculum how they do it is optional although many follow the literacy and numeracy framework. My school uses it as a loose scaffold rather than a set in stone programme.

My dd is in Year 3 and does lots of writing tasks as well as Big Writing every other Thursday. I would be concerned if what you say is all the writing your ds has done since September.