When Princess Catherine visited Reggio Emilia in Italy in May 2026, she didn’t go for ceremony or spectacle. She went to learn. Her focus was clear: to understand how young children develop, how they think, and how the environments around them shape their ability to communicate and make sense of the world.

At the heart of her visit was a globally respected educational philosophy – the Reggio Emilia approach – a model that puts children, their curiosity, and their creativity at the centre of learning.

As educators, there is a powerful takeaway here. Because what Catherine saw in Italy isn’t just about early years provision – it speaks directly to how we can transform writing in our own classrooms.

A Different Way of Seeing Children

During her visit, Catherine spent time in preschools where children explored ideas through play, talk, art, and outdoor experiences. She joined pupils in hands-on activities, observing how learning was rooted in nature, relationships, and exploration.  

The Reggio Emilia approach is built on a powerful belief:
Children are not empty vessels waiting to be filled – they are capable, curious thinkers from the very beginning.

In these settings:

• Learning is child-led, not overly directed
• Teachers act as facilitators, not instructors
• The environment is seen as a “third teacher”
• Creativity, talk, and collaboration are central

Rather than rushing children towards formal outcomes, the focus is on building deep thinking, language, and emotional understanding.

The Purpose Behind the Visit

Catherine’s Italy trip was part of a wider mission through her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. Her aim is to highlight how the first five years of life shape everything that follows – from learning to wellbeing.

This wasn’t a publicity visit. It was a fact-finding mission to explore how different countries support children’s development and to bring those ideas into a broader global conversation.  

Her message is one we should all pay attention to:

If we get the early years right, everything else becomes easier.

The Link to Writing: It Starts With Talk, Experience and Structure

What stands out most from the Reggio Emilia approach is the emphasis on communication in its widest sense.

Children don’t just “write” – they express ideas through:

• speech
• drawing
• movement
• play
• storytelling

This is often described as the “hundred languages of children.”

And here’s where the connection to classroom practice becomes clear:

Before children can write well, they need to:

1. Have something to say (experience and imagination)
2. Be able to say it aloud (oracy)
3. See how ideas are structured (sentence formation)

Where Mighty Writer Fits In

This is exactly where Mighty Writer aligns beautifully with the thinking Catherine explored in Italy.

Like the Reggio Emilia approach, Mighty Writer is built on the principle that children learn best when concepts are:

• visible
• hands-on
• collaborative

It turns the abstract process of writing into something children can physically see and manipulate.

Using a large mat, images, and word tiles, pupils can:

• build sentences step by step
• explore vocabulary choices
• organise ideas into clear structures
• rehearse language before writing it down

This visual and tactile approach helps children understand how writing works, not just what to write.

Bringing the Two Together in the Classroom

If we take inspiration from Catherine’s visit and the Reggio Emilia philosophy, we can rethink how we approach writing:

1. Start with experience

Give children something meaningful to talk about – images, stories, real-life contexts.

2. Prioritise talk

Let pupils rehearse sentences aloud, collaborate, and build ideas together.

3. Make writing visible

Use tools like Mighty Writer to physically map out sentences and stories.

4. Value creativity as much as accuracy

Encourage ideas first, refine later.

5. Build confidence through structure

When children can see a sentence, they are far more likely to write one independently.

A Shared Vision

What Princess Catherine saw in Italy – and what many of us see with Mighty Writer in our classrooms – is the same fundamental truth:

Children thrive when learning is active, meaningful, and rooted in communication.

The Reggio Emilia classrooms she visited may not look like a typical UK primary setting. But the principles behind them are entirely transferable.

And when we combine those principles with practical, classroom-ready tools like Mighty Writer, we bridge the gap between inspiration and implementation.

Final Thoughts

Catherine’s visit reminds us that great education isn’t about rushing children towards outcomes. It’s about giving them the tools, time, and environment to express themselves.

Mighty Writer does exactly that.

It takes the rich, child-centred philosophy seen in places like Reggio Emilia and brings it to life on the classroom floor – helping every child see themselves not just as a learner, but as a writer.