Handwriting

Implementation

Handwriting is taught throughout school until children have developed fluent, legible and increasingly fast handwriting. We use the handwriting letter formation from RWI for our initial letters in Early Years.

We follow the school handwriting policy which is in line with the National curriculum document, and teach the children how to join using our four joining rules.

Handwriting and the National Curriculum

The National Curriculum specifies that primary school children should work towards mastering handwriting that is fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy.

There are specific targets for each year group.

In Year 1, pupils should be taught to:

• Sit correctly at the table, holding a pencil comfortably and correctly.
• Begin to form lower case letters in the correct direction, starting and finishing in the right place.
• Form capital letters.
• Form the digits 0 to 9.
• Understand which letters belong to which handwriting ‘family’ (a group of letters that are formed in the same way).

In Year 2, pupils are expected to:

• Form lower case letters of the correct size, relative to one another.
• Start using some of the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters, and understand which letters are best left unjoined.
• Write capital letters and digits of the correct size, orientation and relationship to one another.
• Use spacing between words that is appropriate for the size of the letters.

In Years 3 and 4, children should:

• Continue to develop their joined-up handwriting.
• Increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting – for example, ensuring that downstrokes of letters are straight and parallel, not sloping.

In Years 5 and 6, children are taught to:

• Write with increasing legibility, fluency and speed.
• Choose which shape of a letter to use, and decide whether or not to join specific letters.
• Choose the writing implement that is best suited for a task.

Pencil/Pen Grip

The pen or pencil should be gripped comfortably between forefinger and thumb with the second
finger below to steady it. If you pick up a pen which is lying on the table in front of you with its nib
towards you in line with your forearm, you instinctively pick it up in the correct grip.

Posture

Children should be encouraged to sit up straight with their feet on the floor. The non-writing hand
must be used to steady the book or paper.

Pencil Grip

-Children should write with a pencil with a rounded nib.
-Pencils should be reasonably sharp.
-A tripod grip is the most efficient way of holding a pencil.
For right handed children:
-Hold lightly between the thumb and forefinger about 3cm away
from the point
-The paper could be placed to the right tilted slightly to the left.
-Use the left hand to steady the paper.

We use the Cambridge Penpals for Handwriting scheme, to support the teaching of handwriting.

You can find useful videos on youtube to help you support your child at home with their handwriitng. 

Checklist for Teachers

If a child's handwriting is to develop into a pleasing and consistent style, it is helpful to examine each
piece of writing in the light of the following criteria:

 Shape- Are all letters properly formed and clear? Joining- Are as many letters as possible joined consistently?
 Slope- Is the slope of letters consistent? Letters should either be all perpendicular or all
sloping (predominantly a forwards slope will be used, however backwards slopes can be
developed).
 Evenness- Are letters of a consistent and reasonable size? Capitals can be too big; tall letters
too tall, small letters too small.
 Floating and Sinking- Do letters sit on the line? Words sometimes float above or sink below
the writing line. This happens because the writing hand is not moving steadily across the page.
 Particular Letters- Which letters are really well formed? Which ones need careful practise?