BENTLEY HIGH STREET PRIMARY SCHOOL
Handwriting Policy
Feb 2014
RB
Contents
Page Number
Aims
3
Knowledge, skills and understanding
3
Teaching and learning
4
Inclusion
4
The Learning Environment
4
Role of parents and carers
5
Role of the Teacher
5
Assessment and Recording
5
Equal opportunities
6
2
Handwriting Policy
“Handwriting is a tool that has to work. It must be comfortable, fast and legible.” Angela Webb,
Chair, National Handwriting Association
Aims:
Bentley High Street Primary School adopts the belief that having coherent, legible handwriting is a
basic skill that all children should be equipped with.
Pupils will:
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Experience coherence and continuity in learning and teaching across the Nursery and School
Develop a recognition and appreciation of pattern and line
Understand the importance of clear and neat presentation in order to communicate meaning
clearly
Take pride in the presentation of their work and therefore study handwriting with a sense of
enjoyment and achievement.
Be supported in developing correct spelling quickly through a multi-sensory approach to
handwriting
Be able to write quickly to aid expressing themselves creatively and imaginatively across the
curriculum and for a range of purposes.
Use their skills with confidence in real life situations.
Develop a fluent, joined handwriting style by Year Four.
Knowledge, Skills and Understanding:
Nursery
Foundation
2
Year 1
Year 2
Pencil
Year 3
Year 4
Children will be introduced to
pen- personalised provision per
child.
Year 5
Year 6
Pen
Pen
Multisensory
Pencil
Pencil
Develop
gross
motor
control
Develop
fine motor
control
Use a range
of mark
making
tools such
as pencils,
pens and
crayons,
with
confidence
and
enjoyment
Develop a
recognition
of pattern
Develop a
language to
talk about
shapes and
movements
Use a pencil,
Write most
Write legibly, using
Correctly formed
Correctly formed
Recap on
Recap on
and hold it
letters,
upper and lower-case
letters sitting on a
letters sitting on
letter joins.
letter joins.
effectively
correctly
letters appropriately
line.
a line
to form
formed and
and correct spacing
Letter joins-
Build on
Build on
recognisable
orientated,
within and between
ac, aw, da, oa, ib, ob
Letter joins-
knowledge by
knowledge
letters.
using a
words
ck, cy, ec, vc, du, dg
Un, wn, ok, od, vo,
writing
by writing
Most
comfortabl
Capital letters are
en, ef, me, te, fo,
ho
complete
complete
letters are
e and
recognised, correctly
fr
Op, rp, qu, nq, cq,
words and
words and
correctly
efficient
formed and
if, af, ng, og, hu, hs
oq, rl
linking letter
linking
formed and
pencil grip
orientated
lh, ch, ip, ib, ki, vi
rs, vr, tr, vs, fs,
joins.
letter joins.
orientated
Write
s are correctly formed
ej, nj, ky, kl, mk, ok
ns
with spaces
and orientated
ll, lw, cl, al, mp, mb
tl, ty, ut, ot, ug,
between
Upper and lower case
Om, im, mf, ms, ng,
uz
words
letters are accurately
nt
du, fu, va, ve, ov,
accurately
produced in one style
iv
and used consistently
we, wg, ew, ow,
Numeral
ex, ix
Xh, xe, vy, cy, ez,
oz
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Teaching and Learning:
We teach handwriting as a specific skill rather than as an independent task.
Handwriting should be taught at least weekly for half an hour. Teachers can increase this
where there is need. Our school adopts a scheme of work created by Martin Harvey.
Basic structure of a handwriting session:
-Relaxation
-Children adopt a correct, balanced seating position.
-Two hands used at all times.
-Posture check, feet flat on the floor, back touching the chair
-Teacher to class demonstration
-Children practising independently with teacher model, then from memory
-teacher reinforces teaching points and good practice.
-Sessions should be fun, varied and multi-sensory: write letters in the air.
-Each child should be visited at least once per session.
-Children self/peer assess their favourite letter per lesson.
Inclusion:
The vast majority of pupils are able to write legibly and fluently. However, some pupils need more
support and provision will be made for this in Individual Education Plans [I.E.P.’s]. Teachers of
children whose handwriting is limited by problems with fine motor skills should liaise with the SENco
to develop a programme designed for the individual child. This may involve extra handwriting sessions
and access to extra resources. Other areas that could be considered are posture, lighting, angle of
table etc. Outside agencies can be contacted where appropriate.
All teachers are aware of the specific needs of left-handed pupils and make appropriate provision:
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paper should be positioned to the left for right handed pupils and to the right for left handed
pupils and slanted to suit the individual in either case;
pencils should not be held too close to the point as this can interrupt pupils’ line of vision;
pupils should be positioned so that they can place their paper to their left side;
left-handed pupils should sit to the left of a right-handed child so that they are not competing
for space;
extra practice with left-to-right exercises may well be necessary before pupils write left-toright automatically.
Teachers are alert to the fact that it is very difficult for left-handed pupils to follow handwriting
movements when a right-handed teacher models them. Teachers demonstrate to left-handers on an
individual or group basis, even if the resulting writing is not neat.
The learning environment:
Children have access to a range of writing materials: pens, pencils and line guides. A model of the
agreed handwriting style should be displayed in all classrooms-Martin Harvey or teacher model
4
The role of parents and carers:
Parents and carers are introduced to the school’s handwriting style through a leaflet. The Foundation
Stage staff play an important role in communicating this at an early stage, to ensure that parents are
informed and encouraged to offer good models to their children by using only capital letters for the
beginning of their names.
All members of staff (including teaching assistants, supply teachers, and students) are provided with
appropriate handwriting models [included in staff/student and supply staff handbooks] and are
expected to promote the agreed handwriting style by their own example.
The contribution of handwriting to other aspects of the curriculum:
ICT:
The growth in the use of word processing and desktop publishing has increased pupils’ awareness of
the importance of presentation and the variety of handwriting styles/fonts available. Pupils are
encouraged to evaluate a range of fonts and to select whatever is appropriate to suit particular
purposes.
Role of Teacher:
Teachers discuss handwriting and presentation in all subjects and aim to model good handwriting
themselves. Teachers are explicit about different types of handwriting for example, personal notetaking or best handwriting for presentation. Teachers give handwriting a high priority in classroom
displays. The use of rubbers is discouraged. Mistakes are indicated by marking through with one
neat horizontal line.
Children are encouraged to have neat presentation in all books. All work should have a date and
title. Teachers make the presentation of books a high priority and encourage children to take
pride in their work. Praise and rewards are given to promote neat presentation. Handwriting is
celebrated across the whole school though competitions.
Teachers aim to make handwriting lessons relevant to the curriculum, by providing a purpose to the
work where possible, encouraging the children to view handwriting as part of an overall presentation
policy.
Assessment and recording:
Teachers give comments to children about handwriting on a regular basis. Teachers aim to ensure
that when marking written work, comments about neatness are kept in proportion in relation to those
about content and/or meaning.
Resources:
Pencils triangular and ordinary
Paper and books
5
Review:
This policy will be reviewed biennially in line with the school’s policy review programme. The subject
leader is responsible for reporting to the governors’ curriculum committee about the quality of its
implementation and its impact on standards. In the light of this, policy amendments may be made.
Equal Opportunities
We ensure that each individual child receives an equal learning experience regardless of ability,
culture and gender.
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