Broadstone Hall Primary School
Handwriting Policy
1) Purpose of Study
Pupils need to be able to write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and
emotions to others. Writing down ideas fluently depends on effective transcription (using
spelling and handwriting). We aim for all our children to:
 write with fluent and legible joined handwriting
 develop flow and speed
 achieve neat and correctly formed letters in cursive handwriting
2) Our Mission Statement
At Broadstone Hall School we strive:
 to provide a secure, happy and caring environment in which everyone will be
motivated to learn
 we endeavour to create a school where all children and staff feel valued and are
encouraged to fulfil their potential
 our Golden Rules foster respect, tolerance, honesty, responsibility, co-operation
and courtesy
 we celebrate achievements great and small
3) Statutory Requirements For Handwriting From 2014
The National Curriculum for English 2014 contains the statutory requirements to be taught
for handwriting in each year group (see Appendix 1). At Broadstone Hall School we follow
these requirements within our own policy.
4) Teaching and Learning
Handwriting is a skill that needs to be taught explicitly. Since handwriting is essentially a
movement skill, correct modelling of the agreed style by the teacher is very important. A
mixture of whole class, small group and individual teaching is used to do this at
Broadstone Hall.
The school uses the cursive style of writing. This style is introduced in Early Years,
although letters are not joined to begin with. From year 1 all letters begin with a lead in
from the bottom, on the line, and end with a flick in preparation for joined writing.
The school follows the Letters and Sounds programme for the teaching of phonics and
spelling; handwriting is closely linked. In Phase 2 of Letters and Sounds, children begin to
identify letter shapes and practise formation of letters on boards. Children’s capacity to
form letters at this stage of development depends on their physical maturity. Some
children will be able to write all the letters in pencil. Most children should be able to form
the letters correctly in the air, in sand or using a paintbrush.
4.1) Terminology used in our school:
Letters are in 4 groups  ‘ups and downs’ l, i, j, t, f, y, u
 ‘curly c’ a, d, g, o, q, e, c, s, x
 ‘zig zag’ v, w, z
 ‘up and over’ r, n, m, h, p, k, b
The terms ‘ascenders’ and ‘descenders’ are also introduced in year 1 in order to describe
letters and their positions in relation to the lines being written on.
The correct formation of digits 0 – 9 is also taught as part of handwriting and maths
lessons.
Children need to practise handwriting movements correctly and often. Formation of all
letters need to become quite automatic and may require a lot of practice. Frequent practice
of handwriting on a daily basis, in conjunction with spelling, dictation and independent
writing, will help to ensure correct letter formation and proportion is achieved.
As soon as children are secure with letter formation they will begin to join their writing; this
will usually take place in year 2.
Children are taught the correct joins by teacher demonstration, explanation and practice.
Teaching of handwriting occurs both within and outside the English lesson, as shared and
guided writing provides many opportunities for modelling and monitoring.
Children should be supervised in handwriting sessions so that misconceptions may be
quickly corrected.
We use and practise the four basic handwriting joins:




Diagonal joins to letters without ascenders eg. ai, ar, un
Horizontal joins to letters without ascenders eg. ou, vi, wi
Diagonal joins to letters with ascenders eg. ab, ul, it
Horizontal joins to letters with ascenders eg. ol, wh, ot
aiming to ensure consistency in size and proportion of letters ( including capital letters and
digits) and spacing between letters and words.
Capital letters and digits are taught as double in size/height to lower case letters without
ascenders ie. A is double the height of a.
4.2) Grip and posture
In order to develop a fast and fluent style, children need to learn to hold a pencil with the
correct grip. This should be relaxed but allow good control over the pencil. If they grip too
tightly they will tire quickly and will not achieve a free-flowing movement. Opportunities are
given to develop fine and gross motor skills using a variety of sized mark-making tools.
Children are taught the correct grip; all children are given a special pencil grip to attach to
their pencil to reinforce the correct grip in Early Years.
Children will be able to sustain writing for longer if they become used to sitting comfortably.
We ensure that children have a good pencil grip; their feet are flat on the floor and they are
sitting up with their bottoms pushed into the back of their chairs.
4.3) The role of the teacher
 To follow the school policy in order to help each child develop legible and fluent
handwriting
 To provide direct teaching and accurate modelling of handwriting
 To provide resources and an environment that promotes and determines targets for
development
5) Progression
5.1) Early years
The emphasis at this stage is with movement rather than neatness. To aid movement,
close attention is given to pencil grip, correct posture, the positioning of the paper and the
organisation of the writing space. Teachers need to be aware of the specific needs of lefthanded children and teach and provide for them accordingly.
In EYs pupils’ play and experiments with writing are recognised and praised as an
important stage in children’s understanding that marks on paper convey meaning. Pupils
are given the opportunity to experiment with a range of writing materials and implements; a
multi sensory approach is used to help pupils feel movement in the hand.
Children are taught a variety of strategies to develop gross motor control prior to formal
handwriting. They then move on to developing letter shapes using gross motor movements
with the accompanying vocabulary of movement. Children are taught good gross and fine
motor control recognition of pattern, language to talk about shape and movement.
In the Early Years writing materials are available in all areas enabling children to choose
from a range of writing implements.
5.2) Key Stage 1
Building on the Early Years pupils’ experience, the children will develop a more legible
style at Key Stage 1. This is achieved during Year 1 where they develop a comfortable and
efficient pencil grip and practise handwriting in conjunction with spelling, dictation and
independent writing. Correct letter orientation, formation and proportion are taught in line
with the school agreed handwriting style and children are taught to position letters correctly
on lined paper in Year 1. This practice continues into Year 2.
5.3) Year 3 and 4
In Years 3 and 4, the pupils consolidate their use of handwriting joins ensuring consistency
in size, proportion and spacing of letters. Handwriting speed, fluency and legibility are built
up through practise. Sessions are included in the weekly timetable where modelling will
take place. Dictation and independent writing sessions provide opportunities for practising
handwriting fluency and improving legibility and consistency.
5.4) Year 5 and 6
Years 5 and 6 are used to consolidate learning of those pupils who have not yet achieved
a fluent and legible joined script. Those who have, will develop speed and an individual
style based on the principles of good handwriting taught in previous years. They will be
taught to make appropriate choices for particular tasks such as which writing implements
are best suited to a task or whether an un-joined style or capital letters are more
appropriate, eg. in labelling diagrams, filling in forms, writing e-mail addresses etc.
6) Cross Curricular Links
Pupils should be using their handwriting skills throughout their independent writing in all
subjects across the curriculum. By the end of Key Stage 2 they should be able to select
which particular style of handwriting is appropriate for a particular task eg. printing for a
labelled diagram or capital letters for filling in a form.
7) Inclusion
The school aims to provide work within handwriting, which is appropriate for the abilities of
all children. The vast majority of pupils are able to write legibly and fluently, however,
some pupils need more support and a specific individual or group programme is drawn up
in consultation with the SEN coordinator. Teachers should provide work that is stimulating,
challenging and inclusive for all children so as to enable them to take an active part in
each lesson and help them to reach their full potential.
8) Equal Opportunities
All children in school are encouraged to take an active part in lessons in the classroom
regardless of race, gender, class, ability or religion. Teaching and learning in writing
should promote positive attitudes to difference in these areas. We aim to promote the
development of a positive attitude to different cultures, a respect for oneself and tolerance
of others.
9) Resources
Lined books are used for handwriting lessons from Year 1. In KS2 handwriting is practised
within English books where the lines are closer together. Younger children may practise
writing on a variety of lined paper or whiteboards.
In KS2, when children are able to write neatly in fluent, legible and even sized joined
writing in the school handwriting style, consistently over a period of time, they are awarded
a pen at the discretion of the class teacher.
All pencils, handwriting pens, biros, lined books and lined paper are kept centrally in the
main stock cupboard, for easy access by teachers, as needed. If any children in KS1 or 2
require special resources such as pencil grips, these are kept with SEN resources by the
SENCO.
All staff, including teaching assistants, supply teachers and students, are provided with
appropriate handwriting models and expected to promote the agreed handwriting style.
Appendix 2: Letter and digit formation sheets can found at the end of this policy document
9.1) ICT
We have handwriting software (Handwriting 3.0) that is accessible by staff under English
programs on the server. This enables staff to produce worksheets using the school’s
cursive script and can also be used to change any Word documents or flipchart texts into
the school’s cursive script if required.
10) Parents/carers
Parents and carers are introduced to the schools handwriting style through written
information and meetings in school. The Nursery/Reception teacher plays an important
role in communicating this at an early stage, for example, to ensure that parents are
informed and encouraged to offer good models to their child by using only capital letters
for beginning of names, practising drawing patterns together, playing joining up games
which encourage left to right.
11) Assessment
Assessment in handwriting follows the assessment procedures for the school as laid out in
our separate assessment policy (see policy for details). Children’s handwriting skills are
assessed against our Basic Skills and recorded on each child’s Non-Negotiables record
sheets, at least annually.
12) Monitoring
The leaders for writing in each key stage, together with the SLT, carry out monitoring and
moderation of handwriting.
13) Review
This policy will be reviewed in May 2016.
Policy written
Governor signed off
Review date
May 2014
by: J Ainscough and M Timmons
by:
May 2016
Appendix 1 (Statutory Guidelines)
Year 1 programme of study
Statutory requirements
Pupils should be taught to:

sit correctly at a 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 digits 0-9

understand which letters belong to which handwriting ‘families’ (i.e. letters that are
formed in similar ways) and to practise these.
Notes and guidance (non-statutory)
Handwriting requires frequent and discrete, direct teaching. Pupils should be able to form letters
correctly and confidently. The size of the writing implement (pencil, pen) should not be too large
for a young pupil’s hand. Whatever is being used should allow the pupil to hold it easily and
correctly so that bad habits are avoided.
Left-handed pupils should receive specific teaching to meet their needs.
Year 2 programme of study
Statutory requirements
Pupils should be taught 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, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined

write capital letters and digits of the correct size, orientation and relationship to one
another and to lower case letters

use spacing between words that reflects the size of the letters.
Notes and guidance (non-statutory)
Pupils should revise and practise correct letter formation frequently. They should be taught to
write with a joined style as soon as they can form letters securely with the correct orientation.
Year 3 and 4 programme of study
Statutory requirements
Pupils should be taught to:

use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters and
understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined

increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting [for example, by
ensuring that the downstrokes of letters are parallel and equidistant; that lines of
writing are spaced sufficiently so that the ascenders and descenders of letters do not
touch].
Notes and guidance (non-statutory)
Pupils should be using joined handwriting throughout their independent writing. Handwriting
should continue to be taught, with the aim of increasing the fluency with which pupils are able to
write down what they want to say. This, in turn, will support their composition and spelling.
Year 5 and 6 programme of study
Statutory requirements
Pupils should be taught to:

write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed by:

choosing which shape of a letter to use when given choices and deciding
whether or not to join specific letters

choosing the writing implement that is best suited for a task.
Notes and guidance (non-statutory)
Pupils should continue to practise handwriting and be encouraged to increase the speed of it, so
that problems with forming letters do not get in the way of their writing down what they want to
say. They should be clear about what standard of handwriting is appropriate for a particular task,
for example, quick notes or a final handwritten version. They should also be taught to use an
unjoined style, for example, for labelling a diagram or data, writing an email address, or for
algebra and capital letters, for example, for filling in a form.
Appendix 2 (Letter and Digit Formation sheets)