The Following Table Shows How Individual Letters Should Be Formed
Handwriting Policy
Philosophy
At Oliver Tomkins School we firmly believe that children should be able to develop a fluent handwriting style, which is joined and legible. We wish children to take pride in their work and the presentation should reflect the best of their capabilities. We also firmly believe that: ‘A child who has mastered handwriting, has all his working memory free to focus on other aspects of the task’ NHS Trust
We also recognise that whilst beautiful handwriting is desirable for the final versions of writing, there are other occasions when speed is important and when writing which is legible and reasonably neat is acceptable.
Aims
We aim to ensure that our children are equipped with a cursive style of handwriting, which is fluent and legible and which will support their future academic work in all areas of the curriculum. The cursive style ensures that letters are produced in a flowing movement, which helps the development of a physical memory of how each letter is written. Letters all start in the same place and flow from left to right, writing soon becomes quicker and easier and enables children to move from printed to a joined style more easily.
The following table shows how individual letters should be formed.
Table 1
Teaching Handwriting
Foundation Stage – children are taught the Cursive style of Letter Formation, which already includes the necessary entry lines and flicks to aid joined writing. There will be some practice every day of the fine motor skills, which will develop handwriting skills, using tools such as: sand/glitter trays, giant writing on the playground, magnetic roll and write ( cursive )etc…
Reception, Year 1 and 2 – the correct formation and later the joining of letters will be taught in Year 1 and Year 2 with the intention that by the end of Year 2 all pupils should be joining.
In Reception, handwriting will be taught through Letters and Sounds.
In Year 1 and 2, letter formation and joins will be taught explicitly and then applied through Grammar sessions.
Year 3 and 4 – children will start to move from regular practise to a specific once a week time of about twenty to thirty minutes, letter formation and letter joins will be taught where applicable. Practice sessions will be linked through the teaching of spelling patterns.
Year 5 and 6 – children who have developed a neat, fluent style will now concentrate on more wider presentational skills which pervade all of their Literacy work, such as: layout, headings and clear individual style. Joins that still need to be taught will be specifically taught and be linked to spelling patterns.
Handwriting sessions will begin with handwriting workouts that develop muscle control, needed for handwriting. This will be followed by a focus on posture.
Letter formation and joining is always modelled clearly to the children before they are required to practise.
S.E.N
We support all children with different needs to achieve a style that is fluent and well presented.
The above stages of progression will be adapted for any child that needs to further develop skills of fine motor control or progress further. Writing tools will be made available in all year groups and used accordingly, dependent upon individual’s needs.
Pencil Grips, Nessy Fingers programme, writing slopes are additional tools that will also be used to support individuals developing a fluent style of handwriting.
Left-handed Children
· Ensure they are seated on the left hand side of a right handed child.
· Aid the child in developing the appropriate posture.
· Position paper when writing to the left of the child’s midline and angle the right hand corner lower than the left hand corner.
· Encourage the use of the non-writing hand to stabilise the paper.
· Encourage holding the pencil further up the barrel.
· Encourage early writing experiences on vertical surfaces.
· Provide the use of a writing slope if appropriate.
· Use certain pencil grips to encourage correct grasp.
· Place visual reminders of left to right direction on the desk.
· Focus on correct stroke direction.
Writing Equipment and Pen Licenses
Throughout Foundation Stage, pupils will use a variety of writing tools to suit the purpose and task. A wide variety of tools are used to develop fine motor skills and to form their letters correctly e.g. Tracing letters in sand/ glitter, giant writing on the playground, magnetic roll and write ( cursive )etc…
When pupils begin writing, they will use chunky triangular pencils. They will then progress to using red triangular pencils and then on to using Staedtler pencils. In Year 2, children will earn a License to use a special pencil, that will be awarded to them, along with a certificate.
Throughout Year 3 – 6, a pen licence will be awarded when children are writing cursively, in a fluent, joined and legible style.
A Fountain pen will be awarded when a child reaches Year 6 and writing is consistently fluent, joined and legible, in all areas of the curriculum.
Children will write in black ink pens. Children are not permitted to write in biro.
Staff will use the cursive style of handwriting in their everyday writing activities with the children, this includes: writing on the boards and marking in children’s books.
Alongside their Literacy books, each child in Year R – Year 6 will also have a Black Bound book, where best copies of writing will be displayed.
Handwriting practice will take place in the books that the children use for each area of the curriculum. The school does not use books specifically designed for handwriting.
The width of the lines that Year groups use will become narrower as they progress through the Year groups.
If Mistakes are made:
Children will put one neat line through the word.
Layout of Work
Year R – 3: The date and Learning Question will be stuck into the children’s books.
Year 4 – 6: The date and Learning Question will be written by the child.
Layout;
Rule a line under previous days work
Date ( long date in Literacy and Enquiry/ short date in Numeracy )
Underline date
Leave a line
Learning Question
Leave a line
Resources
Penpals – For handwriting workouts and Posture Clips
Cursive Power Point – For demonstration purposes/ practice sheets/ homework / spelling sheets/ display.
Handwriting for Windows programme.
Assessment
At the beginning of each Year group, each child will produce a piece of written work that will be used for assessment pieces.
At the end of each Term, children will produce a best copy of a piece of writing that they have written that term. These will then be displayed in a specially bound book.
These books will follow the children through the school.
Involving Parents
Parents have access to a leaflet that details our cursive letter formation and expectations, which is given out at the beginning of each academic year. This also shows examples of pupils writing to show levels/ expectations for all year groups. This is also available on our website.
Review and Evaluation
The policy will be adopted by the staff and governors in July 2013. It will then be reviewed in line with the Schools current procedures.