Handwriting

We value good quality handwriting and presentation in order to promote motor control, develop personal style and to suit a task’s purpose, for self-esteem and confidence and to support clarity of communication.

We believe that handwriting should be taught and modelled and that presentation should be valued. The aims of our handwriting lessons are:

Handwriting sample Copyright Oxford University Press - used with permission

To provide equal opportunities for all pupils to achieve success in handwriting.
To produce clear, concise and legible handwriting.
To develop accuracy and fluency.
To take pride in presentation of all work.
To help children recognise that handwriting is a form of communication and a lifelong skill.

National Curriculum Expectations for Handwriting

The National Curriculum expects that in Lower Key Stage 2, 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.

By the end of KS2, the National Currilcum expects that children will be improving both their handwriting and presentation. Pupils should be taught to:

Write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed, and do this by:
Choosing which shape of a letter to use when given choices and deciding whether or not to join specific letters.
Choose the writing implement that is best suited for a task.

^{All handwriting illustrations shown here are © Oxford University Press from "Nelson Handwriting - Developing Skills Book 1"; used with written permission.}