Aims 1. To provide equal opportunities for all pupils to achieve success in handwriting2. To produce clear, concise, legible handwriting3. To present work to a variety of audiences neatly4. To develop accuracy and fluency5. To help children recognise that handwriting is a form of communication and as such should

be considered important in order for it to be effective6. To promote confidence and self-esteem7. To encourage children to take pride in their work8. To have a correct pencil grip 9. To know that all letters start from the top, except d and e which start in the middle10. To form all letters correctly 11. To know the size and orientation of letters 12. To help children recognise that handwriting as a life-long skill and will be a fundamental

element of all forms of written communication throughout their lives13. To display neatly presented work around the school as a model of excellence for others to

aspire to

Teaching time There should be a minimum of 2 handwriting lessons each week as well as time to practice.Children who find handwriting difficult should be targeted for daily intervention.

Model used Newland School uses the Nelson Thornes Handwriting Scheme with the following letter formation

Lower case letters

NEWLAND SCHOOL

Handwriting Policy and Guidelines

Principles“Handwriting is a tool that has to work. It must be comfortable, fast and legible.”

Angela Webb, Chair, National Handwriting Association

RationaleAt Newland School, all children are introduced to Cursive Handwriting (Nelson Thornes) from the start. We believe this raises standards in the Early Years impacting the whole school, to develop confidence, accuracy and fluency and improved presentation.

The rules of the Cursive Style: Helps to minimise confusion for the child as every letter starts on the line with an entry

stroke and leads out with an exit stroke. Helps with the flow of Cursive Writing as letters naturally flow into each other, it is

impossible to write separate letters without joining. Helps form spacing between words as the child develops whole word awareness Helps develop a child's visual memory Helps all children's writing skills regardless of academic ability Helps to develop skills of punctuation and grammar

All children write with a pencil, although older pupils are introduced to blue ink pens

Capitals

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Numbers

The Four Joins 1. to letters without ascenders 2. to letters with ascenders 3. horizontal joins 4. horizontal joins to letters with ascenders

The break letters (letters that aren’t joined from) are: b g j p q x y z s See Nelson Thornes Handwriting Teacher’s Bookk for examples of the break letters

Note: children must be taught individual letters first so that they see them as individual units BEFORE learning to join.

Paper As motor skills increase then the size of writing should decrease. Children should start writing in plain books then as their handwriting improves then lined exercise books should be introduced.

Reception On entry, Reception children are involved in a variety of activities to develop essential pre-writing skills in line with the Early Learning Goals of the Foundation Stage.

Activities to develop gross motor control (see Appendix A), for example rolling hoops and running with a hoop, ribbon movement, chalking, painting on a large scale, Interactive White Board.

Activities to develop fine motor control (se Appendix A): e.g. tracing, colouring within guide lines and pictures, pattern work, using glue spreaders in small pots, painting with the tips of the fingers, cotton buds, plasticine, threading.

All these develop spatial awareness "P.E. on paper."

Children develop the basic handwriting patterns found in letter formation in the order found in the Handwriting Programme.Children are introduced to actual letter formation in conjunction with the introduction of phonic skills.Sounds are closely linked in handwriting patterns and the children's visual awareness of words is harnessed e.g. ‘cat’, ‘hat’.Practise of particular High Frequency Words helps to develop good visual and writing habits e.g. ‘the’, ‘and’. Usually by the end of the Reception Year all children will have been introduced to all letters of the alphabet through patterns as shown above and introduced to more independent

writing. Children practise their names in cursive script by tracing over in the first instance and then underneath and then using motor memory

All children should write in wide spaced lined exercise books. These lines should about 2cms apart (2A2). Year 1

In Year 1, the skills acquired in the Foundation Stage are continued, consolidating correct formation, concentration and accurate precision work.All children write in pencil.Again spellings are closely linked with handwriting activities assisting the children with phonic skills required for successful reading.

Pupils should move on to slightly narrower lined exercise books (2A3). For some children they will need to continue on wide lined books until ready and for a small number of children, particularly those with Special Education Needs (SEN) it may be necessary to use an unlined book.

All children should be allowed to use unlined paper from time to time so that they can practise to apply skills and consider issues of presentation and aesthetics. Handwriting books should be introduced at the appropriate time.

Year 2-6

The Cursive style (Nelson Thornes) continues to develop through close links with the Primary Framework for literacy. Phonic, spelling and awareness of grammar are all taught through handwriting practise and as fluency and accuracy develops, pupils are encouraged to write with an ink pen. (Usually in Year 4)Handwriting is timetabled in short, regular sessions and where possible is integrated across the curriculum, e.g. practising scientific vocabulary

The majority of children should be ready to start the year in narrow lined books. For some children they will need to continue on wide lined books (2A2) until ready.

All handwriting activities are undertaken as class activities for the following reasons: to develop effective and efficient pen hold to develop the habit of concentration which is crucial to good handwriting to place a strong emphasis on the insistence of perfection to provide the class teacher with the opportunity to help assess individuals' progress and

monitor areas requiring reinforcement.

Lessons usually begin with a warm-up activity, relaxation (see Appendix B) (e.g. exercising hand/fingers, ‘air-writing’), including writing patterns or phonemes, etc which is led by the teacher modelling writing on the board. Children copy into their books, applying the same techniques, closely monitored by the teacher. In some lessons, it is also appropriate to practise speed-writing (usually written at the back of their book), which also helps them to think quickly and remember spellings.

Handwriting books have coloured lines to assist with accuracy and consistency in size and form, although other exercise books are either blank or have one line only. Where pages are blank they are expected to use a lineguide and paperclips to hold the guide in place.

Techniques for teaching letter formation • Model good handwriting all the time • Demonstrate • Talk through the process • Encourage children to verbalise the process • Children form letters in the air • Finger trace over tactile letters • Write over highlighter pen (or dotted letters) • Draw round templates • Write in sand with finger or stick • Write with chalk on chalkboard • Wax resist letters • Form letters with pegs on pegboard • Form letters with beads in platicine • Finger trace the outline of letters on the back of the person in front of you

Getting ready to write Seating and posture

• Chair and table should be at a comfortable height • The table should support the forearm so that it rests lightly on the surface and is parallel to the

floor • Encourage children to sit up straight and not slouch • The height of the chair should be such that the thighs are horizontal and feet flat on the floor • Tables should be free of clutter • Rooms should be well lit • Left handed pupils should sit on the left of their partners

Pencil grip • Children should write with a pencil (or pen when introduced in Y6) with a rounded nib. Pencils

should be reasonably sharp. • A tripod grip is the most efficient way of holding a pencil

For right handers • Hold lightly between the thumb and forefinger about 3cm away from the point • The paper should be placed to the right tilted slightly to the left • Use the left hand to steady the paper

For left handers • Hold lightly between thumb and forefinger resting on the first knuckle of the middle finger • Hold about 3cm from the tip • The hand should be kept below the writing line • The paper should be tilted slightly to the right at about 20 - 30° • Use the right hand to steady the paper

Teachers should be 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 may demonstrate to left-handers on an individual or group basis, even if the resulting writing is not neat.

InclusionThe 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 IndividualEducation Plan (IEPs). Teachers of children whose handwriting is limited by problems with fine motor skills should liaise with the Learning Support Leader 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.

Children with difficultiesSometimes some children may experience difficulties but this is often due to a coordination problem or adapting a left handed style.Activities to develop 'gross motor skills' can be promoted as these will assist fine motor skills, as will plenty of pre-writing activities to loosen up the wrist and upper arm.

Older children needing additional support are given short bursts of handwriting practice, one -to-one with a Teaching Assistant, as often as possible (daily preferably.) Use of a small whiteboard and pen is often the most successful aid as they are less restrictive and enable the child to feel less inhibited.

NOTE: It is very important that a right handed child is NOT seated on the left hand side of a left handed child as their elbows will collide!

Please refer to Nelson Handwriting Teacher’s Book for further information

Assessment Academic supervisors should monitor children’s writing and presentation in books regularly. The following should be considered:

• Is the writing generally legible? • Are the letters correctly shaped and proportioned? • Are the joins made correctly? • Are the spaces between the letters, words and lines appropriate? • Is the size of the writing appropriate? • Is the writing properly aligned? • Are the writing standards achieved by the majority of pupils in line with the Level Descriptors

in the National Curriculum?

Individual assessment Children should be observed as they write during handwriting lessons – the teacher must circulate, monitor and intervene. Teachers also need to monitor and mark whole pieces of writing. The following should be considered:

• Is the posture correct? • Does the child hold the pencil correctly? • Does the child use the correct movement when forming and or joining letters? • Are any letters revered or inverted? • Does the child write fluently and rhythmically? • Is the writing easily legible? • Is the pupil’s handwriting development in line with the Level Descriptors in the National

Curriculum?Links to spelling Linking handwriting with spelling is one of the most powerful ways of developing the visual memory. Handwriting should be practised using letters, blends, strings or digraphs so that patterns are internalised.

Remember to use Look – Say – Cover – Write – Check The child:

Looks at the word carefully Says the word Covers the word so that it can’t be seen Writes the whole word from memory Checks the word is written correctly If not, it is repeated.

Resources Nelson Thornes Handwriting Teacher’s Book Nelson Thornes Handwriting CD-ROMs

Monitoring and evaluation This policy will be evaluated annually.

Appendix AActivities and exercises to develop Motor ControlGross Motor Control is the term used to describe the development of controlled movements of the whole body, or limbs such as the legs or arms. Of particular importance in relation to handwriting is the development of good posture and balance. Activities such as:• Dancing and skipping• Running and jumping to music• Use of small apparatus e.g. throwing, rolling, catching, kicking and bouncing-balls• Cycling• Building with large-scale construction kits• Hammering• Consolidate vocabulary of movement by talking about movements such as: going round and round, making curves, springing up and sliding down, making long, slow movements or quick, jumpy movements• Make large movements in the air with arms, hands and shoulders with dance ribbons, use music• Rolling hoops• Running with hoops• Chalking• Painting on a large scale• Interactive Whiteboard

Fine Motor Control is the term used to describe smaller movements, usually of the hand and fingers (or of the feet and toes).Activities and exercises to develop Fine Motor Control:• Folding paper• Cutting out shapes from paper and card• Fitting things into frames like geometric shapes• Model making• Building and stacking bricks• Screw toys and wood working tools• Pegboards• Modelling with malleable materials like Play-dough, plasticene and clay• Drawing in sand and sand and water play in general, including sieving, pouring and picking up toys using tools e.g. fishing rods and cranes• Sewing and weaving

• Peeling fruit• Develop the pincer movement by using tweezers to pick up sequins, beads and feathers, sprinkling glitter, sand and salt• Scribbling and drawing with chalk, dry wipe pens, felt tip pens and paints on small, large boards and easels and on small and large paper• Playing with tactile and magnetic letters• Puzzles• Games and miming involving finger and wrist movement e.g. finger puppets• Use increasingly finer tools to make patterns of lines• Tracing• Colouring within guidelines and pictures• Pattern work• Using glue spreaders in small pots• Painting with the tips of fingers• Threading• Separating beads into colours.

Appendix BHand gym/miming activities to relax fingers and hands before Writing• Washing• Wringing, rubbing, shaking and folding clothes• Brushing hair• Stroking a cat• Playing a musical instrument• Playing with snow, bubbles, feathers, balloons• Picking up sweets to put in a dish or your mouth.

Later on:• Sit in the writing position but with arms dangling limply. While in this position let the hands flutter loosely• Let the forearms lay limply on the table in the correct writing position.Raise and lower the elbows several times• Place elbows on the table with the forearms held upright. Let the hands flap loosely backwards and forwards• Clench and unclench the fists• Drum lightly with fingers on the table• Circle the hands, inwards, then outwards• Hold the pen in the tripod grip lightly. With the forefinger tap the pencil lightly.