Handwriting at Mab Lane 

Intent

At Mab Lane Primary School we believe that joined, neat, legible handwriting is an essential skill which must be taught to all children.The importance of handwriting should not be underestimated; children’s self-esteem is heightened when they are able to take pride in their handwriting and presentation of their written work. Our intention is to make handwriting an automatic process that does not interfere with creative and mental thinking. 

Our aims are:

- To raise standards in writing across the school.

- To have a consistent approach across Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Key Stage One (KS1) and Key Stage Two (KS2) when teaching handwriting and presentation of work throughout the school, leading to fully cursive writing, for most pupils by Y4.

- To achieve a neat, legible style with correctly formed letters in cursive handwriting.

- To develop fluency and speed whilst writing, so that eventually the pupils are able to write the letters with confidence and correct orientation in their independent writing.

Implementation

At Mab Lane, we follow the RWI programme for the early stages of taught handwriting and aim to make the physical process of writing – handwriting – enjoyable from the start, so that children can see themselves as ‘writers’.

We use the RWI mnemonics – memory pictures – to help children visualise the letter or join before they write it down. Therefore, children learn the letter formation alongside learning the sound.

We ensure that children practise handwriting under the guidance of a teacher so they do not develop habits that will be difficult to undo later.

In addition to practising writing, we recognise and value to importance of developing children’s fine and gross motor skills to enable them to have the strength required for pencil grip accuracy and posture.

We ensure that children have opportunities to target their fine motor skills with purposeful tasks in the learning environment, as well as engaging in whole class activities like ‘Funky Fingers.’ To support children’s gross motor development, we have a variety of active opportunities for body strengthening in the outdoor learning environment.

Read Write Inc stages of Handwriting development

Stage 1a:

During Stage 1 children learn correct letter formation using the same picture mnemonics they have already learnt in the Set 1 sound lessons.

These letters are taught in handwriting groups:

• ‘Around’ letters: c a o d g q
• ‘Down’ letters: l t b p k h i j m n r u y
• ‘Curly’ letters: e f s
• ‘Zig-zag’ letters: v w z x.

Stage 1b:

Once children can form the letters correctly, they learn how to place the letters on the line and of relative size. Children are encouraged to continue using the picture mnemonics help children to visualise the size and placement.

• Some small letters are called ‘boat letters’: a c e i m n o r s u v w x z
• Letters that are written below the line are called ‘water letters’: g j p q y
• Tall letters are called ‘sun letters’: b d h k l t f

Impact

We aim to make handwriting an automatic process that does not interfere with creative and mental thinking.

As a school, we would expect and aim for most children to start joining their handwriting by the time they reach KS2. There is an expectation that children develop their use cursive writing during Years 3 and Year 4, in line with the National Curriculum expectations. By Years 5 and Year 6, children are expected to be able to write legibly, with increasing speed and fluency.

At KS2 the expectation is for children to have cursive handwriting modelled to them by their teacher during any shared writing. It is an expectation that no matter what the subject area being taught, children maintain their handwriting style and presentation.