Handwriting

Handwriting

A flexible, fluent and legible handwriting style empowers children to write with confidence and creativity. Therefore, handwriting must be actively taught and the skills applied to everyday use. Handwriting is a developmental process with its own distinctive stages of sequential growth: from readiness for handwriting to letter joins, practising speed and fluency and higher presentation skills. At St Antony’s we follow the Nelson handwriting scheme (please see ‘Appendix 1 examples of handwriting styles' as a guide to how letters should be formed).

We aim for our children to have a clear, comfortable, legible style of writing in which letters are formed correctly and in a cursive style. From Year 4, children start working towards targets from the Pen license checklist with the aim of them achieving their pen license (please see Appendix 5 for more details). Where needed, adjustments will be made to meet a child's specific needs. 

We feel that Handwriting is a skill which needs to be taught explicitly. Handwriting is taught for at least 15 minutes, three times a week in EYs and KS1 and twice a week in KS2.