ASHURST CE AIDED PRIMARY SCHOOL
HANDWRITING POLICY
Handwriting is a skill which, like reading and spelling, affects written communication across the curriculum. Children must be able to write with ease, speed and legibility. Cursive handwriting teaches children to join letters and words as a series of flowing movements and patterns. Handwriting skills should be taught regularly and systematically.
Aims – Our Intent
At Ashurst CE Aided Primary School our aims in teaching handwriting are that the children will:
- Achieve a neat, legible style with correctly formed letters in accordance with the cursive font.
- Develop flow and speed.
- Eventually produce the letters automatically and in their independent writing.
Teaching and Learning – Our Implementation
Children should :
- Experience coherence and continuity in learning and teaching across the school.
- Develop a recognition and appreciation of pattern and line and be given support in finding a comfortable grip.
- Understand the importance of clear and neat presentation in order to communicate meaning clearly.
- Encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their work and therefore study handwriting with a sense of enjoyment and achievement.
- Be supported in developing correct spelling quickly through a multi-sensory approach to handwriting.
- Be shown how to be able to write quickly to aid expressing themselves creatively and imaginatively across the curriculum and for a range of purposes.
- Encouraged use their skills with confidence and pride in real life situations.
Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
Early Years
Children take part in activities to develop their fine and gross motor-skills and recognition of patterns, for example, to form letters using their index finger in sand or using paint. Children should begin to learn how to correctly hold a pencil. Then how to use a pencil, and hold it effectively to form recognisable letters most of which are correctly formed. They should be given the opportunities to develop their handwriting, using the pre cursive style, to their full potential at that age.
Key Stage 1
Children will continue to develop fine and gross motor-skills with a range of multi-sensory activities. Handwriting should be discussed within and linked to phonics sessions. Teachers and support staff continue to guide children on how to write letters correctly, using a comfortable and efficient pencil grip. Children should now be leaving spaces between words accurately. By the end of Key Stage 1 children will be able to write legibly, using upper and lower-case letters appropriately and correct spacing between words using a cursive style.
Key Stage 2
During this stage the children continue to have direct teaching and regular practice of handwriting. We aim for them to develop a clear, fluent style and by the end of Year 6 be able to adapt their handwriting for the for different purposes, such as: a neat, legible hand for finished, presented work, a faster script for note making and the ability to print for labelling diagrams etc.
Provision for left-handed children
At least 10% of the population are left-handed, the majority of whom are boys. All teachers are aware of the specific needs of left-handed children and make appropriate provision:
- paper should be positioned to the left for right-handed children and to the right for left-handed children and slanted to suit the individual in either case
- pencils should not be held too close to the point as this can interrupt children’s line of vision
- children should be positioned so that they can place their paper to their left side
- left-handed children should sit to the left of a right-handed child so that they are not competing for space
- extra practice with left-to-right exercises may well be necessary before children write left-to-right automatically.
Teachers are aware of the fact that it is very difficult for left-handed children to follow handwriting movements when a right-handed teacher models them. Teachers demonstrate to left-handers on an individual or group basis, even if the resulting writing is not neat.
Capital letters
Capital letters stand alone and are not joined to the next letter. Children must practice starting sentences and writing names using a capital letter and not joining the subsequent letter. This should be modelled by the teacher during Literacy and Phonics sessions.
SEND Provision and Equal Opportunities
The vast majority of pupils are able to write legibly and fluently. However, some children need more support and provision will be made for this. Teachers of children whose handwriting is limited by problems with fine motor skills should liaise with the SENCo 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. Outside agencies can be contacted where appropriate. Focused handwriting lessons are planned for target groups and/or individuals who require additional support. The amount of lessons needed is dependent upon the needs of the children.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
All children deserve the opportunity to experience happy, fulfilled and successful lives. At Ashurst CE Aided Primary we acknowledge that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health. At Ashurst CE Aided Primary we nurture our bodies, minds, each other and our environment. By providing opportunities for learning outdoors, we aim to connect children and staff with the natural environment. We embrace the benefits this brings for mental health and physical and emotional wellbeing.
We promote pupils’ self-control and ability to self-regulate, and strategies for doing so. This will enable them to become confident in their ability to achieve well and persevere even when they encounter setbacks or when their goals are distant, and to respond calmly and rationally to setbacks and challenges. This integrated, whole-school approach to the teaching and promotion of health and wellbeing has a potential positive impact on behaviour and attainment.
Pupils will also be taught about the benefits of hobbies, interests and participation in their own communities. We encourage children to recognise that they are social beings and that spending time with others, taking opportunities to consider the needs of others and practising service to others, including in organised and structured activities and groups, are beneficial for health and wellbeing.
Children should be inspired to follow their dreams when they leave school, whether that be to secure a job, begin vocational training or go on to further education.
We have a shared responsibility to prepare our children to achieve mental, physical and economic wellbeing in a local, national and global context.
Mental health and wellbeing play a crucial role in the teaching of literacy by providing a supportive environment that encourages children to engage with texts and develop their literacy skills. Here are some ways in which mental health and wellbeing can support the teaching of literacy:
Emotional Wellbeing: Children who feel emotionally well are more likely to engage with texts and understand them better. Reading and writing activities can help them express their thoughts and feelings, which is essential for literacy development.
Resilience and Hope: Reading and writing can provide children with a sense of hope and resilience, especially during challenging times. These activities can help them cope with difficulties and build a strong foundation for literacy learning.
Mental Health Literacy: Schools can promote mental health literacy, including offering a range of supportive texts, to support children in recognising the signs of mental health struggles and understand more about the strategies they can use as well as talking to an adult in school. This can lead to better literacy outcomes as children feel supported and understood.
Our whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing can help create a supportive environment that encourages children to engage with texts and develop their literacy skills.
By addressing mental health and wellbeing, we aim to create a more inclusive and supportive classroom environment that fosters literacy development and helps children thrive academically and personally.
Outcomes – Our Impact
This systematic approach ensures development in the skill of handwriting throughout each
year group. Children take pride in their written work and achieve proficiency in their own use of the cursive script. Outcomes in children’s wider curriculum work, as well as in their
English books and school displays, evidence the progress that children make in this area, as
well as the consistency of the approach across the school.
Cultural capital
At Ashurst we aim to support every child to gain the confidence and the ability to understand and contribute to a varied cultural awareness. We believe that taking children’s learning experiences beyond what they already know is a fundamental part of becoming an educated citizen in society.
Handwriting contributes to this through
- enabling children to communicate their thoughts and ideas neatly and efficiently.
- enabling children to write comfortably, legibly, fluently and at speed.
- increasing children’s ability to remember spelling and word patterns.
- valuing the presentation and layout of visual information.
- encouraging children to have pride in their work and that of others.
Resources
Resources are available on the shared system in the folder ‘English.’ Our handwriting style should be displayed in every classroom and available on tables for children to refer to.
The Rockin’ Round Letters
a lead up, rock back, lead on
c lead up, rock back
d lead up, rock back, three quarter up, three quarter back, lead on
o lead up, rock back, loop round, lead on
g lead up, rock back, drop down, loop round
The Tallees
b lead up, three quarter line, drop back down, pop, lead on
h lead up, three quarter line, drop down, over the hill, lead on
k lead up, three quarter line, drop down, pop, lead on
l lead up, three quarter line, drop down, lead on
t lead up, three quarter line, drop down, lead on. Cross over
The Rollercoasters
e lead up, loopdeloop
s lead up, curly-wurly, lead on
x lead up, backwards c, forwards c
z lead up, zig, zag, zog
f lead up, three quarter line (with a hat), drop down, three quarters, loop to lead on
The Up-downs
y lead up, drop down, smiley, drop down, loop
u lead up, smile, lead on
i lead up, drop down, lead on. Dot
m lead up, drop down, over the hill, over the hill, lead on
n lead up, drop down, over the hill, lead on
r lead up, drop down, back up, lead on with a hat
v lead up, zig zag, lead on
w lead up, down, up, down, up, lead on
The Drop-downs
j lead up, drop down, three quarters, loop round, lead on
p lead up, drop down, three quarters, back up, pop, lead on
q lead up, rock back, drop down
Roles and Responsibilities
The role of the subject leader is to coordinate the teaching of handwriting across all phases
of the school. This is in order to secure a consistent approach across the school and to
ensure progression in handwriting is outstanding.
Some key duties that the English subject leader should undertake over the course of the
year include:
- Monitoring of cursive handwriting in English books
- Monitoring of the application of handwriting across other exercise books, such as
topic books
- Helping identify and facilitate the professional development needs of staff
- Liaising with the school SENDCo to best support children with handwriting difficulties
- Organising, maintaining and cataloguing handwriting resources
- Keeping abreast of new initiatives in the teaching of handwriting
Monitoring and Evaluation
This policy will be reviewed by the English subject leader, in consultation with the staff, as and when elements of English are identified or prioritised within the School Development Plan.
This policy was adopted in: September 2025
The policy is to be reviewed in: September 2026