Handwriting

English - Handwriting Intent

At Greenside, we prioritise the teaching of handwriting. This is because it is one of the cornerstones of literacy as reading and writing are reciprocal skills. As students learn to spell words with the same phonetic patterns they are reading, it helps solidify their understanding.

To enable all pupils to become automatic and accurate writers, we understand and recognise the importance of muscle development and mastery of gross motor skills needed to provide the foundations for fine motor skills. Therefore, at Greenside, we provide a range of indoor and outdoor opportunities for our pupils in Early Years and beyond, which supports them to build the foundations for writing. We use the Nelson Handwriting whole-school programme designed to help all children develop a confident, legible and personal handwriting style and meet higher curriculum expectations.

The programme supports children from the earliest stages of learning to write and gives guidance to staff on how to create conditions for good writing: atmosphere, seating and posture and pencil and pen grip. It builds upon these foundations with specific year group objectives with the end result being children who are empowered to develop their own style of handwriting from a secure base, choosing their writing implement and style as appropriate to the occasion. Adaptations, accessibility arrangements and high-quality resources are provided for those who require further support with their letter formation and handwriting, ensuring that learning can be accessed by all.

Handwriting effort is recognised in key stage celebration assemblies and pen licences are awarded to pupils who demonstrate neat, cursive and fluent handwriting.