St Mary Magdalene C of E School with Christ Church C of E Primary School HANDWRITING POLICY

Transcription

1 St Mary Magdalene C of E School with Christ Church C of E Primary School HANDWRITING POLICY This policy was: Written in September 2015 Updated in September 2015 Review date September 2017

2 Handwriting is a skill which, like reading and spelling, affects written communication across the curriculum. Children need to be able to write with ease, speed and legibility. STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS Statutory requirements for the teaching and learning of English are laid out in the National Curriculum English Document (2013) which details specific requirements and expectations for the teaching of handwriting from Year 1 to Year 6. At EYFS requirements and expectations for writing development are detailed in the Physical development and Literacy section of the Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage (2012). In Foundation Stage Early Years children should be given opportunities to: Use writing as a means of recording and communicating Engage in activities requiring hand eye coordination Use one handed tools and equipment Draw lines and circles using fine and gross motor movement Manipulate objects with increasing control Begin to use anticlockwise movement and retrace vertical lines Begin to form recognisable letters correctly Use a pencil and hold it effectively to form recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed Start and finish letters correctly At Key Stage One Years 1 and 2 children should be taught: To write from left to right and top to bottom of a page To form letters of regular size and shape To put regular spaces between letters and words How to form lower and upper case letters How to join letters The importance of clear and neat presentation in order to communicate their meaning effectively At Key Stage Two Years 3 to 6) children should be taught: Aims To write legibly in both joined and printed styles with increasing fluency and speed To use different forms of handwriting for different purposes To develop their own handwriting style, as appropriate The Koinonia Federation s aim is that pupils will be supported to develop a handwriting style which is clear, joined and fluid. Children

3 will be encouraged to take pride in their written work, but also to be aware that different degrees of neatness may be appropriate for different tasks. They should be helped to see that there is a balance between speed and legibility which is dependent on the purpose of writing: the product, or the final draft of a piece of writing, needing the greatest attention to handwriting skills. Although there are many opportunities to practice handwriting across the curriculum, there will also be an opportunity for teaching and revising these skills during the weekly Literacy Skills lessons. The teaching of handwriting will vary according to the age and competence of the children. Formal handwriting skills will be taught regularly and systematically through the use of the Joint-it Handwriting Scheme. Five stages of development are identified and these form the basic organisation of the development of handwriting skills: 1. Readiness for writing: gross and fine motor skills leading to letter formation (EYFS) 2. Beginning to join (Lower Key Stage 1) 3. Securing joins (Upper KS1) 4. Practising speed and fluency (Years 3 To) 5. Presentation skills (Years 3 to 6) Opportunities for linking handwriting with early phonics and spelling work are fully exploited within the Literacy Skills lessons using the Join-it handwriting scheme. Join-it Handwriting Scheme The handwriting style used in the Koinonia Federation is based on the Joint-it pre-cursive (unjoined) and cursive (joined) handwriting font. This font was chosen as it enables our pupils to develop their handwriting skills from initial letter formation to eventually writing in a clear, joined up style. An example of the handwriting style is included in the appendix in this policy document. Knowledge, Skills and Understanding The curriculum guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage suggests that for children to attain the Early Learning Goal for writing at the end of Reception they should be able to use a pencil and hold it effectively to form recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed. The National Curriculum programme of study for KS1 handwriting and presentation states that in order to develop a legible style pupils should be taught: how to hold a pencil/pen how to write from left to right, top to bottom to start and finish letters correctly

4 to form regular letters in size and shape to put regular spaces between letters and words how to form lower and upper case letters how to join letters The National Curriculum programme of study for KS2 Handwriting and presentation states pupils should be taught to: write legibly in both joined and printed styles write with increasing fluency and speed use different forms of handwriting for different purposes (e.g. print for labels, fast script for notes and neat handwriting for finished work.) Pencil grip: Children should use a tripod grip. Children should be shown how to place their pencil on the table in front of them with it pointing towards their bodies and to then pick it up and allow the pencil to fall back into the tripod grip. Implementation: Early Years Children take part in multi-sensory 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 shaving foam. Children should begin to learn how to correctly hold a pencil, then how to use a pencil to form recognisable letters. They should be given a range of mark-making/handwriting opportunities to develop their handwriting 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. Through the Joint-it Handwriting Scheme children will begin to learn how to join letters in Year 1 and continue to practice this skill in Year 2. Key Stage 2 During this stage the children continue to have regular practice of handwriting. Our aim is for children to develop a clear, fluid style and by the end of Year 6 be able to adapt their handwriting for many different purposes. Children may have the opportunity to earn a pen license in Years 3 and 4 and may use a pen rather than pencil in all writing tasks Capital letters

5 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 English lessons and Phonics sessions. Inclusion and SEN The vast majority of pupils are able to write legibly and fluently. However, some pupils need more support and 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. When modelling handwriting, teachers should be aware of pupils in their class and Literacy Skills group who may use the opposite hand from the teacher. All teachers are aware of the specific needs of lefthanded pupils and should make appropriate provision: pupils are encouraged to turn their paper not their hands pupils should be positioned so that they can place their paper to their left side left-handed pupils 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 be necessary before pupils write left-to-right automatically Assessment For Learning Children are assessed continually throughout the school, through the use of formative, summative, self and peer assessment. Please refer also to the Assessment Policy. Criteria set out in book scrutiny paperwork includes handwriting and presentation as an area for assessment. From Key Stage 1 all handwriting work done in the handwriting books is marked before the next handwriting session. (marking format to be agreed at the next leadership meeting) Handwriting is assessed regularly through the teacher s formative assessment that will inform the next learning steps for the following handwriting session. Handwriting is assessed using the Record of Achievement sheet. Each child will have their own Record of Achievement sheet that will follow them from the point of entry until they leave. Teachers update this sheet on a regular basis and use it to inform future planning of handwriting sessions. Planning Handwriting sessions are planned in a weekly Literacy Skills Plan. This will include the letters or joins being focussed on in the session.

6 Planning of handwriting includes Assessment for Leaning opportunities which inform future planning and are part of the formative assessment for each pupil. The Role of Parents/Carers The Joint-it Handwriting Scheme provides information about the handwriting style and font on their website This information can support Parents/Carers and encourage them to practise with their children at home. Child s name: Record of Handwriting Achievement EYFS A= Achieved TABLE 1 A A A A A c i r s 0 1 o l n v 2 3 a t m w 4 5 d f h x 6 7 g j b z 8 9 q u p assess e y k Child s assess assess assess Assess a-z First name TABLE 2 Lower case a-z Child s full name Achieved Lower Key Stage 1 (Year 1) TABLE 3 Capitals A-M Capitals N-Z Achieved Baseline joins: TABLE 4 A A A A ll all ar ip li in aw up

7 ti un iv ib il an hu ub it im ti th ill um ki ck ut am du ch at ine ay ent ull ime ey ant assess assess assess assess Upper Key Stage 1 (Year 2) Top Joins: A= Achieved TABLE 5 A A A A A ou re ob ve fe ov ri ol we fi ow rt ot wh fu op rk of wl fl if ft assess assess Joins to anti-clockwise letters: TABLE 6 A A A A ac oa fa ea ad od fo ed ag og va ca oo wa da ha assess ws assess Other Joins: TABLE 7 A Joining to e Joining from t Joining to s, e.g. as ff Joining to x, e.g. ix

8 Any child who has not achieved any of the above requirements in their handwriting skills by the end of year 2 must continue to work on these elements in Lower Key Stage 2 until all elements of handwriting are ticked off for that child. This can be done during the Literacy Skills handwriting sessions as well as through LSA/TA extra support programmes.