Handwriting and Presentation Policy

King’s Park Primary School

Handwriting and Presentation Policy

At King’s Park we believe that neat well formed handwriting and presentation of written work helps to raise standards as the pupils take pride in and have a sense of ownership of their work. As a school we are adopting the fully cursive method of handwriting.

Aims

 To raise standards in writing across the school.
 To have a consistent approach across both Key Stage One and Two when teaching handwriting and presentation of work throughout the school.
 To adopt a common approach towards handwriting by all adults when writing in children’s books, on the whiteboard or on displays / resources.

Handwriting Guidance for Foundation Stage and Key Stage One

 In Foundation Stage and Key Stage One all children will have access to triangular pencils.
 In Foundation Stage children will learn how to hold a pencil and how to form basic letter shapes.
 Children begin fully cursive handwriting in Year 2 by starting to join their letters.
 For agreed letter formation please see appendix 1; there are also exemplars on the school website and in all classrooms.
 Formal handwriting practice is to be undertaken at least four times a week in Year One and Two.
 Handwriting practice is to be included in homework in Year One and Two, in conjunction with spelling.

Handwriting Guidance for Key Stage Two

The target for children in Key Stage Two is to produce a fluent, consistently formed style of fully cursive handwriting with equal spacing between the letters and words.

• Children will have handwriting sessions at least twice a week using specialist handwriting books in lower Key Stage 2. In upper Key Stage 2 literacy exercise books are usually used unless a pupil still needs to use guide-lines.
• Children in Year Three will write with pencils. Children in Year Four will write with a pencil until the class teacher assesses that they are joining competently and consistently. A pen will then be used only in handwriting and literacy
• This will continue into Year Five until the class teacher assesses that the child’s handwriting and presentation is sufficient to be issued with a pen licence. (see appendix 2)
• To begin with all children will use a handwriting pen and can progress to using a fountain pen in Year Six if they so wish.
• Children will use a pen to complete the majority of class work where appropriate.
• Pencils will be used in Numeracy or for drawing and completion of diagrams.
• All children in Key Stage Two will practise their letter formation when copying their weekly spellings.

Presentation guidance
• All work should begin with the date. In literacy this should be written in the following way: Tuesday 10th September 2008. In all other subjects the short date can be written in the following format: 10.9.08. (Some discretion may be used for children who find writing physically challenging.)
• The date should be written on the top line and underlined (not in the margin).
• Under the date the objectives of the lesson should be written. Teaching Assistants may support here for the small minority of children who find writing challenging or pre-prepared stickers could be used.
• The next line should be missed and the title should be written on the following line and underlined. Underlining should be completed with a ruler and a pencil.
• Children should write from the margin to the edge of the page.
• Work should be ruled off at the start of the following lesson, leaving the teacher room to comment on the work.
• Mistakes should be crossed out using a ruler line. In numeracy an eraser can be used at the teacher’s discretion.
• In numeracy a page can be folded vertically to prevent wasted paper.
• Felt pens should never be used in exercise books.

Monitoring and Evaluation

This will be undertaken by the class teacher and will also be assessed as part of each term’s literacy writing assessments.

Materials

Pencils are provided by the school. In Key Stage Two handwriting pens will be available or may be provided from home. We do not allow the use of roller balls, biro or gel pens.

Special Educational Needs:
Pupils with a defined record of support are supported in their handwriting and presentation through individual education plans, monitored by the class teacher and Special Needs coordinator. Thicker triangular pencils, pencil grips and wider lines will be used by children experiencing problems writing alongside other activities to develop their fine motor skills.
It may be more appropriate for pupils with physical disabilities to spend their handwriting time in learning Keyboard skills as the physical task of writing may be too onerous.
For some pupils a programme designed to support their fine motor skills will be beneficial. For example; Eurhythmy. Mainstream staff should
consult the Specialist teachers for advice.

Rewards
The staff are committed to offering incentives for the improvement of handwriting and presentation. Each Key Stage will devise a suitable reward system for this area of work. This will include displaying high quality work in the classroom as an exemplar to other pupils.

Policy approved at Main Governing Body Meeting 12/3/09