Handwriting

National Curriculum Requirements

By the end of Year 1, Barnabas Oley pupils should be able to:

sit correctly at a table, holding a pencil comfortably and correctly
begin to form lower-case letters in the correct direction, starting and finishing in the right place
form capital letters
form digits 0-9
understand which letters belong to which handwriting ‘families’ (ie letters that are formed in similar ways) and to practise these

By the end of Year 2, Barnabas Oley pupils should be able to:

form lower-case letters of the correct size relative to one another
start using some of the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined
write capital letters and digits of the correct size, orientation and relationship to one another and to lower-case letters
use spacing between words that reflects the size of the letters

By the end of Year 3/4 Barnabas Oley pupils should be able to:

use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one
another, are best left unjoined
increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting, [for example, by ensuring that the downstrokes of letters are parallel and equidistant, and that lines of writing are spaced sufficiently so that the ascenders and descenders of letters do not touch]

By the end of Year 5/6 Barnabas Oley pupils should be able to:

write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed by:
- choosing which shape of a letter to use when given choices and deciding whether or not to join specific letters
- choosing the writing implement that is best suited for a task

Further School Information

Handwriting Technique

At Barnabas Oley, our pupils are taught to use a fully cursive style of writing.

Please click here, if you would like to view videos or print worksheets on how to form letters correctly. Parents should refer to the booklet that was handed out at Meet the Teacher or contact a member of staff if they have questions about how to form a particular letter.

Governor Handwriting Awards

Each year, our School Governors present two awards for each year group. One is for progress in handwriting to be chosen by class teachers and one is for excellence in handwriting to be chosen by governors. These awards will be given out during Celebration Assembly at the end of the school year.

Handwriting has continued to be a real focus in classes, particularly since our 2013 Ofsted Inspection. Our school now promotes the use of fully cursive handwriting throughout the school.

The School Council's recommendation of a ‘pencil of perfection’ system is used successfully in R/KS1 with some children moving from silver to gold to blue pencils before getting their ‘pen of perfection’ in KS2.