1. Todmorden CE (A) J I & N School Handwriting Session for Parents
September 2016

2. Handwriting September 2016 - What’s new and why?
The new expectations for writing were published in March They said that:-
By the end of KS1 children working at the expected level should be:-
using the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters in some of their writing;
writing capital letters and digits of the correct size, orientation and relationship to one another and to lower-case letters;
using spacing between words that reflects the size of the letters.
By the end of KS2, children working at the expected level should be:-
maintaining legibility, fluency and speed in handwriting through choosing whether or not to join specific letters.
This led school’s round the country to review their teaching of handwriting.

3. Our new Handwriting Scheme
Children need to be able to write without thinking about how to write. This enables them to concentrate on what to write.
Our new scheme follows a cursive script. The key features are:-
Each letter starts on the line
The child keeps their pencil on the paper for the whole word, giving a fluent style
Pupils should develop ability to produce letters without thinking
Automatic style releases brain to concentrate on other aspects eg grammar, spelling, etc.
By making each letter in one movement, children’s hands develop a ‘physical memory’ of it, making it easier to produce the correct shape
Because letters and words flow from left to right, children are less likely to reverse letters when writing
Proven to be beneficial for dyslexic children due to the continuous motor movement as child does not have to think about the order of letters
A consistent style from Nursery to Year Six.

4. EYFS - Nursery and Reception Class
Children are encouraged to mark make from the
moment they arrive in Nursery. They paint, draw,
squiggle and manipulate materials; all of which
helps to strengthen their muscles prior to learning to
write.
In Owls, children have a Funky Fingers session each day where they develop a range of fine motor skills to strengthen muscles and develop hand-eye co-ordination prior to writing. These activities are fun and often involve trying to beat a target set by one of the nursery staff.
By the start of Reception class, most
children are ready to write. Many will
have learnt to write their name in
Nursery or at home so it is important
that we introduce them to our letter
formation as soon as they are ready.

5. EYFS - Nursery and Reception Class
Children are taught a pre-cursive script in their Early Years in school.
This script includes an introductory stroke and a closing stroke which will be used to join letters as the children move into year one.
The letter formation is taught with a statement “in we go. . . “ and is followed by forming the letter using the usual handwriting method We will still be using
the Read Write Inc rhymes
as the letter formations
will be taught in Reception
class alongside Phonics.

6. They will also learn the letters in the four sets below.
Year One - and what next?
In Year One, children will begin to join their letters and will continue to link their handwriting to their phonics teaching.
They will also learn the letters in the four sets below.
This year, the handwriting scheme will be new for all pupils (and staff!) from year two upwards so the formation of letters and joins will be taught from the beginning of the scheme. Children will be taught sets of letters which all start with the same initial strokes. This will help support their learning as they begin to use the scheme.
The focus for teaching will be based around practising joins in different ways - lots of which will be practical and involve different mediums to help engage the children in their learning.

7. How can I help my child with their handwriting?
Help your children check their pen/pencil grip. There is a picture of the correct grip in four stages in your pack.
Make sure that they are forming their letters the correct way round and using the introductory and exit stroke.
Help them sit correctly and position their paper/book correctly to enable them to write as comfortably as possible.
Log on to the website for lots of fun activities to support our new scheme. Try some of the activities on the ipads tonight. Login details are:- Username = tod, Password = morden. When you first logon, you will need to set the f and k letter formations to the option here.

8. Thank you very much for coming.
Activities
Funky Fingers activities to develop fine motor skills and
strengthen muscles
Continuous ‘writing’ pattern activities. Try using
different mediums to keep your pattern going.
Use the app on the Ipads to see how you can support
your child’s handwriting development at home in a fun
way
Look at some of the activities which will be used in
class to introduce and practise the different types of
letter formation.
Please feel free to ask any questions you have either tonight or pop in to school and speak to your child’s class teacher or myself if you have any further questions.
Thank you very much for coming.