Handwriting
St John’s believes that handwriting, similar to reading and spelling, can affect pupils’ progress and achievement across the entire curriculum. When taught effectively, handwriting is mastered by the majority of pupils during the primary phase, allowing them to develop a more effective style of handwriting by the time they begin secondary school. Handwriting is a basic skill that influences the quality of work throughout the curriculum. In our Early years setting children are taught the basics they need to start to form letters in conjunction with their phonics. By the end of Key Stage 2 all pupils should have the ability to produce fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy joined-up handwriting, and to understand the different forms of handwriting used for different purposes.
Our intention is to make handwriting an automatic process that does not interfere with creative and mental thinking.
One of the most successful methods for ensuring consistent teaching and learning across the school is by having a clear policy in place. This policy has been developed in consultation with all the teaching staff and the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO), in order to ensure clear and consistent methods for teaching handwriting across the school.