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Handwriting

Our Intent

At Brookland Junior School we want children to write fluently and neatly, using cursive handwriting. We follow the National Curriculum programmes of study.

Year 3 and 4

Pupils should be taught 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 un-joined.
  • Increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting, [for example, by ensuring that the down-strokes 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].

Year 5 and 6

   Pupils should be taught to write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed by:

  • Choosing which shape of a letter to use when given choices and deciding whether to join specific letters
  • Choosing the writing implement that is best suited for a task

At Brookland Junior School we teach cursive handwriting. All children have regular lessons every week to improve their handwriting fluency and legibility. Please encourage your child to use cursive joined handwriting for home learning. It is helpful to use joined handwriting to learn spellings so that children develop a 'muscle memory' of written words. Some handwriting lessons may include practising the class' weekly spelling list or statutory words. 

Children use blue handwriting pens and pencil for drawing. Pencil is used in Maths books. Children use purple pen for making corrections and for marking their work.