Our handwriting begins by developing gross and fine motor skills alongside the language of movement. Opportunities are planned for throughout our Early Years provision and through explicit teaching including: finger rhymes, play dough sessions and Squiggle Whilst You Wiggle, an early writing program created by Shonette Bason. These are continued and used to give further support when needed through school.

We use Unlocking Handwriting, a whole school handwriting programme. The progression used in Unlocking Handwriting follows the National Curriculum progression, with some additional content included based upon a wealth of experience of teaching handwriting in schools, feedback from schools seeking a comprehensive, progressive handwriting programme and updated guidance(including requirements from the National Curriculum). The progression Is structured broadly in units which are broken down into multiple sessions, offering a clear focus for each discrete handwriting lesson. Similar to the structure of Unlocking Letters and Sounds, Unlocking Handwriting provides ‘Mastery’ units for children to embed and secure the knowledge they have previously learnt. The programme also provides frequent opportunities for children to revisit previous learning and embed this before further refining their handwriting skills.