Handwriting is important because it is often the first impression of writing. Studies show we feel instinctively more favourable about pieces of writing when they are written neatly than when they're written untidily, even if the content is the same.
At Laddingford, we teach the children an entirely joined, cursive writing starting with precursive writing in Reception (including the lead-ins and lead-outs eventually used to join letters right from the beginning). In Reception, handwriting is taught alongside Phonics. We do not join capital letters but we do join all lower-case letters. This is to make sure they're writing is fluent and legible but also quick. We don't teach children to care about handwriting in a superficial manner but to understand that good handwriting enables them to be understood and to get their ideas down faster.
A sample sheet of 'Laddingford Cursive' can be found below along with the order in which we teach the letters (from Year 1) and a progression document that shows what level of handwriting we're expecting, for an average child, throughout the school.
If you have any concerns about your child's handwriting, arrange to see their class teacher.
Unfortunately not the ones with chocolate chips.
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