At Everton Primary School we are very proud of our pupils' handwriting and take particular care in our cursive handwriting style. We use Letter-join’s on-line handwriting resource and progression as the basis of our handwriting policy as it covers all the requirements of the Early Years Framework and the National Curriculum and builds fluency and stamina for writing. The children can access Letter-join both in school and at home which reinforces letter and number formations taught at each phase and the phonics and the statutory spellings and grammar for all year groups.

Becoming a 'Cursive' Writer

When children have learned the 'lead in lines' and are forming all cursive letters accurately, they will begin to learn the diagonal and horizontal joins needed to become fluent and confident writers.

Letters with diagonal joins are:

a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, I, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, s, t, u, x, y, z

Letters with horizonal joins are:

o, r, v, w,

Forming and joining cursive letters neatly and accurately can be a challenge for some children at first, particularly for those who are left handed, as their hand/arm covers the graphemes written and those who have reduced fine or gross motor skills, however, with targeted support and regular and repeated practice, all children can develop a neat and consistent handwriting style. Fluent cursive handwriting supports spelling, stamina for writing and reduces cognitive overload when writing across the curriculum.

Handwriting Progression

An Introduction to Letter-join

Handwriting At Home

Parents and carers can support their children’s handwriting at home by using the Pupil log in for Letter-join. If you haven’t got a log in, please contact the school office. For information on the resources you can access please see the Letter-join Parents and Carers guide below:

Children can watch the word and letter animations and practise and explore other handwriting resources on Letter-join including;

•             Magic Patterns

•             Magic Words

•             Phonics Match

•             Word Search

•             Letter Lotto

•             Write it Right!

There are lots of interactive and engaging activities for all year groups to support letter formation, cursive handwriting and spelling, grammar and punctuation or you can download and print copies.