Handwriting Guidance

Boughton Heath Academy

To ensure high quality handwriting and an understanding of the national standard.

Boughton Heath Academy- Handwriting Guidance

Year 1
Standard

Emerging

Working at

Working Above

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
a c d e f g h i j k l m n q r s t u v w y z
School

National
Curriculum
Explanation

All letters not formed correctly both upper

and lowercase

1|Page

All letters formed correctly both upper and

lowercase
Letters sitting on line
Pencil grip- Tri grip
sit correctly at a table, holding a pencil
comfortably and correctly
begin to form lower-case letters in the
correct direction, starting and finishing in
the right place
form capital letters
form digits 0-9
understand which letters belong to which
handwriting families (i.e. letters that are
formed in similar ways) and to practise
these.

Beginning to use flicks at the beginning of

letters
Letters sitting on line
Pencil grip- Tri grip

Boughton Heath Academy- Handwriting Guidance

Year 2
Standard

Emerging

Working at

Working Above

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
a c d f g h i j k l m n q r s t u v w y z
Te u[i]c[k sl[y o ju[m[s o[r t[e own l]azy d]g.
School

All letters not formed correctly both upper

and lowercase
Pencil grip not used as tri grip

National
Curriculum
Explanation

2|Page

All upper and lower case letters formed

and orientated correctly
All lower case letters begin on the line
Ascenders and descenders are
appropriately sized.
Beginning to join- flicks at the end
form lower-case letters of the correct size
relative to one another
start using some of the diagonal and horizontal
strokes needed to join letters and understand
which letters, when adjacent to one another,
are best left unjoined
write capital letters and digits of the correct
size, orientation and relationship to one another
and to lower case letters
use spacing between words that reflects the
size of the letters.

Due to flicks at beginning and end joining

is beginning to show fluency in
handwriting.

Boughton Heath Academy- Handwriting Guidance

Year 3
Standard

Emerging

Working at

Working Above

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
a b c d f h i k l m n p q r t u v w z
Te u[i]c[k [l[ o u[m[p o[r t[e b[own l]a[z[ d].
School

Upper and lowercase letter formation

inconsistencies.
Lack of flicks leads to joining irregularities.

National
Curriculum
Explanation

3|Page

YEAR 3 HANDWRITING CHECK

All letters correctly orientated- upper and lower
case.
Joining correctly between families of letters
shows consistency and is fluent.
All writing sits on the line.
Looped descenders
Flicks at the beginning and end to aid joining
use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are
needed to join letters and understand which
letters, when adjacent to one another, are best
left unjoined
increase the legibility, consistency and quality of
their handwriting [for example, by ensuring that
the down strokes of letters are parallel and
equidistant; that lines of writing are spaced
sufficiently so that the ascenders and
descenders of letters do not touch].

Joined handwriting is fluent and consistent in

size and regularity.
NO LETTERS ARE MISFORMED or ORIENTATED

Boughton Heath Academy- Handwriting Guidance

Year 4
Standard

Emerging

Working at

Working Above

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
a b c d f h i k l m n p q r t u v w z
Te u[i]c[k [l[ o u[m[p o[r t[e b[own l]a[z[ d].
School

National
Curriculum
Explanation

Joined handwriting is fluent and consistent in

size and regularity but a few inconsistent joins
and letter formation.
Not all writing sits on the line and is spaced
correctly

4|Page

All letters correctly orientated- upper and lower

case.
Joining correctly between families of letters
shows consistency and is fluent.
Looped descenders
use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are
needed to join letters and understand which
letters, when adjacent to one another, are best
left unjoined
increase the legibility, consistency and quality of
their handwriting [for example, by ensuring that
the downstrokes of letters are parallel and
equidistant; that lines of writing are spaced
sufficiently so that the ascenders and
descenders of letters do not touch].

Handwriting is consistent, fluent and regular.

the downstrokes of letters are parallel and
equidistant; that lines of writing are spaced
sufficiently so that the ascenders and
descenders of letters do not touch]

Boughton Heath Academy- Handwriting Guidance

Year 5
Standard

Emerging

Working at

Working Above

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
a[b]c]e[h[i[k[l[m[n]op]qr[t[u[vw[yz
Te u[i]c[k [l[ o u[m[p o[r t[e b[own l]a[z[ d].
School

National
Curriculum
Explanation

5|Page

Handwriting is consistent, fluent and

regular.
the downstrokes of letters are parallel and
equidistant; that lines of writing are spaced
sufficiently so that the ascenders and
descenders of letters do not touch]
write legibly, fluently and with increasing
speed by:
choosing which shape of a letter to
use when given choices and deciding
whether or not to join specific letters
choosing the writing implement that
is best suited for a task.

Boughton Heath Academy- Handwriting Guidance

Year 6
Standard

Emerging

Working at

Working Above

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
a[b]c]e[h[i[k[l[m[n]op]qr[t[u[vw[yz
Te u[i]c[k [l[ o u[m[p o[r t[e b[own l]a[z[ d].
School

National
Curriculum
Explanation

6|Page

Handwriting is consistent, fluent and

regular.
the downstrokes of letters are parallel and
equidistant; that lines of writing are spaced
sufficiently so that the ascenders and
descenders of letters do not touch]
write legibly, fluently and with increasing
speed by:
choosing which shape of a letter to
use when given choices and deciding
whether or not to join specific letters
Choosing the writing implement that
is best suited for a task.