Buxton Primary School Handwriting / Presentation Policy Aims At - PDF document

Buxton Primary School Handwriting / Presentation Policy Aims At Buxton, we are constantly seeking to raise standards in all aspects of learning and teaching. Our school ethos is one of pride in learning and the presentation of pupil outcomes in books forms a core part of this. Pupil books form a record of the learning and teaching that has taken place during an academic year and as such needs to reflect a progression of personalised learning opportunities, as well as evidence of pupils making effort and taking pride and in their outcomes. This policy sets out our agreed expectation for outstanding presentation and handwriting at Buxton. This policy should be read in conjunction with the learning & teaching policy, marking and feedback Policy and behaviour policy. Objectives • To motivate each individual to present their work in the best possible way. • To enable children to recognise work that is presented to a high standard. • To ensure each child knows the standard of presentation that is expected of them. • To share this information with parents on a regular basis. For Teachers • To create consistency in standards of presentation across the school. • To provide a baseline for judging acceptable standards of presentation. Across all year groups, we believe that: • Presentation needs to be modelled so that all pupils can achieve success. This includes page layout of work, systematic recording methods and an expectation of neat and presentable staff handwriting in line with school policy. The exception to this is in maths books – which are plain paper, and pupils are encouraged to experiment with calculation methods. It is expected that by the upper end of KS2, neatness of work will be achieved in all work books. • Pupils will be included in demonstrating good practice and celebrated for the effort to progress and improve. • We will monitor standards closely through book scrutinies, praising children’s efforts and doodles or scribbles on books will not be tolerated in line with the school behaviour policies. J Stops June 2017

At Buxton we expect children to: • Regularly read and respond to the comments made by adults in their books using purple polishing pens. • Take pride and care in the presentation of their books reflecting the high standard that is expected. • Take time to correct and finish off work where appropriate. • Cross out mistakes using a single line. • Not to use felt tip pens to present work in books or on display. • Use quality writing equipment appropriate to the Year Group. • Consistently use either pen or pencil, not moving between them. • Use pencil for drawings or diagrams. When plain paper is used for writing, a line guide will be used to ensure presentation is neat. Coloured pens will only be used for specific reasons. Black or blue is used for children to write, green is for marking, purple is for children to respond to marking. Erasers are discouraged, errors can be scored with one line using a ruler. However, teachers and support staff can use discretion when they feel it would enhance the quality of work or motivate the pupil to make greater progress. Labels are used to state the learning objective and date of every lesson. When a child is absent, the LO label will be displayed with ‘absent’ written next to it. The label for the next lesson will be placed directly beneath this one, so as not to take up too much paper when a child is absent for a period of time. Labels are used at the front of every book (and subsequent books, when old ones are full). Labels show the child’s full name, subject, class name. When sticking work/labels/headings in books, they are straight and cut to size. At Foundation Stage: Pupils are taught to take pride in their written outcomes and use a variety of methods to develop fine motor control. It is expected that by the end of EYFS all children will be able to manipulate a pencil to write their own name with a capital letter and key words in a simple sentence, take pride in their outcomes and understand that scribbling on work is not acceptable. J Stops June 2017

In Key Stage One: Pencil is always used in books, although other writing materials are available for writing tables and incidental writing activities. Many children make the transition from pencil to pen in Year 2 being awarded a pen certificate when handwriting has met the required standard. Handwriting is taught weekly. In Key Stage Two: From Year 3 onwards, pupils are expected to write in all books in pen – except Maths. The school provides Berol pens. Handwriting is taught regularly, according to the needs of the children. Expectations for handwriting: Basic cursive script will be taught in foundation stage and developed through the school with the expectation that by the time children leave Key Stage 1, they will be writing in joined cursive script. Where possible, cursive script is the preferred style for all worksheets and hand-outs. Left-handed Children: Hand dominance fully develops around the ages of 5 and 6. Lefthanded children have different needs from right-handers and are given extra support to: • learn the ‘tripod’ grasp and to hold the pen/pencil slightly higher up to help them to see what they are writing. • sit where elbows do not bump right-handers. • hold their writing tool away from the point so that their thumb does not get in the way. • ‘pull’ the pen/pencil rather than ‘push’ it across the page. J Stops June 2017

Outcomes of the presentation and handwriting policy: • Children of all abilities are able to present their work to the highest possible standard increasing their confidence and self-esteem. • There is consistency across the school in terms of the standard of presentation expected. • Progression in presenting work between each class is evident and understood by all children and adults. J Stops June 2017