At Minchinhampton School, we think it is important to teach cursive handwriting from the start. We teach a fully cursive script, based on an approach championed by a local educator, Julie Palmer, in her book, The Write Path. This scheme involves joining all letters and all letters start from the same place on the line. This helps with letter formation and orientation especially for those who find spatial awareness tricky.

In line with current research, we teach non-cursive script to children when they start to write in the Foundation Stage.  They begin to learn lead ins and lead outs in Year 1.  As with all handwriting, it is important to teach correct posture and grip alongside the scheme, if it is to be successful.

Correct pencil grip

This is how we form our letters.

Reception – non-cursive letter formation

Year 1 and beyond – cursive letter formation

For further help, including how to form letters, exercises to help strengthen muscles for writing, and other useful advice check out the following website